“He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to him, ‘Lord, will those who are saved be few?’ And he said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, “Lord, open to us,” then he will answer you, “I do not know where you come from.” Then you will begin to say, “We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.” But he will say, “I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!” In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.’”

When I read this teaching about the narrow gate, this is what I picture. This was from a trip to Rock City I took with my husband about a year after our first daughter was born, and while this isn’t a door, it was definitely narrow and I was glad I was no longer pregnant!

As Jesus is on his way, he is asked this question by some unnamed person: “Will those who are saved be few?” I was trying to imagine the heart behind this person’s question. Was he looking for assurance that he would be saved? Was he looking for Jesus to name a specific group of people? Was it supposed to be a trap? Was he looking for Jesus to “give it to him straight” and tell him exactly how to be one of those few? We don’t know why it was asked, but we do get Jesus’ answer.

Jesus, as he so often does, flips the cultural norms on their heads and through this parable says, your position in the world has no bearing on your position in the kingdom of God. But of course he doesn’t say it that plainly. He instead tells this story about how many people will seek salvation and not find it. Verse 24 is key where he says, “Strive to enter through the narrow door.” This is a command. Another version translates it, “make every effort.” To strive is to struggle or to agonize. He’s NOT telling us that we save ourselves by our good works.

John records for us what we call the “I am” statements of Jesus, and in John 10:7-9 Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”

He makes it clear HE is the narrow door, and God is opening it to us, but we can only enter on his terms. And so in calling it narrow, he’s telling us it’s not going to be easy. It takes intentionality. It takes throwing off every weight like Hebrews 12:1 talks about. I couldn’t have made it through that narrow path pictured above carrying all my worldly belongings. There are a lot of obstacles on our way to salvation: the world, our flesh, the devil. So we STRIVE, we struggle, we make the effort to avoid being tripped up by them.

Because the rest of verse 24 says, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter, and will not be able.” There is a difference between striving and seeking. Are you casually looking for the entrance, or are you putting everything you have into it? Because you’re not just going to stumble into the kingdom of God. You can’t just “hope” you’ll end up there, because one of those obstacles will get you. You have to resist complacency and make the effort for a place in God’s kingdom.

The complacent are the ones who are just kinda sorta seeking, mostly assuming that when it comes down to it they’ll be let in because of their position in the world. They have all the excuses like the people in verse 26, “We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.” I went to church. I gave money to the church. I served at kids camp. I listened to Christian podcasts. But verse 25 tells us a time is coming when the master of the house will shut the door, and then it will be too late. See, there is a difference between a narrow door and a shut door. Narrow door? Difficult, but possible. Shut door? Sorry.

There is a limit to divine mercy. At some point, everyone’s time will be up, and won’t be enough just to know about Jesus or be familiar with the Bible. Entry to the kingdom is dependent on the master. HE has to KNOW you. Two times in this parable the master of the house says, “I do not know where you come from.” How is it that you get recognized by Jesus? You have a relationship with him, through faith, but one that changes the way you live. One that has you striving every day to walk that narrow path, not just coasting though.

So, we have urgency now. Because we can either be with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God because we’ve entered through the narrow door of belief. Or we can be cast out into the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth because we were just going through the motions, more worried about out place here, what people thought of us here, not being last here, than having a real relationship with Jesus. Just being in a church pew on a Sunday doesn’t get you in. Honestly evaluate if you’re striving or just seeking. Because not everyone who expects to be saved will be.

When Jesus was here on earth, he was last. But where is he now? At the right hand of the Father, as Ephesians 1:21 says, “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” We strive for that future reality, because any position we have here is temporary. Everything we put our energy into, everything we strive for, should be of eternal significance. Just as Jesus didn’t mind being last here on earth, neither should we, because “behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”