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by Sandy Shaw
In Luke Chapter 13 at verse 22, Jesus Christ is making His way to Jerusalem and using every possible opportunity to speak and teach. There were only a few disciples with Him and the people wondered if that was it. When they questioned Jesus His reply was, As long as the door is open you just make sure you can get in.
How can the work succeed? We don't see very much. Well they won't see anything at all if they are blind. And they won't see anything from the outside. So many are interested in numbers - Jesus says - 'the best way to count numbers is from the inside'.
Jesus Christ is not interested in numbers - HE is interested in YOU.
Verse 25. One day the door is going to close. Some people are going to hammer on the door shouting - "Lord open the door for us." But it will be too late.
Hell will have many people who intended accepting Jesus as Saviour and Lord - who meant to make their peace with God the Father through Jesus Christ - but who never got around to it.
Someone defined hell as - "The place where truth is known too late."
Jesus makes it clear that the door into the kingdom is so narrow that you can only get yourself through. Our luggage - our pride - reputation - self-evaluation - our sin - all that has to be left outside.
We see here 1. the spreading Kingdom and 2. the closing door - and now we read of 3. a resisting city. What different pictures!
Men and women do resist. People put up a terrific struggle and fight, and then say, after the door is closed - "We ate and drank with you - you used to teach in our streets and in our villages. To eat and drink with someone was a mark of personal friendship, but Jesus is indicating that there has to be more.
We saw you - we heard you for a while - we came to some of your services. Remember that Harvest Thanksgiving Service - remember that Christmas Eve Service - remember that funeral - we were down at the front.
Jesus - do you not remember - at the Lakeside - at the wedding in Cana - in the crowd when you touched that sick person? We were there, and we meant to do more than we did. We intended doing something about it. "I DO NOT KNOW YOU" Verse 27.
It is never enough to be associated with a work of God, or to be loosely connected to the Church of Jesus Christ, or having been around Jesus on certain convenient occasions.
Jesus Christ is referring to our Commitment - our Involvement - our Faithfulness - our Discipleship - our Obedience to the King of the Kingdom.
Jesus says to the people who are asking all these questions - to the people who are so near - "One day - when the door is closed - there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth - when you find yourself outside - and you see those who are inside.
There will be a feast. There will be a marriage. Jesus Christ will come and marry the Church and inside the kingdom there will be rejoicing and merriment. The people who are inside rejoicing will NOT see out - but the people who are outside will see in.
No wonder some said to Jesus - "Off you go - leave this place - move on - push off."
On that day there will be people looking in at the marriage, who could have been present, and those inside will have eyes only for Jesus, the Saviour, the Lord.
The Lamb - the Bridegroom - Who is coming again - will come to lock that door, so that those who have been faithful are eternally safe and secure.
Where will you be on that day – outside looking in – or inside focusing all your attention on Jesus Christ?
There will be an empty space at that table, and He is not all that interested in numbers, but he is interested in YOU.
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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