What a wonderful thing it must have been to live while Jesus walked the earth, to see him heal and cast out demons, to hear him teach about God the Father and The Way. And yet so many of those who did see and hear marveled at it all, then walked away: rejecting his message.
His disciples noticed this too. In Luke 13:22-30 we have this discourse:
The Narrow Way
22 And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?”
And He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ 26 then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. 29 They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. 30 And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”
When Jesus worked miracles and astonished many with His teaching, the Jews were hopeful that He was their promised messiah. But, they were expecting a military leader, someone who would rise up against Rome and restore Israel to preeminence among all the nations. Naturally, the Pharisees and Sadducees would be this leader’s cabinet, his governors over this new world order. But Jesus taught forgiveness, love, and repentance. He wanted them to abandon their traditions and follow Him in a new direction. So they rejected Him, despite all they saw and heard.
Today, Jesus does not walk among us, we cannot listen to Him declare the truths of God. That is done through the Bible: God’s Holy Word, and the urging of the Holy Spirit. But now, as it was then, mankind does not want to hear what the Gospel tells us, so mankind edits The Word through exclusion and re-interpretation. Mankind wants to build a wider gate through which to enter Heaven.
But mankind does not build gates into Heaven, only Jesus grants that access through the authority given Him by God the Father in Jesus’ death and resurrection.
The door that the Master of the house closes in the parable is death. As long as we are alive, we have the ability to accept Jesus. Death locks that door closed.
On the day of judgment, many of the people of Jesus’ day will say, “We knew you, you taught in our streets. Let us in.” But He will refuse them admittance because they rejected Him.
On the day of judgment, many modern Christians will say, “We worshiped you and did many great works in your name, let us in.” But if they followed an edited gospel, they followed a gospel of their own making, not that of God. In so doing, they carved their own God to follow. And on that day, Jesus will tell them, “I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.”
There will be some who are considered mighty men of God by this world: respected and followed by a multitude, who will be turned away. And there will be those who were despised by this world as “Jesus freaks” who will be welcomed and given positions of preeminence in the kingdom of God.
That is not my opinion: that is what The Word says. That is what Jesus told the people of His time, and His words stand as truth today. Read His Word for yourself. Follow its teachings. Be careful who you trust as a teacher.
Many Christian organizations feel that erecting a magnificent building in which to worship honors God. Some claim that the Holy Spirit lives in such edifices. Not true!
