{"id":11846,"date":"2020-10-05T20:00:27","date_gmt":"2020-10-06T03:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/luke_13_10-21-copy\/"},"modified":"2020-10-04T17:42:34","modified_gmt":"2020-10-05T00:42:34","slug":"luke_13_22-35","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/luke_13_22-35\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Jesus Know You In The End?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Luke 13:22-35\u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Luke 13:22-35.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Luke 13:22-24 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them,
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 22-24:\u00a0\u00a0What is this narrow door that Jesus is talking about?\u00a0\u00a0The narrow door is trusting in Jesus Christ.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0It is \u201cnarrow\u201d in that not as many people go through it.\u00a0\u00a0As Jesus says in verse 24,\u00a0instead of trusting in Jesus, many people unsuccessfully try to be saved by their own good works<\/strong>\u00a0(\u201cmany, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to\u201d).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When Jesus says, \u201cmake every effort<\/em>\u00a0to enter through the narrow door\u201d, don\u2019t misunderstand this to mean that somehow we must by our own effort and strength reach God on our own; rather,\u00a0we must make every effort to hang onto faith in Jesus, rather than slipping into the trap of trusting in ourselves<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus says something similar in Matthew 7:13-14.<\/p>\n

Does Jesus answer the question asked of him in verse 23 about \u201care only a few people going to be saved?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Not directly, I don\u2019t think.\u00a0\u00a0But elsewhere the Bible repeatedly describes heaven as being populated by \u201ca great multitude\u201d, one \u201cthat no one can count\u201d (Revelation 7:9).\u00a0\u00a0Indeed the people of God are the largest, most diverse, most inclusive family that has ever existed or ever will exist.\u00a0\u00a0So when you get to heaven, don\u2019t expect little company.<\/p>\n

Luke 13:25-27 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Once 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.’
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 25-27: If going to heaven is about a personal relationship with Jesus, here Jesus tells a parable to illustrate what a personal relationship with Jesus is NOT.\u00a0\u00a0Attending a church service or reading your Bible doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you have a personal relationship with Jesus (\u201cwe ate and drank with you\u201d).\u00a0\u00a0Listening to a sermon doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you have a personal relationship with Jesus (\u201cyou taught in our streets\u201d).\u00a0\u00a0In the end\u00a0knowing Jesus personally is about believing in Him<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0For you can sit in a service and listen to a sermon and still choose not to believe and still not be saved. But when you respond in faith to Jesus, that\u2019s when you \u201cknow Jesus\u201d and are saved.<\/p>\n

Luke 13:28-30 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“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.
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.
\n30\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 28-30: The prevailing belief among many Jews was that the kingdom of God was their exclusive possession.\u00a0\u00a0Yet here Jesus shows that actually some Jews will not belong to the kingdom of God, despite them having received such a great spiritual heritage from men of faith like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the Old Testament prophets (v28).\u00a0\u00a0At the same time, Jesus says that the kingdom of God will include non-Jewish people everywhere from every nation (v29). Thus, though the Jews were \u201cfirst\u201d in that they were God\u2019s chosen people, by rejecting Jesus many of them would be last.\u00a0\u00a0Meanwhile, though the Gentiles were not chosen like the Jews were, many of them would embrace and accept Jesus and be among \u201cthe first\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Thus Jesus says, \u201cthere are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.\u201d<\/p>\n

As an extension of this point, you may be surprised to find that some who are A listers in our world today, who enjoy a great deal of power, fortune, prestige and respect among people, may have no standing in heaven, whereas those you\u2019ve never heard of before may be generals with great standing in heaven.<\/p>\n

Luke 13:31-33 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n31\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”
\n32\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’
\n33\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day–for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 31-33: Jesus would not be intimidated or deterred by fear. The most courageous man to ever live, Jesus was bold and determined about fulfilling His mission: to drive out demons, heal people, go to Jerusalem to die (just like the prophets before him \u2013 \u201cfor surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!\u201d \u2013 v33) and ultimately to rise again. The \u201cthird day\u201d (v32) is a reference to His resurrection, which was his \u201cgoal\u201d and which would happen on the third day after his burial.<\/p>\n

Likewise,\u00a0when you step out in faith to pursue God\u2019s call on your life, you will face opposition and intimidating circumstances.\u00a0\u00a0But don\u2019t be afraid.\u00a0\u00a0Like Jesus, \u201ckeep going\u201d \u201cin any case\u201d<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0As Paul would say,\u00a0\u201cI press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus\u201d (Philippians 3:14).<\/p>\n

Luke 13:34-35a (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n34\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
\n35\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Look, your house is left to you desolate\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 34-35a: Here Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, knowing that as much as He loves this city and the people living in it, most of them would reject Him as Messiah and be \u201cdesolate\u201d (v35) as a result.<\/p>\n

Similarly,\u00a0Jesus is grieved when the people whom He loves and to whom He holds out His hands reject Him.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0He is grieved for their sake, knowing that those who reject God will have a desolate (bleak, empty) future.<\/p>\n

Luke 13:35b (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n35\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0\u2026I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 35b:\u00a0\u00a0Though Jesus would enter Jerusalem and be greeted with chants of \u201cBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord\u201d (a quote from Psalm 118:26), the future event Jesus is talking about here is probably not Jesus\u2019 entrance into Jerusalem.\u00a0\u00a0Rather Jesus is most likely referring to His second coming.\u00a0\u00a0He\u2019s basically saying, \u201cYou will not see me until I return to earth in glory, this next time as king.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, knowing You personally is so much more than just going to church or listening to a sermon.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s trusting You, believing in You.\u00a0\u00a0Help me to know You more.\u00a0\u00a0Just as You weren\u2019t deterred by fear, may I courageously follow the calling You have for more my life.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Luke 13:22-35.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Luke 13:22-24 (NIV)\u00a0
\n22\u00a0\u00a0Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.\u00a0
\n23\u00a0\u00a0Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them,\u00a0
\n24\u00a0\u00a0“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.<\/p>\n

On verses 22-24:\u00a0\u00a0What is this narrow door that Jesus is talking about?\u00a0\u00a0The narrow door is trusting in Jesus Christ.\u00a0\u00a0It is \u201cnarrow\u201d in that not as many people go through it.\u00a0\u00a0As Jesus says in verse 24,\u00a0instead of trusting in Jesus, many people unsuccessfully try to be saved by their own good works\u00a0(\u201cmany, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to\u201d).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When Jesus says, \u201cmake every effort\u00a0to enter through the narrow door\u201d, don\u2019t misunderstand this to mean that somehow we must by our own effort and strength reach God on our own; rather,\u00a0we must make every effort to hang onto faith in Jesus, rather than slipping into the trap of trusting in ourselves.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus says something similar in Matthew 7:13-14.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11848,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11846"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11846\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11847,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11846\/revisions\/11847"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}