(Read Luke 13:22-3522And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 24Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. 29And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. 30And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last. 31The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee. 32And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. 33Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. 34O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! 35Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. (Luke 13:22‑35).)
I CONFESS I know not how to rightly touch a subject so tender, and withal so thrilling in results as this Scripture presents. Nevertheless, I trust that each unsaved reader hereof will hear the voice of Jesus, and be warned. You do not believe Scripture, perhaps. Jerusalem believes in Scripture. What did the Lord say should happen to it? Luke 19:43, 44,43For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. (Luke 19:43‑44) tells us. It is fulfilled.
You know that everything Jesus predicted has come true. Do you think the Lord of life and glory now addresses immortal souls, like you and me, in a light manner? God forbid the thought. You may have had very little interest in your own soul’s salvation up to this hour, but it is not so with Him. He is in deep earnest regarding you. You are yet in your sins, and may never hear the voice of the Saviour again. Who knows if the very last gospel message you will ever receive is in your hands at this moment? I tell you today of a seeking Christ, but if He rise from His seat this day and shut to the door, what then? “Too late, just too late,” will burst from awakened souls all round in Christendom, and possibly, too, in the house where you are living. There will then be the awful discovery that the day of the gospel has gone by.
Very likely you say, “I do not believe that.” I do. Do you believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had enough interest in the salvation of your soul to leave His Father’s home on high, come down into this world, become a man of sorrows in His life, and, bearing men’s sins, become their Saviour by His death, do you believe that? I do. If you believed it, you would have been converted ere now, and alas! you are not. You have not believed it. You have heard about it, thought about it, may have even revolved it in your mind as a notable statement that you have read and heard and would not deny; but if you had believed these wondrous tidings, they would have changed the whole tenor of your life.
Mere curiosity will not do; it was curiosity put the question recorded in Luke 13:23,23Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, (Luke 13:23) “Lord, are there few that be saved?” The blessed Lord, we read, “went through the cities and villages, teaching and journeying towards Jerusalem,” where He knew He would die. Blessed Master, His tireless feet, that men afterward nailed to the tree, took Him wherever there was a soul of man in all Palestine, that to such He might preach, and show the glad tidings of the kingdom of God, that is, that if God’s grace got into men’s souls, if they got under the sway of God, they would be saved. The reason you have not been saved is, you have not got into God’s kingdom.
A wonderful place is the kingdom of God. It is a spot where the heart dances with joy, for the soul is in liberty. When the conscience and mind are free, the heart is perfectly happy. It is a sphere where I know I am loved and wanted, and where my sins are all washed away by the blood of Jesus. Yes, I am a child of God, an heir of glory, and I am going home to be with the Lord very soon, and till then I have the abiding enjoyment of His love down here. The pleasures of the world do not satisfy—there may be the laughter of the fool, but it is “like the crackling of thorns under a pot,” it will not last. Forget not, dear unsaved reader, that though you have the pleasures of sin, they are only for a season; you have yet to meet the pangs, pains, penalties, and judgment of sin. The deepest sin of all is that you have not really believed God’s testimony about His blessed Son.
In our chapter we read plainly that Jerusalem was Jesus’ goal. He knew what was connected with Jerusalem—it was there He would be condemned, and just outside that city He would die, and would make atonement for sin, that all the eternal love of God might come gushing out through the riven side of a Saviour. “Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved?” Why didn’t he say, Are there many? I think he was a sort of scoffer—he thought there would be some difficulty. But for you it is not whether few or many are saved; this is the point, are you saved? Profession is of no value whatever, there must be possession of Him who is the only Saviour.
Note the Lord’s answer to the query, “Are there few that be saved?” “And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate.” Be in earnest. Why is it a strait gate? I judge it is a gate that does not let in two at a time. Salvation is individual. Conversion is an individual matter; being born again is individual. You are solitary in that. You say, I have a Christian husband; that does not help you a bit, you cannot go in two together. Does “the strait gate” mean that there is any difficulty? No, but there must be earnestness. You have to individualize yourself from everyone else.
You say, I am a member of a church; that does not bring you to Christ, or save you, or wash your sins away. No, there is a gate that you must pass through individually. You will have to stand before God alone by-and-by, and therefore “strive to enter in at the strait gate.” It is not like a flock of sheep, that can be driven in a dozen at a time. Men must go in one by one. Have you gone in? Strive, wake up. Some dear young people will take it easy till at length the last opportunity is lost, and the door is shut. Then “there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Note what Christ says, “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.” When the fatal die is, cast, and you have missed salvation, missed Christ, missed pardon and peace, missed heaven and its joy, and you pass—not into God’s kingdom, but—into the impenetrable darkness in which an unshriven sinner must, sooner or later, eternally land, there is weeping indeed.
Say not, “Are there few that be saved?” Take care that you get saved, says Christ. “Strive to enter in”— why? “For many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” Why, is the gate too narrow? No. Is there an insuperable obstacle in the road? No. Then why do they not get in? They are all TOO LATE—that is all. Oh, unsaved friend, what an awful crowd to be among, the procrastinators of whom Jesus says, “Many will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” It is when the opportunity is gone by they become in earnest. Were they too great sinners? No. Was the burden of sin so huge that they could not press through? No, the way was clear. “I am the Way.” “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.” There is now no difficulty; you may be saved where you read this today.
Listen, ye loiterers, ye procrastinators, who are trifling with grace on the brink of an eternal hell: “When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are” (13:25). When Christ ascended He sat down at God’s right hand, and He is still sitting, but when once He has risen up and shut to the door, what then? Then you will begin to knock at the door. You have never tried to enter in yet. Why? You have never been in earnest. These began too late. There must be earnestness now to enter in. Don’t be one of these refused knockers. No one has ever given this kind of knock yet, because the door has not been shut. Today it is still true— “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved” (John 10:99I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (John 10:9)).
I have never yet found the man that is too bad for Christ. Many are too good. How blessed to live in a day when there is an open door and a rent veil. The work of Christ is accomplished, He is set down at God’s right hand, and the Holy Ghost has come down to tell you there is a way into God’s presence and kingdom, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the precious blood He has shed. But while you are halting, hesitating, and wondering whether you will make up your mind, and what would be the result of confessing Christ, and what people would think (that is the way the devil delights to get people to put off their souls’ salvation), the door may close, and you will be too late.
Remember, if you are not saved in time, you will be lost in eternity. Salvation is the contrast to perdition; it is the very opposite. I do not forget the first time I spoke on this scripture. I was very young, and had not been converted more than three months. A lady who had a school asked me if I would go and say a few words to some little boys. I read this scripture (Luke 13:23-3023Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 24Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. 29And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. 30And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last. (Luke 13:23‑30)). God wrought in the hearts of those children, and nine confessed the Lord that night. Some have gone to be with the Lord, and others are living today, and are preachers of the gospel. I have good cause to remember this scripture. I wonder if you will be converted through it. Don’t delay coming to Christ.
How loudly procrastinators will knock by-and-by, “When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door.” When will that take place? One of these moments when the world is buried in slumber. It maybe He is now gathering up the very folds of His garments to arise and shut that door. And what is the next thing? He will descend into the air. And what then? He will shout (see 1 Thess. 4:16, 1716For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16‑17)). Who will hear Him? Thank God, fellow-Christian, you will hear Him; and some in the graves will hear— “The dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” What will happen when the Lord comes for His own? The door will be shut against the world. When the Lord comes for the possessors of life and salvation, the door will be shut against all lifeless professors. Thank God, the door is not shut yet—get in at once.
There will be an awful awakening by-and-by, when you have to face a lost eternity in your sins, and discover the truth of the gospel you neglected, or perhaps I should say rejected, viz., that the Lord Jesus came from glory to the gloom of Golgotha, that He might wash your sins away, and that you might be forever with Him in the joy of the Father’s house. You will begin to be in earnest then, and you will begin to pray too— “Lord, Lord, open to us.” Then it is “He shall answer and say, I know you not.” It is not that you have been a scandalous sinner; nor is it that you have lived in deep, moral iniquity. Do you think Jesus will ever say to a heart that trusts Him, “I know you not?” Never. It is to those who have never known Him, never believed Him, He will say, “I know you not.”
Then mark what they will say, “We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.” You have sat at the Communion Table very likely. Light, privilege, opportunity beyond all description have been yours, but all have been lost, missed, not apprehended. The more light, the deeper the guilt; the more privilege and opportunity, the deeper the judgment. You have had to do with Him outwardly, and He spoke in your streets. “But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.” Did you ever notice what the iniquity is? He has not been believed in, received, bowed to. “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.” You say, This has an application to the Jew. Be it so; but don’t you see how it applies to anyone who makes a profession of, without the real knowledge of Christ? You think little today of those who have been converted to the Lord, and are seeking to serve Him. You will see them blessed by-and-by. You will see others blessed—why have you not been blessed? If you have set your heart against Christ up to now, let me implore you to turn to Him on the spot.
How gracious is Christ. The Pharisees come up and say, Herod will kill you. Said He, “Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless I must walk today, and tomorrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.” He goes on with His ministry of love, and then makes His touching address to Jerusalem: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not” (vs. 34). But you say, I have never done that—I have never killed anybody. No, but you have put the gospel from you; you have said, I don’t like to be button-holed. You don’t want it. What does Jesus say? — “How often would I.” And what is the response? “Ye would not.” How often would Jesus have blessed you, but ye would not. How often would He have given you peace, light, and pardon—I would; ye would not.
You say, That refers to Jerusalem. Is it not your case? Can you deny it? Don’t you recollect the night when you were touched, and almost converted, but you would not, you put it from you? “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate,” is the dreadful fate of Jerusalem. “Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” He indicates what would be the judgment that would fall on the guilty city. You know it has fallen. Take care lest He deal similarly with you.
W. T. P. W.