WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.500 Now, if you have a church Bible, we're going to be in Luke chapter 13, from verse 22 to 35. 00:00:11.500 --> 00:00:22.760 That's on page 1047. We also find the words up there on the screen. And we'll pay attention 00:00:22.760 --> 00:00:29.039 to this question that Jesus has asked, Lord, are only a few people going to be saved? 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:37.119 So, verse 22 of Luke chapter 13, then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he 00:00:37.119 --> 00:00:43.980 made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, Lord, are only a few people going to be saved? 00:00:44.740 --> 00:00:51.420 He said to them, make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, 00:00:51.719 --> 00:00:57.640 will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, 00:00:57.640 --> 00:01:04.460 you will stand outside knocking and pleading, Sir, open the door for us. But he will answer, 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:09.159 I don't know you are where you come from. Then you will say, we ate and drank with you, 00:01:09.180 --> 00:01:16.519 and you taught in our streets. But he will reply, I don't know you are where you come from. Away from 00:01:16.519 --> 00:01:23.900 me, all you evildoers. There will be weeping there and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, 00:01:23.900 --> 00:01:29.859 and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People will 00:01:29.859 --> 00:01:35.000 come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:40.560 of God. Indeed, there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last. 00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:46.240 At that time, some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, leave this place and go somewhere else. 00:01:46.239 --> 00:01:53.500 Herod wants to kill you. He replied, go and tell that fox. I will keep on driving out demons and 00:01:53.500 --> 00:01:59.599 healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal. In any case, 00:02:00.039 --> 00:02:06.739 I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day, for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem. 00:02:07.699 --> 00:02:13.859 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, 00:02:13.860 --> 00:02:20.740 how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her 00:02:20.740 --> 00:02:28.840 wings, and you are not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, 00:02:29.320 --> 00:02:37.840 you will not see me again until you say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Amen. 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:50.060 Let's begin by observing this fact that restrictions and limits are a normal part of life. 00:02:51.020 --> 00:02:56.900 Think about the world of sport. Think about football as an example. You can only celebrate a goal 00:02:56.900 --> 00:03:04.360 if the whole ball passes through the goalpost. Those are recommended limits. Without them, 00:03:04.360 --> 00:03:12.380 the whole game becomes a farce. Or think about parking. Some of us had to run that gauntlet this 00:03:12.380 --> 00:03:20.500 morning. We have in Edinburgh residence parking. We have restricted parking. And just a heads up from 00:03:20.500 --> 00:03:26.680 January, we are the first city in the UK to have a ban on pavement parking. So you're welcome. Beware. 00:03:26.680 --> 00:03:37.420 Think about exams and graduations. Success comes. The paper comes only if you fall within the right 00:03:37.420 --> 00:03:44.120 limits, if you get the right grade. So we understand restrictions and limits are a normal part of life. 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:52.819 So when Jesus is asked, Lord, are only a few people going to be saved? We can perhaps understand then 00:03:52.819 --> 00:04:04.659 why Jesus responds with this talk about the narrow door. To say to us, there are limits on entry to the 00:04:04.659 --> 00:04:13.439 kingdom of God and to salvation. Indeed, with this image, Jesus is reminding us he is the only way. 00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:22.459 He is the gate to salvation. He is the way back to life with God, the way to peace with God. 00:04:22.459 --> 00:04:30.639 Indeed, indeed, this explains his journey to Jerusalem. The way into the kingdom of God is through trusting 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:37.819 in Jesus, the one who came to live a perfect life for us, and then to die on the cross as a sacrifice, 00:04:38.759 --> 00:04:45.479 taking the punishment that we deserve so that simply by trusting in him, we might be forgiven 00:04:45.480 --> 00:04:55.300 and invited into God's kingdom. But it's interesting to notice the limit that Jesus focuses on. 00:04:56.560 --> 00:05:02.520 Because he's asked a question about numbers, about, are only a few people going to be saved? 00:05:03.160 --> 00:05:13.439 He turns it into a question of timing. For Jesus, his focus is on the narrow window of opportunity, 00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:20.079 of the need to respond as we hear the good news of salvation. 00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:29.319 So again, thinking back in our news a month or so ago, those storms that especially hit the northeast 00:05:29.319 --> 00:05:36.019 of Scotland, you probably heard some of those interviews with residents who were caught out. 00:05:36.019 --> 00:05:42.060 They didn't listen to the warnings. They didn't evacuate their premises. They didn't think it was 00:05:42.060 --> 00:05:48.139 going to be such a big deal. So their time to find shelter passed, and they find themselves in a very 00:05:48.139 --> 00:05:57.839 serious condition indeed. Well, what the Word of God reminds us is that more serious still is the risk 00:05:57.839 --> 00:06:07.979 of missing this window of opportunity to find salvation through Jesus. Because Jesus has been reminding us 00:06:07.979 --> 00:06:15.079 in past weeks of the reality of God's judgment that falls against sin, against moral wrongdoing, 00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:21.839 and the only way of escape is not for us to turn over a new leaf, but it's to turn to trust in Jesus, 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:32.299 the only Savior. So Jesus in our section invites us to see that he has come on God's timetable for salvation, 00:06:32.299 --> 00:06:41.799 and we need to respond in time and with a positive response to it. So the first thing that we need to 00:06:41.799 --> 00:06:51.819 think about is the time of opportunity, verses 22 to 30. Perhaps to help us to think about this, 00:06:51.839 --> 00:07:01.839 let me share the time when I missed a wedding. Thankfully not one that I was involved in being the 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:10.859 minister of. That would be infinitely worse. But I had an invitation, but lost track of when the service 00:07:10.859 --> 00:07:19.159 was happening. I got the time wrong, and I arrived to find the door's locked. Inside, maybe you've had 00:07:19.160 --> 00:07:26.760 this experience. Inside, you know there's celebration, but outside you're left for that sense of disappointment 00:07:26.760 --> 00:07:38.240 and regret. Look at the picture Jesus uses for the kingdom of God. Verse 29, people will come from east, west, 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:46.320 north, south, and will take their places at the feast. What's the kingdom of God like? What's life with God like? 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:55.599 It's like joy. It's about relationship. It's the very best, and it's celebration. Here's another way of 00:07:55.599 --> 00:08:02.959 Jesus saying, life with God is truly life to the full. And so Jesus is going to give encouragement. 00:08:03.480 --> 00:08:08.519 Enter this life when you can. Enter this kingdom when you can. Don't be left outside in the cold. 00:08:08.519 --> 00:08:15.519 We see it through the whole section. Verse 24, Jesus said, having been asked the question, 00:08:15.620 --> 00:08:22.939 are only a few people going to be saved? He makes it very personal. Make every effort to enter through 00:08:22.939 --> 00:08:30.579 the narrow door. That word is the word for striving. Indeed, our English word, agonize, 00:08:30.579 --> 00:08:38.620 it is drawn from this Greek word. It's an Olympic word. You can think about the marathon runner striving 00:08:38.620 --> 00:08:46.639 to reach the end of the race, or the weightlifter straining to lift that bar. And the emphasis 00:08:46.639 --> 00:08:58.340 here is a call to personal responsibility, to respond to Jesus and His work. Regardless of what's 00:08:58.340 --> 00:09:02.340 happening elsewhere, regardless of what others are doing or saying, whatever our culture thinks, 00:09:02.540 --> 00:09:11.680 we have a responsibility to act. Luke's gospel is full of great examples of people making every effort. 00:09:11.940 --> 00:09:18.120 The disciples, they hear the call of Jesus, come follow me, and they leave everything because they 00:09:18.120 --> 00:09:24.019 understand Jesus is better. Or there's Zacchaeus, a guy who's made a mess of his life because he's built 00:09:24.019 --> 00:09:29.919 his life around money, and he feels empty. And he hears Jesus is coming to town, and he pushes 00:09:29.919 --> 00:09:34.699 through the crowd, and he climbs up the tree so that he can meet with Jesus, just so he can see Jesus, 00:09:34.819 --> 00:09:42.600 actually. But he spends the day feasting. There was blind Bartimaeus. As Jesus was on his journey, 00:09:42.819 --> 00:09:47.299 he hears that Jesus is coming by the place where he begs, and he won't stop shouting, 00:09:47.299 --> 00:10:00.699 Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. Make every effort to receive and respond to Jesus. Why make 00:10:00.699 --> 00:10:06.699 the effort? Well, he gives us that positive incentive. There's the feast, there's the joy 00:10:06.699 --> 00:10:14.539 of life with God, but there's also the negative warning. For example, verse 27, 00:10:14.539 --> 00:10:20.779 I don't know you, away from me. Verse 28, the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. 00:10:21.559 --> 00:10:26.139 Some are in, but for others there is weeping that is lost because they're on the outside. 00:10:27.500 --> 00:10:38.079 Jesus says, ask and seek and knock. Read God's Word, asking that he would show you Jesus. 00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:47.720 Pray and ask that the Spirit would show the reality of God to you today. Ask questions of Christians 00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:53.960 if you don't understand who Jesus is and what he came to do. And if you do understand Jesus is the 00:10:53.960 --> 00:11:03.340 Son of God and the Savior for sinners like us, commit to him today. Make every effort. He says, 00:11:03.340 --> 00:11:13.660 make every effort to enter through the narrow door. And he gives that short story in verses 24 to 26. 00:11:15.340 --> 00:11:22.000 They speak of a door that is open now. There's a door of opportunity. There's an entry into the feast 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:28.780 now, but there'll come a point where the Lord of the feast will close the door, and to turn up when the 00:11:28.779 --> 00:11:40.319 door is shut is to arrive too late. We can't presume to have the luxury of time. 00:11:42.539 --> 00:11:48.679 Maybe we think we can put off learning more about Jesus for a more convenient time, or we put off 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:54.759 putting our faith in Jesus until we've got our education sorted, our career sorted, our lives sorted. 00:11:54.759 --> 00:12:04.759 We can't presume on the luxury of time. Jesus invites us to eternal life today. Today, 00:12:05.480 --> 00:12:10.519 if you hear his voice, don't harden your hearts, as Psalm 95 said to us. 00:12:12.919 --> 00:12:22.120 Jesus calls us to make a personal response. Notice verse 26 and 27. This story is a really pointed story, 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:27.320 making it really personal for the folks around Jesus. Then you will say, 00:12:27.960 --> 00:12:31.919 we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets, but he will reply, 00:12:32.659 --> 00:12:37.039 I don't know you. Away from me, all you evildoers. 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:46.820 There are lots of people always around Jesus, crowding around him, but so many of them still said 00:12:46.820 --> 00:12:52.560 no to his salvation. They didn't know Jesus. They didn't have a relationship with him because there 00:12:52.560 --> 00:13:00.480 was no faith and trust. And that should stand as a reminder, as a warning to us that being around 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:08.960 Jesus, that's not enough. Being around church is good, because this is a place of worship. This is a 00:13:08.960 --> 00:13:13.280 place where we can hear the Bible. We can learn about Jesus, but being around church is not enough. 00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:18.899 Reading the Bible is a good thing, but without faith in Jesus, it's not enough. 00:13:20.419 --> 00:13:27.559 Being sympathetic to Christianity and not being hostile, that's good, but it's not enough. 00:13:29.639 --> 00:13:38.000 Some of you I know have been interested in Jordan Peterson, the academic who sort of came to 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:45.320 prominence a number of years ago, and he'd be one of the kind of leading intellectuals who've seen this 00:13:45.320 --> 00:13:52.340 kind of change in their approach to the Christian faith. And much more, people like Jordan Peterson or 00:13:52.340 --> 00:13:59.700 Tom Holland, much more positive and sympathetic to the Bible and its place within Western civilization, 00:13:59.700 --> 00:14:06.620 much more positive and sympathetic to the church, but still no personal faith. 00:14:08.820 --> 00:14:16.220 Maybe we know stories of families and friends. We've seen them come around the church, and there's been 00:14:16.220 --> 00:14:21.160 that interest for a while, but without personal faith, we know it's not enough. 00:14:21.159 --> 00:14:30.659 The Bible makes clear we must be in Christ. Our faith must be placed in Jesus as Lord and Savior. We must 00:14:30.659 --> 00:14:41.059 seek to live with faith and obedience. We need a personal response. This is a time of opportunity. 00:14:42.939 --> 00:14:49.919 Jesus says, don't live with eternal regret. Verse 28 to 30 speaks about that. 00:14:51.159 --> 00:14:56.439 You know that classic dinner time, dinner party discussion, maybe you hear it on Radio 4, 00:14:56.439 --> 00:15:02.139 you know, if you could have a meal or spend an evening with any famous person, dead or alive, 00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:10.039 who would you choose to have dinner with? If we were able to ask a first century religious Jew, 00:15:11.379 --> 00:15:17.159 who would you like to spend time with? Who would you like to have a meal with? You can imagine them 00:15:17.159 --> 00:15:23.860 answering Abraham or Isaac or Jacob or one of the great prophets, but listen to what Jesus says. 00:15:25.240 --> 00:15:29.759 There will be weeping there and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 00:15:29.759 --> 00:15:38.179 and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. He invites them to look 00:15:38.179 --> 00:15:45.899 forward. If you don't trust in Jesus, they will be in those heroes of faith. They'll be in the kingdom, 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:54.179 but you, you'll be on the outside. Verse 29, people from all nations, east and west and north and south, 00:15:54.539 --> 00:16:00.000 they're going to take their place in the feast. But if you don't trust in me, Jesus says, 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:09.159 there is no feast, there is no joy for you. Indeed, there are those who are last who'll be first, 00:16:09.200 --> 00:16:14.779 and the first who'll be last. He warns the people in his day about that great reversal, 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:21.059 those surprising people who find themselves in the kingdom, surprising people who find themselves 00:16:21.059 --> 00:16:31.199 outside the kingdom, because the kingdom of God is about grace. It's not based on merit. It's not based 00:16:31.199 --> 00:16:37.099 on the family that we belong to. It's not based on our background. So, those things that people in 00:16:37.099 --> 00:16:43.199 Jesus' day were trusting, sometimes the things that we trust, they do not save. We are saved by grace. 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:52.740 We're invited in by God's kindness as a gift to receive by faith. So, Jesus is on his journey to 00:16:52.740 --> 00:16:58.120 the cross, and he says to the people in his day, and he says to us, this is a time of opportunity, 00:16:58.900 --> 00:17:09.039 and so it's important for us to grasp it. A narrow door. Maybe we need to think about one of the 00:17:09.039 --> 00:17:14.500 criticisms that can be leveled against Christianity. Sometimes maybe people say, well, isn't Christianity 00:17:14.500 --> 00:17:21.700 awfully narrow and exclusive? How do we answer that if someone has that objection? Well, in one sense, 00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:31.180 we say, well, yes, it is narrow, because we must say Jesus is the only way to God. He is the only Savior 00:17:31.180 --> 00:17:38.240 for sinners. He is the only God who became one of us to live the life we couldn't live. 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:46.980 He is the only Son of God who gladly, lovingly went to the cross to die in our place for our sins, 00:17:47.059 --> 00:17:52.899 to give us forgiveness and eternal life that we don't deserve. So, yes, he's the only way. 00:17:53.980 --> 00:17:58.039 That's not narrow, is it? It's narrow. Yes, we must trust in Jesus, but it's also wide. 00:17:59.019 --> 00:18:04.579 The invitation to receive salvation is wide. Luke, who writes this gospel, writes the book of Acts, 00:18:04.579 --> 00:18:10.679 and the book of Acts, tells the story of the church going global. Just look around this room today, 00:18:10.759 --> 00:18:19.379 and we discover that anybody can be a follower of Jesus. Any background, any nation, any age and stage 00:18:19.379 --> 00:18:25.919 in life. Christianity is narrow because it focuses on Jesus as the only Savior, but it's wide because it 00:18:25.919 --> 00:18:33.099 focuses on grace. We can be in because of Jesus, the Son of God who's done everything for our salvation. 00:18:33.099 --> 00:18:40.059 It's not just for a certain kind of people, people who achieve, people who have the right color of 00:18:40.059 --> 00:18:46.179 skin, people who have the right nationality or background. And because it's about Jesus and it's 00:18:46.179 --> 00:18:52.039 about grace, we can say today is a day of opportunity for all of us. If you're not a Christian here today, 00:18:52.339 --> 00:19:00.240 it's a day of opportunity for you to be saved by Jesus, to enjoy life with God. Make sure to enter. 00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:07.200 So, maybe that leads to another question. Well, how do we enter? If the kingdom of God is this feast 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:15.099 that we're invited into, how do we enter? Our second point takes us to the timing of God's salvation. 00:19:17.599 --> 00:19:22.559 Some of you maybe saw a number of years ago now that the film Flags of Our Fathers, or maybe if you 00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:30.099 like history, you've read the book. The book and the film, they tell the brutal story of the 36-day 00:19:30.099 --> 00:19:38.539 battle for Iwo Jima. So, U.S. Marines, towards the end of World War II, they invaded this small Pacific 00:19:38.539 --> 00:19:47.500 island with the goal of capturing Japanese airfields and bases. So, in the spring of 1945. 00:19:47.500 --> 00:19:54.420 And so, as they landed on this beach, there was fierce fighting. There was tens of thousands of 00:19:54.420 --> 00:20:00.400 soldiers on each side killed. There was huge loss of life. One of the crucial factors in the battle 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:08.720 leading those Marines to victory was the taking of Mount Suribachi. So, beyond the beach, there was this 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:15.279 mountain, Mount Suribachi. And there was an iconic photo, and it's up there, the moment when six Marines 00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:23.200 planted the U.S. flag on top of the mountain. They had faced heavy shelling. They'd gone through tank 00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:29.440 divisions. They'd fought with Japanese soldiers, but they fought relentlessly. They reached the goal, 00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:38.240 and the result was greater security in the Pacific region till the end of World War II and final peace. 00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:50.400 In verse 31, word comes to Jesus. Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you. 00:20:51.019 --> 00:20:58.759 Your enemy, Herod, he's hunting you. He would kill you. And Jesus' response is to make plain 00:20:58.759 --> 00:21:07.920 that those threats that those threats are idle threats. Herod cannot stop God's mission of salvation. 00:21:08.339 --> 00:21:18.740 Herod's threats have no impact on Jesus' rescue mission. Look at verse 32, and let's see what Jesus will do. 00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:26.539 Go tell that, folks. I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, 00:21:26.539 --> 00:21:34.700 and on the third day, I will reach my goal. There's Jesus' message. I'll keep doing kingdom work. I'll 00:21:34.700 --> 00:21:42.200 keep driving back evil. I'll keep establishing the kingdom, giving this window, this signpost into what 00:21:42.200 --> 00:21:48.059 the future kingdom will be like. I'm going to keep showing I'm greater. I'm going to keep winning 00:21:48.059 --> 00:21:56.519 victories over the forces of darkness. And then on the third day, I will reach my goal. 00:21:56.519 --> 00:22:05.579 Isn't it significant on the third day? Third day, reaching the end of his goal. And he will reach 00:22:05.579 --> 00:22:14.579 the end of his goal on the third day. Jesus is going to Jerusalem. And in the end of that journey, 00:22:14.579 --> 00:22:24.539 there would be another mountain and another victory. At Mount Calvary, it would not be a flag 00:22:24.539 --> 00:22:34.579 planted in the earth but the cross of the Lord Jesus. And on the third day, after dying for our sin, 00:22:35.059 --> 00:22:45.299 Jesus would rise for our salvation. Victory established, peace secured, plan of salvation complete. 00:22:45.299 --> 00:22:56.099 Look at verse 33. What must Jesus do? In any case, regardless of threat, regardless of enemy, 00:22:56.399 --> 00:23:01.839 I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day, for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem. 00:23:02.839 --> 00:23:11.740 When Jesus says must, that must there, speaks to us of God's plan, God's eternal plan of salvation. 00:23:11.740 --> 00:23:19.079 I must go to Jerusalem. I must go to Jerusalem. I must go to the cross. I must suffer and die, 00:23:19.259 --> 00:23:26.120 because that's the only way to establish peace between a holy God and unholy people. 00:23:26.119 --> 00:23:36.439 That lasting peace, that true peace that we all need, can only come through his act of sacrificial love. 00:23:39.819 --> 00:23:44.819 Go back to the narrow door, or go back to the question, are only a few people going to be saved? 00:23:46.119 --> 00:23:51.119 Think about the emphasis from Jesus here. What is he saying to us? He's saying, 00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:59.059 God, the God who made us, is a God who is willing to save. And we know that because he sent his Son 00:23:59.059 --> 00:24:03.619 in love. God demonstrates his love in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 00:24:04.759 --> 00:24:12.599 Jesus is willing in love to die, to demonstrate the greatest love. Greater love has no one than this, 00:24:13.199 --> 00:24:18.379 to give his life for my friends. Jesus will die to turn enemies into friends, 00:24:18.380 --> 00:24:27.420 by dying to forgive our sin, and to give us eternal life. So, when we think about is the way of salvation, 00:24:27.420 --> 00:24:33.920 is it narrow? We need to see again that wide open invitation of grace. We need to recognize 00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:42.440 that those arms of Jesus that would be outstretched on the cross are arms that would lovingly welcome us 00:24:42.440 --> 00:24:50.660 if we would receive him. And it speaks to us also, this little section speaks to us of the good news of 00:24:50.660 --> 00:24:59.860 salvation, that Jesus has done it. He has paid the price in full. Jesus has accomplished salvation. 00:25:01.660 --> 00:25:08.820 He doesn't just make it possible and leave us to do the rest. It is a completed work, 00:25:08.819 --> 00:25:14.419 which means he will certainly, absolutely, definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, 00:25:14.859 --> 00:25:24.339 save everyone who comes to him in faith. Because Jesus, like those Marines at Iwo Jima, 00:25:24.579 --> 00:25:32.579 went into battle with a clear goal, and he would not be shifted from it. He would go to the cross 00:25:32.579 --> 00:25:39.659 to die under the judgment of God, so that we wouldn't have to face the judgment of God. 00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:48.839 What do we need to do? We need to turn from our sin. We need to turn from unbelief. We need to trust in 00:25:48.839 --> 00:25:58.319 him for forgiveness, to find peace with God and eternal life. And it reminds us that our response is key. 00:25:58.319 --> 00:26:07.939 And it's the last thing we'll think about. We'll think about the time of decision, verse 34 and 35, 00:26:08.019 --> 00:26:13.559 because what Jesus describes next is so significant, because it reminds us that we have a responsibility. 00:26:13.960 --> 00:26:24.319 But it also, at the same time, reveals his heart of love for us. Jesus is willing, Jesus longs 00:26:24.319 --> 00:26:35.500 that Jerusalem would respond to him as God's Son, as God's Savior. He has a sense of deep grief. He weeps 00:26:35.500 --> 00:26:47.419 over the city that rejects him. And the focus is on personal responses to Jesus. 00:26:47.420 --> 00:26:56.840 Maybe we can identify with this. Maybe we can identify with the sorrow that a parent feels. You 00:26:56.840 --> 00:27:04.640 have a child who is in trouble. Maybe a child who's making bad decisions. Life is going in the wrong 00:27:04.640 --> 00:27:11.400 direction. And you, as a parent, you would do anything to help and to rescue the child that you love. 00:27:11.400 --> 00:27:18.380 But you have that experience of help being pushed away. There's a particular kind of grief there. 00:27:19.860 --> 00:27:29.680 Think about the language that Jesus uses in verse 34. Personal language. Think about the shock 00:27:29.680 --> 00:27:35.940 of the Son of God, the eternal Son of God, using farmyard language. Such is his care. 00:27:35.940 --> 00:27:44.140 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you. How often 00:27:44.140 --> 00:27:53.200 I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, 00:27:53.660 --> 00:28:01.180 and you were not willing. Think about that. Jesus pictures himself like a mother hen. 00:28:01.180 --> 00:28:07.279 The Son of God says, I'd be like a mother hen to chicks. You know, when danger comes, when there's 00:28:07.279 --> 00:28:16.200 a predator in the farmyard, the hen will gather the chicks for safety. Jesus would gather the people 00:28:16.200 --> 00:28:24.600 of Jerusalem to enjoy God's salvation and security. Jesus would gather you and I to find security and 00:28:24.599 --> 00:28:38.179 safety from him today. But you're not willing, Jesus says, you were not willing. We began with a question, 00:28:38.299 --> 00:28:46.519 Lord, are only a few people going to be saved? Jesus says, some people will not be saved because 00:28:46.519 --> 00:28:56.099 they'll deliberately choose that. Deliberately have a hard heart towards Jesus. Deliberately say no to him 00:28:56.099 --> 00:29:05.099 as king. Jesus would offer life and we'd say, no, thank you. The solemn note of judgment comes, look, 00:29:05.099 --> 00:29:18.480 your house has left you desolate. Pictures, the city as a bunch of ruins. They saw that in the Old Testament 00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:27.459 because judgment would come in the end on unbelief. And then Jesus quotes from Psalm 118, which we read 00:29:27.459 --> 00:29:33.659 earlier, I tell you, you'll not see me again until you say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 00:29:35.099 --> 00:29:42.379 We could fast forward to chapter 19. Chapter 19 is when Jesus finally approaches Jerusalem, 00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:49.879 the triumphal entry it's called. He rides into Jerusalem as the humble king riding on a donkey, 00:29:50.039 --> 00:29:54.759 and behind him there are crowds of followers from Galilee, and they're singing this song, 00:29:54.859 --> 00:30:03.319 blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. But in Jerusalem, there's another crowd that gathers, 00:30:03.319 --> 00:30:18.779 and there's a different cry that goes up. Crucify him. We have no king but Caesar. His blood be on our heads. 00:30:18.779 --> 00:30:31.119 Some welcome the coming of the king, some reject. There's another coming of Jesus at which this psalm 00:30:31.119 --> 00:30:39.240 could be sung. When Jesus comes again at the end of history, the Bible tells us everyone will see him, 00:30:39.240 --> 00:30:45.619 even those who pierced him. We're told every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is 00:30:45.619 --> 00:30:52.239 Lord. Everybody will recognize on that day who Jesus truly is. But there's a tragedy 00:30:52.239 --> 00:31:01.799 that for those who miss the window of opportunity in this life, those who say no to Jesus as Savior and 00:31:01.799 --> 00:31:07.599 Lord in this life, they will recognize him then as Lord all too late, 00:31:07.599 --> 00:31:17.939 bowing then only to receive judgment. I was reading words from J.C. Ryle, the 19th century bishop of 00:31:17.939 --> 00:31:29.159 Liverpool. One sentence stood out to me. He said this, hell itself is nothing but truth known too late. 00:31:30.619 --> 00:31:35.339 See, on that day when Jesus returns as king and judge, when he returns to gather his people, 00:31:35.339 --> 00:31:42.279 to enter that joyful feast that will last forever, some will know too late. Jesus was the Savior I 00:31:42.279 --> 00:31:48.359 needed. Jesus was the one who would forgive sin and put things right between me and God. 00:31:49.339 --> 00:31:57.759 Jesus really does give perfect love. Jesus really is the only way into this perfect world that would last 00:31:57.759 --> 00:32:12.359 forever. But I said no. Now all I know is Jesus the judge. How awful on that day to realize too late 00:32:12.359 --> 00:32:23.960 Jesus is the Savior we need today. Jesus is willing. Are we willing to receive him and to be saved? 00:32:23.960 --> 00:32:31.700 Someone asked Jesus, Lord, are only a few people going to be saved? It's interesting. Jesus doesn't 00:32:31.700 --> 00:32:37.720 actually directly answer the question. He doesn't want us to speculate on numbers. But what his word 00:32:37.720 --> 00:32:45.660 says to each of us today, loud and clear, is that today is a day of opportunity and a day of invitation. 00:32:45.660 --> 00:32:54.040 An invitation from Jesus himself to trust in him to enter the feast of his love, his goodness, and his joy. 00:32:55.440 --> 00:33:01.580 He invites us to recognize, to hear that God, through his son Jesus, has done everything required for our 00:33:01.580 --> 00:33:11.759 salvation. All we need to do is to trust in him, to live for him, with a promise that no one will be lost 00:33:11.759 --> 00:33:18.579 to come to him in faith. We have heard Jesus say from his heart he is willing to save. 00:33:19.839 --> 00:33:23.180 The Bible tells us God takes no delight in the death of the wicked. 00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:29.799 And he shows patience to us, giving us a chance today to repent and to believe. 00:33:31.099 --> 00:33:37.980 So the door is narrow, because Jesus is the only way to life with God. But the promises of the gospel, 00:33:37.980 --> 00:33:50.360 the gracious invitation, the call of Jesus, they go wide to each one of us. Will we hear? Will we 00:33:50.360 --> 00:33:55.500 believe? Will we enter? Let's pray briefly. 00:33:59.579 --> 00:34:07.940 Lord, our God, we thank you that Jesus came to answer that question. There are only a few going 00:34:07.940 --> 00:34:17.280 to be saved in a different ways, reminding us that he had come to accomplish the work of salvation, 00:34:17.920 --> 00:34:24.240 to complete the plan that everything is done, that all has been made ready, 00:34:24.800 --> 00:34:35.079 but also to remind us of our responsibility to take the opportunity to be willing to receive Jesus, 00:34:35.079 --> 00:34:44.319 to acknowledge him as King and Savior today. Lord, pray for any, especially who are wrestling with 00:34:44.319 --> 00:34:50.539 the truth of who Jesus is and what he came to do, wrestling with his claims on their lives. 00:34:51.759 --> 00:34:59.679 Help them to commit and to trust, to enjoy life with you. I pray for those whose lives and hearts are 00:34:59.679 --> 00:35:03.219 full of questions. I pray that by your Spirit you'd be answering those questions. 00:35:05.319 --> 00:35:12.079 Lord, that together we might know the joy of salvation. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:35:14.739 --> 00:35:23.759 Now we're going to sing the hymn, Grace. That reminds us how it is that we are saved, 00:35:23.760 --> 00:35:31.500 not by our efforts, but by God's grace to us in and through the Lord Jesus. So let's stand as we sing grace. 00:35:31.500 --> 00:35:31.900 Amen. 00:35:31.900 --> 00:35:32.500 Amen. 00:35:32.500 --> 00:35:32.900 Amen. 00:35:32.900 --> 00:35:33.060 Amen. 00:35:33.060 --> 00:35:33.400 Amen. 00:35:33.400 --> 00:35:33.500 Amen. 00:35:33.500 --> 00:35:33.560 Amen. 00:35:33.560 --> 00:35:33.620 Amen. 00:35:33.620 --> 00:35:33.700 Amen.