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As we continue our studies in Chapter 13 of Luke’s gospel, this week our attention is focused on verses 22-35. Please read them every day this week and, if possible, use a different translation each day, asking God to open your eyes to fresh revelation from His Word.
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Luke 13:22-23 (NIV)
‘Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”’
You may have heard this joke but I think it’s worth retelling here:
“An elderly Baptist lady sadly passed away and was ushered into heaven. St. Peter met her at the pearly gates as expected and proceeded to ‘show her around’. He pointed out so many wonderful things including the mansions, the streets paved with gold and she even saw a lion laying down with a lamb. Just then, she arrived at a large wall and Peter in a hushed voice, asked her to be very quiet when they were walking alongside it. Intrigued, she asked the reason for the quietness. Peter replied, “behind the wall are the Pentecostals and they think they’re the only ones in heaven!”
The context of our verses today is that Jesus is speaking to Jews and there was a widely held opinion among the Jewish rabbis that the whole of Israel would be saved. They also believed that ONLY Israel would be saved. In some ways, it’s similar to the joke above in that they really did think that they were the only ones that God is interested in.
Jesus has come and is teaching something very, very different. He is stating that the difference between ‘saved’ and ‘unsaved’ had nothing to do with your nationality at all. Far from the common belief, Jesus actually is teaching that being saved is a spiritual thing and not a nationalistic one.
It has nothing to do with your ancestry, but has everything to do with your application of Jesus’ teaching. He had repeatedly said that only those who were ‘putting his teaching into practice’ would be saved and so it is not surprising that Jesus was asked this question: “Are only a few people going to be saved?”
This week we’re looking at some very hard teaching from Jesus and sometimes the truth of His words are quite hard to take. He’s going to be talking about narrow doors and about people being rejected by God. Tough stuff.
The lesson I want to leave with you today is that because many of your friends and family are not saved, it’s very easy to think that there aren’t many Christians. When you look around and see so many empty churches, it’s tempting to think that ‘only a few people are going to be saved’. There is a wonderful verse in Hebrews that says ‘God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory.’ Note that there are ‘many children’. Jude says ‘“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, and Revelation states that ‘…the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands’. Don’t be discouraged. God is building His Church. It’s huge and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. You’re a part of that Church so rejoice that He has chosen you to be ‘one of the few’.
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