In or out?
by Jim Strelan
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Indeed, there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last (Luke 13:30).
Read Luke 13:22–30
Have you followed Jesus all your life, been born into a Christian family, always attended church and regularly read your devotions, or have you only recently begun following him?
Have you noticed – if you are in the former category – that those who have only come to faith recently seem to have greater enthusiasm and passion for the gospel than you do? If you’ve always been a Christian, it’s easy to fall into patterns. Patterns aren’t necessarily bad, but they can become routine, something you take for granted.
In this passage, Jesus alludes to things without spelling them out clearly. He speaks of a narrow door and a locked door that, despite much knocking, is unopened. And then there’s the strange statement about the first being last and the last first. Compared to a wide door, the narrow one is harder to get through. Getting through it is almost unexpected; it can’t be taken for granted. And the locked door, with some inside and some outside, reminds us of the parable of the bridesmaids from a couple of days ago. Some weren’t ready, and the door to the wedding feast was closed.
In Jesus’ time, some were born into the faith, grew up in the faith and observed all its rituals and expectations. Others were outside that faith (Gentiles) and had only just begun to follow Jesus. And those with a long tradition of faith had their noses put out of joint by these ‘johnny-come-latelys’.
To those of the old Abrahamic faith, Jesus’ message is: You think you can just waltz in through the wide door? Just claim your label as the people of God? There will be many from the east and the west and the north and the south, many not of your tradition, who will come in, while many who presumed they had a right to get in will be excluded.
Jesus doesn’t tell us the exact criteria for entry or denial. But we can say that it begins with acknowledging Jesus as the one sent by God and recognising that our inclusion is an act of grace, not a right.
Long-time or recent Christian, Jesus calls you, claims you, invites you. Live in gratitude and trust in his goodness.
Lord Jesus, this is a hard thing to grasp. Will the door be opened or closed to me? I trust that you are gracious and that to exclude is not your first priority. By your Spirit, I ask you to help me live with continual gratitude, grasping the privilege you offer rather than claiming any right. Amen.
Jim is a retired pastor living with his wife Ruth in Deception Bay, Queensland. He spends his retirement making space to add more Lions’ premiership posters to the six (3+3) he already has on his garage wall.
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