22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.
In this snippet of scripture, we again see Jesus making a very serious point. First, a question comes to him, but let’s look at the phrasing of the question. It is really phrased by someone worried about others. But you’ll notice that Jesus turns it around. He instead instructs the individual to look at himself, rather than worrying about others.
The word used for effort means some very specific things in Greek. It means to strive and to agonize. In other words, it takes real effort and pursuit to be saved. Some people believe that all you have to do is say the words and you will be saved. But the bible always teaches that effort plays a large role. In other words, we’ve got to want the relationship.
25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’
Why is it important to strive? Because striving implies heart. If we are striving for something, it means we love it are dedicated to it, and want to desperately attain it. That is the heart Jesus is talking about, the heart for a relationship with him. He also says that there will come a time when it is too late. There are limits to divine mercy. If someone claims fellowship, but really is lost in darkness, then we do not live out the truth (1 John1:6). Jesus will not accept the trapping of religious duty as substitute for an authentic relationship. If you notice, the door is already shut to those who are pleading their case, showing that there is a limit to God’s mercy. These people knew about Jesus, knew about his teachings, yet did not really have fellowship with him. It is not simply enough to know him.
28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”
Finally, there is a destiny to those who aren’t let in the house. Gnashing of the teeth and weeping. Suffering and despair. This is a teaching Jesus commonly dispersed, that hell is a reality and we must understand the eternal implications of our lack of following. But there is a solution to this:
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. -1 John 1:9
If we understand that moving toward him, in a healthy relationship, is the only way to enter through the narrow door, then we should not only move in that direction, but strive for it.