The Narrow Path Toward the Heavenly Kingdom.

(Luke 13:22-30).

A question was posed to the Lord by an individual, as He traveled from Galilee to Jerusalem: “Lord, are there few who are saved?” Apparently, the inquiring individual posed this question while bearing in mind some of Christ the Savior’s strict demands from those who wish to enter the Kingdom of the Messiah. The Lord responds to this question sternly and tersely, not only to him personally, but to everybody there: “Strive to enter through the narrow gate…” — example often applied by Him. Kingdom of the Messiah or Christ’s Church, is presented here in the guise of a house, which apart from its grand entrance doors, also has another narrow, tight door through which entry was permitted occasionally. Many will seek entry through this narrow door, but will not be successful — because they are much corrupted morally and have all types of preconceptions regarding the Messiah’s Kingdom. The meaning behind this representation is that, to the Jews of that time, entrance through repentance and selflessness into the Messiah’s Kingdom, did appear tight. With that, owing to the spread of misconceptions by the Pharisees, they incapable to enter. “When once the Master of the house has risen” — God is presented as Master of a house, sitting and waiting for His friends for supper; then getting up and locking the doors of His house, not permitting others to enter.

This is a depiction of the time of the Lord’s judgment of every human being, and of everybody after the Second coming of Christ. Everybody will be judged outside the tranquil habitat — where supper is taking place with the Lord and His friends — as unworthy of blessed communion with God, even though they acknowledge their sins and will be trying to enter. However, it will be too late. After death there is no repentance. Being rejected, they will commence uttering: “We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets,” i.e. being unworthy of entering for supper, they will remind the Master that they are known to Him, that outwardly, they were followers of Christ’s teachings. However, they were not genuine Christians, and that’s why they will be rejected. Their words are particularly fitting, in a literal sense, to the Jews, especially as they rejected their Messiah and as a consequence, forfeited their right of entry into the Messiah’s Kingdom. They will realize their error with His Second Coming, but then it will be too late, and they will receive the answer: “I tell you I do not know you…Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity. Heathens that have believed in Christ “from the east and the west, from the north and the south,” i.e. from all the corners of the globe, shall enter the Messiah’s Kingdom — in place of the rejected Jews. “And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last,” — the Jews regarded themselves as being the “first.” But because they were rejected by the Messiah, they will end up being “last”; the “first” to enter the Messiah’s Kingdom will be the heathens, whom they regarded as being “last.” This is exactly true of all those that regarded themselves as being the “first,” but in reality did not fulfill Christ’s commandments as they should have. They will all appear at the Last Judgment as “last,” while those that they despised, will be “first.”