He is not a teacher who answers all sorts of speculative questions. He is your Savior, who answers the one question which matters the most for you: “How will you be saved?”
This spring, I was at a graduation party that involved a water balloon toss. I was paired up with the graduate and she desperately wanted to win. Evidently, her brothers always won the toss and this year she wanted to beat them. So, she took me aside and gave me advice on the skills necessary to toss a water balloon back and forth the most times without breaking it.
“It’s all about being in a receiving position,” she said. “Have a slight bend to your knees, so that, if the balloon comes in high, you can rise up or, if it comes in low, you can go lower. Have your hands partially extended from your body so, if the balloon falls short, you can reach out to catch it, and if it goes long, you can draw your hands in to catch it.” With her advice, we won the toss, which, unbeknownst to me, meant being pelted with the remaining water balloons for our efforts.
I thought of that graduation party when I read the text for today, because Jesus is offering His disciples advice and the advice ultimately puts us in the receiving position for a true relationship with Him.
Luke tells us Jesus was walking through towns and villages teaching and making His way to Jerusalem. Part of His teaching involved responding to questions from His followers. Luke decides to include one of those exchanges.
Someone asks Jesus, “Lord, will those who are saved be few” (verse 23)? People pose similar questions today. “Who are the 144,000?” “Do you believe that only Lutherans are going to Heaven?”
Interestingly, Jesus does not directly answer the question. On the one hand, it sounds like the ones who are saved will be few, because Jesus says, “Many... will seek to enter and will not be able” (verse 24), but, on the other hand, it sounds like the ones who are saved will be many, because they include “Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets” along with people “from east and west, and from north and south” (verses 28-29). Instead of directly answering the question, Jesus redirects the conversation. He redirects the conversation to get the questioner into a receiving position for His saving work. Unfortunately, that is not a comfortable position to be in. In case you did not notice it, consider how Jesus puts the questioner in the position of a person who is damned.
He redirects the conversation to get the questioner into a receiving position for His saving work. Unfortunately, that is not a comfortable position to be in.
First, in His parable, Jesus asks the questioner to stand among those who are outside the house, asking the master to let them in. By asking the questioner to stand in that position, Jesus has the questioner hear the master’s rejection, “I do not know where you come from” (verse 25). Then, Jesus brings the message closer to home. Jesus takes the current situation, a person listening to Jesus teach in the streets, and has the questioner use that specific situation of being taught by Jesus as a way of gaining entrance to the Kingdom. This, however, only results in being told, “Depart from me, all you workers of evil!” (verse 27). Finally, Jesus has the questioner imagine the final day when God offers a vision of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all of the prophets at the banquet table of God and then recognize that “you yourselves [are] cast out” (verse 28).
Jesus has implicitly asked the questioner a question. Can you see yourself as damned? Can you see yourself as a worker of iniquity? Can you see yourself as a sinner, unworthy of salvation, with nothing you can do to make it into Heaven?
If so, you are indeed in the receiving position for God’s love. God saves sinners. That is the only kind of people He saves. The mission of Jesus is to seek and to save the lost. He has come to bring salvation to the damned, forgiveness to the sinful, a work of grace to the workers of iniquity. If you do not recognize yourself as sinful, if you cannot see yourself as worthy of damnation, if you believe that merely being in the presence of Jesus, eating with Him or listening to Him teach is a ticket into Heaven, you will not be saved.
In our text, someone asks Jesus the question, “How many people will be saved?” Jesus does not answer that question. What Jesus does do, however, is pose a different question. He poses the question, “How will many people be saved?” Many people will be saved by the gracious work of Jesus, opening the door to those who are sinful and saving those who are unable to save themselves.
Jesus does not want to engage in speculative conversations about the Kingdom of Heaven and about how many people will be there. Instead, He wants a personal conversation with you. You can spend your time wondering what the Kingdom of Heaven will be like and how many people will be there, but what Jesus would rather have you do is confess that you are a sinner, unable to save yourself. Then you will discover who He truly is. He is not a teacher who answers all sorts of speculative questions. He is your Savior, who answers the one question which matters the most for you: “How will you be saved?”
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on Luke Luke 13:22-30.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Luke Luke 13:22-30.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
