Jesus did not answer this question directly. He answered it with a picture. Picture a door locked with people standing "outside knocking and saying, ‘Sir, open for us' " (Lk 13:25). Then a voice from the other side of the door replies: "I do not know where you come from" (Lk 13:25). Next, those locked out try to explain that there must be some misunderstanding, for they have gone to church and received some religious instruction (cf Lk 13:26). Once again the voice from the other side of the locked door answers: "I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Away from Me, you evildoers!" (Lk 13:27) Now those locked out of eternal life begin to panic; they beat on the door with "wailing and grinding of teeth" (Lk 13:28).
"Are they few in number who are to be saved?" (Lk 13:23) We don't know because Jesus did not answer this question directly. We do know that many "will try to enter and be unable" (Lk 13:24). Therefore, "try to come in through the narrow door" (Lk 13:24). "The gate that leads to damnation is wide, the road is clear, and many choose to travel it. But how narrow is the gate that leads to life, how rough the road, and how few there are who find it!" (Mt 7:13-14)
Jesus said: "I am the Gate" (Jn 10:9). He is the Door and the only Way (Jn 14:6). "There is no salvation in anyone else, for there is no other name in the whole world given to men by which we are to be saved" (Acts 4:12). "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, and all your household" (Acts 16:31).
| PRAYER: | Father, I accept the grace to be saved (Eph 2:8). |
| PROMISE: | "Make straight the paths you walk on, that your halting limbs may not be dislocated but healed." –Heb 12:13 |
| PRAISE: | Praise Jesus, the Gate, the Door, the only Way! Praise You, Jesus, our "Leader in the work of salvation" (Heb 2:10). |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College