Well, as has been said already, my name is Alistair. It's great to see you here this morning.
Now, as we were reading that passage, maybe you thought there was quite a bit of weird stuff in there.
There's a bit about narrow door, a bit about city, striving. There's quite a lot of strange language.
So before we look into this passage in detail, let's pray together for God's help.
Heavenly Father, we thank you that you have given us your word.
And Lord, we pray that you would help us now as we look at it, that we would be touched,
and you would help us understand the difficulties of it. In Jesus' name we ask. Amen.
Have you ever thought about the distinction between being a fan or a follower?
So when I was growing up, you can say, well, think about me for example.
You can say that I'm a fan of football, but I'm not a follower.
So growing up, my grandpa and my uncle were huge football supporters of the team Glasgow Rangers.
Maybe you've heard of them.
Now, as a child, that really rubbed off on me.
So if you come to me even today after the service, you say, which football team do you support?
I will proudly say Glasgow Rangers.
But if you dig around a little bit, you'll realize that I know absolutely nothing about the team.
Never been to a live game. Don't even watch them on TV.
Don't know anything about the players. Don't know the manager.
I know absolutely nothing about the team. So I'm a fan, but I'm not a follower.
Now, a follower of Glasgow Rangers would be someone who goes to the live games,
who watches them on TV, who knows about the players, knows the manager,
could tell you about the fixtures that are coming in the next season.
They could talk to you for hours on end about their team.
But that's not me. That is a follower, not a fan.
Or when you think about social media, how many of you have liked or followed famous people?
Movies, TV shows, singers, the list goes on and on of people that we like.
But are you a fan or are you a follower?
Now, I'm a follower of a few good guys on social media.
If you're taking notes, these are guys to keep your eyes on.
So Tim Keller, John Piper, Don Carson, Matt Chandler, Kevin DeYoung, all really good guys.
But do I really know them?
Sadly, no, I don't.
I read their blogs. I read their books.
Yes, I listen to their sermons and I like to get involved with the stuff they put out there,
but I don't know them personally.
I'm not on a first name basis with them.
Yes, I'm definitely a fan, but I'm not a follower.
And the question that this passage is asking you this morning is,
are you a fan or are you a follower of Jesus?
Now, there is a distinction there and we'll see that this morning,
but I want you to have that question in the back of your mind as we look at Luke chapter 13.
Are you a fan of Jesus?
Are you someone who sits and listens to the things of God?
You hear the stories about Jesus.
You might even shake the preacher's hand at the door and say, good job.
But the minute you walk through that door, it has no bearing on your life.
Are you a fan of Jesus?
Or are you a follower of Jesus?
Are you someone who goes to church?
You hear the things of God.
You hear the stories about Jesus and you believe them.
Are you worshipping God with everything you are?
With your heart, your soul, your mind?
Are you striving to live a life of obedience?
Are you a follower of Jesus?
So keep that question in the back of your minds.
Are you a fan or a follower?
And open your Bibles and let's look at Luke 13.
But before we dive into that passage, I want to put it in some context.
So the Gospel of Luke, surprisingly, was written by a man called Luke.
Luke, and he was a doctor, and he wrote this book with a specific purpose in mind.
And that was that Theophilus, the person who commissioned him to write his Gospel,
would have certainty concerning the things that he had been taught.
And we see that in Luke chapter 1, verse 4.
Luke has written his Gospel so that people can have certainty about Jesus,
about his birth, his life, his death, and his resurrection.
And as it says on the tin, the Gospel of Luke is an orderly account.
It's got quite a clear structure.
So in the first nine chapters, we're introduced to the person of Jesus.
And Luke tells us that Jesus is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies.
And then from Luke chapter 9, verse 51, the book kind of changes.
And we see Jesus traveling towards Jerusalem.
Jesus sets his face towards Jerusalem.
And from this moment on, in Luke's Gospel, the focus is that Jesus is journeying towards Jerusalem.
He is journeying towards the cross.
The place where he will pay for the sins and wrongdoings of mankind.
Luke chapter 9, verse 51, right through to 13, verse 21, is one section of Luke's orderly account.
And we see that because it's bookended with the phrase that Jesus was,
or something along the lines of that Jesus was going to Jerusalem.
And in this section, which Graham concluded for us two weeks ago,
there has been one big teaching point, one big takeaway thing,
one big question that Luke has been asking.
And that is, what does it mean to follow this king?
If Jesus is the king of God's kingdom, if Jesus is the king of heaven, which Luke says he is,
then what would it look like for us to follow him today?
And that is what Luke has taught us in the previous section.
But then Luke chapter 13, verse 22, marks the beginning of a new section
that runs through to 1710.
And the big teaching point, the big question that Luke wants us to wrestle with
is who will be in this kingdom?
If Jesus is the king of God's kingdom, then who will be in his kingdom?
The kingdom of God refers to what we call heaven.
And the question is, who are these kingdom citizens?
Who are the people that can call the kingdom of God home?
And we see that right in the passage which Joanna helpfully read to us in verse 23,
where it says, someone asked him, that's someone asked Jesus,
Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?
So in our passage this morning, Jesus asked that question.
And Luke, in his orderly account, shows us two things in what Jesus says.
First of all, Luke tells us about the kingdom people.
He tells us this in verses 22 to 30.
He tells us that these people are distinct and that these people are diverse.
And then secondly, Luke tells us in verses 31 to 35, he tells us about the king.
The king who is both tough and tender.
So we're going to look at Luke chapter 13.
But as we do, remember, keep that question in the back of your mind.
Are you a fan or are you a follower of Jesus?
So let's look first of all at the kingdom people in verses 22 to 30.
Now Jesus has been traveling around Galilee.
It's a place in Israel.
And he's been making his way towards Jerusalem.
And as he goes, he has been teaching the crowds.
And now remember, all the time as Jesus is traveling towards Jerusalem,
you see the cross on the horizon.
And as Jesus sees the cross, there's no excitement.
Now when we go on holiday, for example, you're in the plane and you're sitting there,
you look out the window and you see Spain or you see Australia,
you see whatever your holiday destination is on the horizon, you get excited.
You're thinking, yes, that's where I'm going to be for a week or two.
That's where I'm going to be sitting in the sun, relaxing.
You get excited at the prospect of where you're going.
There is no excitement here.
Jesus is not excited as he travels towards Jerusalem because he knows that that's where the cross is.
He knows what needs to happen and where he must go and what he must do.
So Jesus is traveling around.
He is teaching.
And it would appear that out of the blue, this man asks a question.
Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?
But this question isn't out of the blue.
Up until now, Jesus has been teaching the crowds and he's mentioned judgment, division.
He's mentioned the dangers of living a religious life without having a devotion to God.
And all of these comments seem to have struck a nerve with someone in the crowds.
And so this man asks his question.
Now Jesus, being the amazing storyteller that he is,
if you ever wanted someone to tell goodnight stories to your children,
someone who could come up with a story on the spot, it was Jesus.
And he uses this as an opportunity to teach the whole crowd about the kingdom people.
And he uses objects that are around people or that people would have known to get his point across.
And so instead of answering this question directly, Jesus uses an illustration.
The illustration of a narrow door.
So Jesus says to the crowd that are around him that everyone should strive to enter through this narrow door.
So this is not just a door that you can walk across accidentally.
It's not a door that you can stumble across and walk through.
But the kingdom people are distinct.
Because they've walked through this narrow door.
The word that Jesus uses there, your Bibles will say,
make every effort, or as other translations put it, strive.
The idea is that it is a struggle.
It is an ongoing fight to enter through this door.
The word is usually used in terms of athletes.
And people who are in sports who struggle and contend to win the race.
It's the dedication that a person requires to win the Olympic gold medal.
It's the dedication and passion that a person requires to finish the marathon,
even though there are physical walls and mental walls.
So I've been told.
I mean, doesn't it make sense that Jesus says that many will try to enter through this door
but will not be able to if it's a struggle?
Just because I can struggle my way through a 5K, barely,
doesn't mean that I can run a marathon
or that I can rock up to the Olympics and win a gold medal
just by trying my best.
The idea is a constant struggle,
constantly making an effort to get through this narrow door.
But there's two questions that this raises.
First of all, what is this narrow door?
And second of all, what does it mean to be saved?
So when thought in light of the question asked,
it's quite clear that this narrow door that Jesus is talking about
is referring to entrance into the kingdom of God,
entrance into heaven.
And the only way into this kingdom is through this narrow door.
What about being saved?
What does it mean for someone to be saved?
Well, every Jew, and Jesus is speaking to Jews here,
every Jew would have understood that people are eternal,
that there is a life after death,
and that there are only two options to spend an eternity,
and that is the option to spend eternity with God
or an option to spend eternity without God.
So there are two places.
We often refer to them today as heaven or as hell.
Heaven is the kingdom of God.
That is where God is.
It is an eternity with God.
And then hell is the place without God,
an eternity without God.
Now hell is a difficult reality.
It really is.
But it is something that the Bible teaches.
And we can't fully understand God and his world
unless we grapple with the topic of hell.
And the man asking the question knows that an eternity without God
is not an eternity that he wants.
And he knows it is an eternity that no one should desire,
an eternity without God.
So that's what it means to be saved,
to be in a right relationship with God,
to be forgiven of our sins, of our rebellion,
and to look forward to spending an eternity with God,
in the kingdom of God.
But a person cannot,
a person cannot work their way into the kingdom.
A person cannot do enough good works
which would get them into the kingdom of God.
The idea of striving
is not so that you can earn your salvation,
but it is a striving to live a life of obedience to God
out of a thankful heart
for the salvation that Jesus has made possible.
So you cannot work to get into the kingdom of God.
And the idea is that many will try
to get into the kingdom of God through other ways,
through other doors,
but they will not be able.
Isn't this counter-cultural?
Doesn't this go against everything our culture and our world believes?
You might have heard the saying before
that all religions lead to God.
There are multiple ways,
multiple doors to God,
into the kingdom of God.
If we were to go out into Edinburgh this morning
and ask people who believe in a life after death
how it is you get there,
I'm sure we would hear countless times
that, oh, but no, there are many ways to God.
There's not just one,
there are many ways to God.
But Jesus is teaching us this morning
that there is only one way into salvation.
The only way into the kingdom of God
is through this narrow door,
is through a proper response to him and his teaching.
It is a narrow door which requires a distinct response to Jesus.
But not only is this door narrow,
in verse 25 we have a sobering truth,
and that is that one day this door will be closed.
Jesus is warning people
because one day this door will be closed
and when it is closed it will not be reopened.
Jesus is speaking with urgency
because he doesn't want people to reject his salvation.
But instead he wants people to repent,
to be made right with God.
And Jesus says that once that way of salvation is closed,
it will not be reopened.
Some will stand at the door and they will knock,
but they will not be allowed in.
People will say,
but Jesus you have to let us into your kingdom.
We were there with you.
We listened to your teaching.
We saw you.
We saw all you did.
We heard you.
But they will not be allowed into the kingdom.
And the point that Jesus is making
is that unless they responded to his message of repentance,
they would not be allowed into the kingdom of God.
And the striking thing is that this goes for the people
who walked around with Jesus,
who followed him at a distance.
They would have heard Jesus speaking
and they would say,
Jesus we were your fans for a long time.
But he will say,
be gone from me because you are not my followers.
They didn't respond in their own hearts.
And notice the passive language
that Luke is using in verse 25.
They sat, they listened, they saw.
It washed over them.
But it didn't affect them.
They didn't respond.
And Jesus is warning them,
saying that they should respond.
They should respond now because time is short.
You see, the thing about the kingdom of God,
or heaven as we call it,
the thing about it that is so great
is that God is there.
That is what makes heaven amazing.
And the desire of kingdom people
is to spend an eternity with God.
But for those who have not made every effort
to enter through this narrow door,
they will be cast out
and they will be in a different place,
which is described in verse 28.
A place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Jesus is describing the place that we call hell.
Now as I was preparing this message this morning,
this week,
I was reading a book.
This little book here,
it's called Is Hell For Real?
It's by Eric Raymond.
And he said something in it
that really resonated with me.
And it really got me thinking
about how I speak about hell with people.
This is what he says.
Let me just read that again.
If we approach this subject of hell
with seriousness and tears in our eyes,
then we are following the example of our Lord.
The point he's making is that
Jesus wasn't using hell
to scare people to believe in him.
But he was being honest.
And he was telling the crowd
the result of rejecting him.
And as you read this passage,
you can maybe kind of see
that there are tears in Jesus' eyes.
He's begging the people.
He's urging them.
He wants them to repent.
He wants to save people.
He does not want to see anybody knocking
when the door is closed.
And Jesus is speaking to Jews,
as I mentioned.
That's why Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
and all the prophets were mentioned.
See, many of the Jews based their confidence
that they would be saved,
their confidence that they would be
in the kingdom of God,
was based on the Old Testament patriarchs,
the Old Testament forefathers of Judaism,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
They said,
they surely will be in the kingdom of God.
He's my great, great, great, great, great,
great, great grandfather.
But Jesus says that they will be in heaven
and those who have not responded
to Jesus' message will be cast out.
Jesus is making the point that ancestry,
who you're related to,
doesn't matter.
Who you know will not get you
into the kingdom of God.
Knowing somebody will not make you
a kingdom person.
That can only be made possible
through entering through this narrow door.
Through responding to Jesus Christ,
the only way to God.
So even though these people were there,
even though they were listening
and seeing everything he did,
they were fans,
they were not followers.
Now some of you might be thinking
that it's cruel that hell even exists.
Or cruel that God will one day
close this narrow door,
that the window for people to be saved
will be shut.
But I would like to say this morning
that it is an amazing truth
that a door even exists.
See, God doesn't need to save people.
Jesus didn't need to go to the cross.
God's wrath is just,
but in his love,
he sent Jesus Christ,
his son,
to pay for our sins
so that we can be made right with him again.
So I think it is an amazing truth
that a door even exists
in the first place,
don't you?
The second thing to notice
about these people
is that they are diverse.
They will come from all over the world.
You see that in verse 29
where it says,
people will come from
east and west,
north and south,
and will take their places
at the feast in the kingdom of God.
Jesus isn't concerned,
isn't only concerned,
about a small group of people
in Israel in the first century.
Jesus isn't only concerned
about people from one country,
but the kingdom people
will come from all over.
They will come from north,
east,
south,
west.
So yes,
the kingdom people are distinct
in that they have responded
and walked through this narrow door,
but they are diverse
because God's love
is not bound to one people group.
And these people
will gather together
and they will celebrate
the kingdom of God.
There will be a feast,
a banquet,
a banquet of delight
as people gather
to celebrate God's goodness.
These will be the people
who've made every effort
to enter through the narrow door.
These are the people
who've lived a life of humility,
as verse 30 suggests.
This is an upside-down kingdom.
Those who elevate themselves
will be brought low,
but those who humble themselves
will be elevated.
These are the followers of Jesus.
Now Jesus is speaking to the crowd
and he's speaking with urgency.
He's saying time is short.
Strive to enter through the narrow door
whilst it is still open.
So are you a fan
or a follower of Jesus?
If you're Christians here this morning,
Jesus is encouraging you to strive.
Continue to make every effort
to live a life of obedience.
Continue to make every effort
to be found in Jesus.
Not because that will save you.
Not because your works will save you,
but because you have a desire
to live a life that is pleasing to him.
A life of thankfulness
for what he has done for you in Jesus.
So the question this morning is,
are you striving?
And Jesus is encouraging you,
keep striving.
Maybe you're here this morning
and you've been putting Jesus off.
Maybe you've said,
well,
yeah,
church,
Jesus,
that was my parents' deal.
Now that I'm at uni,
I'm going to relax on that a little bit.
It's not really my thing.
Or maybe you've said,
I'm just too busy
right now.
I've got a lot going on in my life.
Yeah,
I'll think about Jesus,
but maybe when I'm retired.
Maybe in the future
when there's more time on my hands.
Maybe you've been sitting on the fence,
thinking that somebody else's faith,
someone else's response to Jesus
will get you into the kingdom of heaven.
Maybe you haven't heard this before,
or maybe you just think it's irrelevant.
Well,
let me urge you,
just as Jesus is urging people
to consider his message of salvation,
there is no other way
into the kingdom of God.
You cannot get in by good works.
You cannot get in by being
the son or daughter of a Christian.
I beg you,
please do not
leave this morning thinking
that this has no bearing on your life.
Do not wait.
Don't put it off
because the kingdom of God,
the door into the kingdom of God
will one day be closed.
Please,
do not be left knocking.
As Charles Spurgeon once said,
if sinners be damned,
at least let them leap
to hell over our dead bodies.
If they perish,
let them perish
with our arms wrapped around their knees,
imploring them to stay.
If hell must be filled,
let it be filled
in the teeth of our exertion.
Let no one go unwarned
and let no one go unprayed for.
Time is short.
Are you a fan?
Or are you a follower of Jesus?
There is no middle ground.
It is black or white.
Are you a fan?
Or are you a follower of Jesus?
Jesus?
The next portion of our passage this morning
tells us two amazing
and two essential truths
about the king
in verses 31 to 35.
The king Jesus.
Now what do you think
people usually think of
when they hear the name Jesus?
Now I've heard friends of mine
over the years say that,
yeah,
Jesus was a good guy,
did a lot of good stuff,
he was a good communicator,
a good moral teacher.
When you go to museums
or you see art
depicting the person of Jesus,
you usually see
someone who's quite calm,
quite sweet,
would never really hurt a fly.
Now whilst all of that is true,
to some extent,
the king that we meet
in verses 31 to 35
is tough
and he is tender.
Now he is tough.
We wouldn't usually think of Jesus
as being tough
or strong
but as Jesus was traveling
around Galilee
making his way towards Jerusalem,
some Pharisees
came to him,
Pharisees were the religious leaders
of the day
and they said,
quick,
you've got to get out of here.
Herod wants to come
and kill you.
We've met Herod before
in the Gospel of Luke,
haven't we?
In chapter 3,
Herod arrests John the Baptist
who he would later kill.
In Luke chapter 9,
it states that Herod
was perplexed
by what he heard
Jesus was teaching
and what he was doing.
But now Herod
has one thing on his mind
and that is that
he wants Jesus dead.
He wants Jesus gone.
But Jesus does not cower
in the face of death.
Jesus is tough.
Jesus is determined
to finish the task
that he has been given.
He is determined
to continue his journey
to Jerusalem.
As Jesus has been
continuing
and going to Jerusalem,
he's been casting out demons,
healing the sick,
he's been teaching
his disciples and crowds
and Jesus is saying
that none of that
is going to change
just because one man
wants him dead.
In fact,
Jesus knows
that the very path
that he is walking on
is leading to the cross.
It's leading to the place
where he would give up
his life for the people
of this world
so that they can be saved
and be in the kingdom of God.
So we see that Jesus
is tough
as he sets his face
to Jerusalem
and to the cross.
He's determined
to get there.
But then we also see
the tenderness
of Jesus
and specifically
the tenderness of Jesus
towards those
who have rejected him.
Look at verse 34
with me.
Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets
and stone those sent to you,
how often have I longed
to gather your children together
as a hen
gathers her chicks
under her wings
and you were not willing.
Can you hear
the tenderness
of Jesus?
Can you sense
the deep love
and compassion
that he has
for the people
of Israel?
And this is amazing
because in the not
so distant future,
these are the people
who nail him to the cross
and he knew that
yet he showed love.
Jesus is lamenting
over Jerusalem
which is used
to represent
the whole nation
of Israel
and Jesus laments
over Israel's track record
of killing the prophets.
The Old Testament
is full of stories
of people
who were sent
by God
to Jerusalem,
to Israel,
to warn them
of judgment,
to warn them
of their wandering
from God,
their rejection
of God's law.
But they killed them.
They didn't listen
to them.
They didn't repent.
They killed them.
And even now
as Jesus stands there
and speaks to Jerusalem
in a not so short while
he will be nailed
to a cross
and killed
though innocent.
And so Jesus says
that their house
is forsaken.
The very nation
where God
was meant to dwell,
the very nation
to whom God said
I will be your God
and you will be my people,
they have rejected him
and therefore
they have been rejected.
They have been left empty.
Now this is devastating news.
Because of their rejection
of God,
because of their rejection
of Jesus,
they too will be rejected.
And the content
and timing
of Jesus' message
calls for a response.
Jerusalem.
Will you listen
to God once more?
Will you let me
gather you
as a hen does its chicks?
Will you listen
and repent
because the kingdom
of God is at hand?
Or will you reject
God again?
If you reject God,
Jesus says
you are forsaken.
And you will not
see him again
until the day
where he comes back
into the city
on the back
of a donkey.
But Jesus
is not screaming
this message
at the people
in anger.
That's what I want us
to notice.
But Jesus
is hurt.
He is pleading
with them.
These are the people
who should have
been awaiting
Jesus' arrival.
These are the people
who should have
welcomed him
with open arms.
But instead
they will meet him
with a cross.
And Jesus is warning
them that they are
in danger.
He is warning them
that they need to
turn from their ways
and repent.
They need to
return to God.
They need to repent
and enter through
this narrow door.
So do you see
why it is amazing news
that Jesus is both
tough and tender?
Without the toughness
of Jesus,
the penalty
for our wrongdoings
wouldn't have been
paid for.
And we would have
to pay for the
punishment of our
sins by ourselves.
So we need the
toughness of Jesus.
But in his amazing
grace and his
amazing love,
he became nothing
for you and me
so that we can be
saved and be
reconciled to God.
And without the
tenderness of Jesus,
we wouldn't fully
understand the love
and compassion that
God has for his
people.
And this is directed
at a nation who
were the chosen
people of God.
And it's directed
specifically at people
within that nation who
thought that they
would be saved if they
obeyed the laws,
if they obeyed rules.
They thought if they
did that, then they
would surely be in the
kingdom of God.
Isn't this a trap that
we fall into today?
That our world falls
into so many times?
Okay, yeah, if I go to
church, if I live a good
life, if I don't kill
anyone, if I don't
cheat, if I don't steal,
if I don't lie, yeah,
God will let me in, I'm
a good guy.
The idea that we can
earn our own salvation,
that we can earn our way
into heaven is completely
wrong.
And that is what Jesus
is saying.
Don't be deceived.
The only way into
heaven, the only way to
be saved is through
entrance through this
narrow door.
The only way into
God's kingdom is to
respond to his message
of repentance.
So the question that
Jesus is asking and the
question that he is
asking you this morning
is, are you willing?
Are you willing for God
to gather you to himself,
to nurture you, to care
for you, to protect you?
Are you willing to
accept this king?
Are you willing to be a
follower and not just a
fan of Jesus?
And so in answering the
question, will only a few
be saved, Jesus explains
who the kingdom people
are.
Jesus explains that they
are the ones who strive,
who go all out to get
into the kingdom, to go
through this narrow door.
They are distinct because
they live a life of
obedience, but they are
diverse because they are
from north, east, south,
and west.
They are from everywhere.
And God will gather them
to himself and they will
celebrate in an eternity
the goodness and
greatness of our God.
And so the question is
this morning, are you
striving to enter through
this narrow door?
Are you striving?
And Luke gives us an
insight into the king of
this kingdom.
Jesus, the one who is
both tough and tender.
The one who resolutely
went to the cross, denying
himself absolutely
everything so that we can
gain the thing of utmost
importance, forgiveness
and reconciliation with God.
And the question to ask
yourself this morning is,
are you willing to accept
this king?
Are you willing?
This passage has a great
truth of God's kingdom,
but it also has a sobering
truth of life without God.
And it is not something
that should be skipped over
lightly.
And so again, I want to ask
you this question just as we
close.
Are you a fan?
Or are you a follower of
Jesus?
Let's pray together.
Lord, we ask that this would be
our cry this morning.
Let us be your followers,
not just your fans.
Let us be able to sing with
confidence that it is well with
our souls, not by any doing of
our own, but because you have
given us salvation.
Lord, give us the strength to
strive.
Give us the willingness to call you
king.
We ask this in the strong and
loving name of your son,
Jesus Christ.
Amen.