Have you ever driven on some narrow roads? There are some roads where only one vehicle can go through at a time. If someone comes from the other direction, they have to wait for the first car to go through before they can. If they don’t, the cars are going to end up with scraped sides. When I was younger and able to walk around much better than now, my children and I went down to the State of Kentucky to go through some of the caves there. In parts of those caves the pathways are very narrow, and one needs to be careful going through. In our Scripture today from the Gospel of Luke, Jesus talks about the narrow way which leads to salvation. It is narrow, not broad and wide. Let’s look at what He said.
As our Scripture opens, Jesus was going through villages, teaching God’s message to the people, while heading towards Jerusalem. These were the last few months of His ministry, and by now He was most likely not welcome in most of the synagogues due to the Pharisees' opposition. As Jesus taught, one man in the crowd spoke up and asked Him if there would be few people who get saved (vs. 22-23).
What a question! What would the answer be? In Jesus’ day, most religious Jews did not believe that any Gentiles would go to heaven. Today, there are a lot of preachers and people who feel that everyone goes to heaven. If anyone would have an answer, it would be God, of course. Let’s see how Jesus, the Son of God, and the Second Person of the Trinity, answered this man’s question.
The first thing that Jesus said in response to the question was that the gate, the way to heaven, is narrow, not wide and open (vs. 24). In Matthew 7:14, Jesus said that not only is the gate narrow, but the way is difficult, and there are few who find it. Entering the narrow gate is difficult because of its cost with human pride, the sinner's love of sin, and the world’s and Satan’s opposition to the truth. The effort we must put out to enter the narrow gate is to earnestly desire to know Jesus, and to diligently strive to follow Him, whatever the cost. We dare not put off making this decision, because the door will not stay open forever.
As is very clearly taught here, and throughout Scripture, one must come to God only through the way that He set forth in Scripture. Everyone else will be denied (vs. 25). It is not that God refuses some people. Rather, it is that some people refuse God and His way of salvation. People try to get in by some other way than through Jesus. They want to enter heaven through their own works. They also like to believe that any number of religious leaders or philosophers have an equally valid claim on salvation and heaven. Jesus said that He is the way, the truth and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). Whether anyone likes it or not, God has set the way to heaven, which is clearly stated in the Bible, and there is no other way.
There is a saying which is popular among a lot of people, but which has absolutely no validity through Scripture, and that is that there are a lot of roads which lead to heaven, and a lot of different ways to get there. However, as we read in our passage today, the road is not a broad, wide open highway. It is a narrow gate. The only way to heaven is through the Lord Jesus Christ, and not any other religious leader or guru. God is not exclusive, as some might think because of this passage. He is very inclusive. Jesus wants to draw all men to Himself (John 12:32). However, not all choose to come. Only a few ever do. Jesus offers salvation to everyone, and would never turn anyone away who put their faith and trust in Him (Romans 10:9-13). Jesus is the only way to the Father, and everyone has the opportunity to come.
As Jesus continues His teaching, He tells how many will claim that they knew Him, ate and drank with Him, but that they will be turned away (vs. 25-27). This might include many preachers and religious leaders of our churches today, along with many people we see sitting in the seats at church. They were not of His flock, nor were willing to enter in through the way He said one must. Not everyone we thought would be in heaven will be there. Also, some we thought would never be in heaven will be.
As we look back on our Scripture for today, the man asked Jesus a question. Rather than answering the question directly with a yes or a no, or giving a specific number amount, Jesus told the person, and the group at large, to check and be sure that they are going in through the narrow gate. What about you? Jesus is asking each of us the same question. Are you going in through the narrow gate, or are you trying to get in some other way, or are wrongly believing that the way is wide and broad? Don’t be deceived!
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