Luke 13:22-30 Sermon

Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost (Christian Education)

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS) 

Warnings from the Word Series: “The Door Is Narrow”

Luke 13:22-30

22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”  He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’ 28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.” (NIV)

The two things that really concern us when boarding an airplane are 1) “Is there going to be enough space left in the overhead compartment for my carry on?” and 2) “Who am I going to be sitting next to on the flight?  Most, however, are not terribly concerned about the plane crashing or the pilot needing to make an emergency landing.  Neither should we be, as the chances of anyone of us ever experiencing such a thing are highly unlikely.  Nevertheless, one thing you can expect to hear every single time you board a plane, stow your luggage, and buckle your belt, is a quick run-through by the flight attendants of what to do in the case of an emergency.  You know the drill.  In the case of extreme turbulence the overhead panel will open up and oxygen masks will drop down.  And in case there is anyone on board who is unaware that oxygen is inhaled through the mouth or nose, the attendant informs us that the mask goes over the face.  Directions are given for tightening the mask, and everyone has received the proper crash course – no pun intended – on what to do in the event of a crash landing.  Many of us have been through the routine so many times, that as soon as we’re seated and start getting into that book or checking our messages one last time before take off, we tend to tune out the flight attendant’s safety warnings. 

We cannot do the same with Jesus’ Warning from the Word this morning; we cannot tune it out.  His warning does not fall under the “nice-to-know-but-not-really-necessary” category, because it is a warning that applies to that all people.  In fact, his warning applies to what is in essence the one thing that matters in everyone’s life – whether or not heaven awaits them in the future.  The warning Jesus issues pictures access into his heavenly mansion as being through a door, and his warning is this: The Door Is Narrow.   

Sadly, we know from various real-life tragedies what can happen when a disaster occurs that requires a large number of people to escape through a small space.  Not everyone is going to be able to make it.  The same can be said of the narrow door into heaven: not everyone is going to make it.  Jesus’ warning to the man who asked him the question was a wake-up call: be less concerned about the total number of those who will make it, and more concerned that you’ll be among them.

Many will not make it because time will run out on them.  Jesus explained, “Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us’” (v.25).  The door is only open for a limited time, and once it closes, there are no second chances.  That door will close for every single person in one of two ways.  It closes at the moment of death, or it closes when Jesus returns on Judgment Day.  Either way though, once it is closed, that door does not open again.  When it comes to death and what follows, avoidance, indifference, and delay are risky bets.  The stakes are much too high to ignore the one thing in life that actually matters.  The Door Is Narrow.

While for many time, will simply run out, others will be shocked to find out they will be excluded on the basis of a lack of qualifications.  Those who are stuck outside pleading, “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets” (v.26) unfortunately missed the point.  “But I was brought up in the church and I was confirmed,” or “I have friends that go to church, or “I thought all religious paths led to the same destination” won’t cut it.  Just as Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse won’t honor your coupon from Beef & Bun, neither will anything apart from Christ allow anyone to enter through the narrow door.  Heaven doesn’t accept competitor’s coupons.  The Door Is Narrow.

Of course none of this matters if we see Jesus’ warning as nothing more than an opportunity to nod heads in agreement, but don’t each bother to personally apply his warning to ourselves.  The saddest thing in the world would be for those who hear the warning to naively assume it only applies to everyone else.  No, the warning is for you.  It is for me.  Conduct a spiritual self-assessment and make sure you don’t fall into any of the afore-mentioned categories.  And if you have, then it is time to take Jesus seriously and “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door” (v.24).

And do so taking note that while “many” will not be able to enter through that door, Jesus didn’t say that all would be excluded.  No, his warning is not meant to send us into a spiral of despair, but rather to cause us to wake up and smell the coffee, and acknowledge that our spiritual welfare is not something to be trifled with or taken lightly.  There is a fine line between being overconfident and being assured.  We don’t want to be overconfident at the foot of the door, only to be blind-sided by having the door slammed in our face.

However, we can be assured.  How?  Go back to the beginning of Jesus’ encounter with this young man and recall the background Luke provides.  He introduces this interaction with the words, “Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem” (v.22). 

Jerusalem.  For Jesus it wasn’t a tourist destination.  He wasn’t heading to Jerusalem to visit family or friends.  Jerusalem was where his tomb was waiting to eagerly devour his dead body.  Jerusalem is where the cross called out to him, beckoning him to finish what he was born in the flesh to do: die.  With his flawless life and ministry, the curtains had fallen on Act 1 of the drama of salvation; his sinless life and righteous obedience were necessary so that his perfection could be applied to you and me.  At Jerusalem the lights dimmed and Act II was carried out; he suffered and died to pay for our sin, which we desperately needed.  For where Jesus this morning has told us to make every effort, too often we’ve relaxed with very little effort.  Where Jesus has warned us that many won’t make it through the door, we’ve arrogantly brushed off that warning and assumed it applies to everyone else because, well, “I’m me, and they’re not, and of course I’ll make it through the door.”  But we’ll be in for a rude awakening unless we cling firmly to Jesus alone to enter through the door.  The only way one enters is by the blood Jesus shed for forgiveness.  Recall in Egypt how God’s people observed the Passover by smearing the blood of the Passover lamb on their doorposts so that death would pass over their home.  That blood symbolized the blood shed by Jesus, shed so that we could cross the threshold of the narrow door and enter into heaven.  That access is granted only to those who by God’s grace know and believe that they have been covered by Jesus’ blood.

Does it make sense why we have such a high regard for Christian education and recognize how vital it is in the life of the Christian?  Really, Satan’s work can be boiled down to one goal: undermining the life and death of Jesus, because he knows that is all that is needed to spend eternity in heaven.  Through Christian education the Holy Spirit counters the devil’s work.  As the Holy Spirit trains us for spiritual battle through his Word and sacraments, we are much better equipped to recognize and defend against the devil’s attacks.

So we rejoice that one of the ways God has allowed his Holy Spirit to carry out that training is through the elementary school we’ve been blessed with for 40 years.  For four decades we have been able to help families make every effort by hearing, learning, and seeing Jesus’ grace daily, while at the same time receiving an excellent education and being prepared to excel well beyond elementary school.  And while teaching styles and methods have changed significantly over those 40 years, the focus on the Savior has not, nor will it.  For forty years children have memorized the Scriptures, their books of the Bible, and what those books are all about, preparing them for a lifetime of continued study in the Word, so that Jesus will keep them close.  Another blessing provided through the school for 40 years is that by default it guards against the godless garbage that is required to be taught in other schools.  No, it doesn’t completely shelter our children from the world, nor should it, but our school has minimized the world’s influence and protected young hearts and minds from being exposed to what society determines is appropriate for them.  Oh, and boys will use the boys bathroom, while girls will use the girls bathroom.

But let us not run the risk of turning that blessing into a curse by presuming that an elementary school stands alone in providing Christian education.  The devil works very hard on parents and families to deceive us into thinking we have “made every effort” simply by enrolling our children in the elementary school.  But not every effort is being made if the Word is not heard first and foremost in the home.

Do we get intimidated or overwhelmed by the prospect of making the Word more prominent in the home?  Perhaps we’ve confused what God is asking of us as parents.  He isn’t asking you to be theologians who can answer every question that might ever come up.  Rather, Jesus is just asking to be invited into your home on a regular basis, so that he can bring blessings with him.  If you’re intimidated by reading the Bible together as a family, then have your child read it to you.  They love to read, and using the Bible as the textbook sends a clear message to our children that it is important.  You don’t have to have the perfect prayer at bedtime; let your children take turns praying for what’s on their hearts and minds.  You’ll be amazed by what you hear, and it may just bolster your prayer life a bit as well.  Dad and mom, you have more influence than any teacher or pastor will ever have on your children.  That also means you have a lot more leeway when you don’t get it right; you’ll get more chances. Children are very forgiving of mom and dad.  When it comes to Jesus, what you do or don’t in your home will have more influence on your children than 9 years in our elementary school and every Sunday in church – combined. 

Now don’t take that to mean that being in church regularly isn’t important.  We have not “made every effort” if the Word is not heard regularly in God’s house as well.  Many of you have expressed the positive impact worship has on your week, and conversely, the negative impact it has when you miss it.  Should it surprise us that God keeps his promise of blessing us through his Word?  Of course not!  Active involvement in worship and in our congregation in general is not what gets us into heaven; but it is an important part of Christian education that keeps us centered in the One who alone does get us into heaven: Jesus.

Let all three – church, home, and school – work together to provide the richest Christian education possible, so that we can truly say that we’ve “made every effort.”  We have made every effort to keep our focus on the life-saving truth that access through the narrow door comes only through the life and death of Jesus.

As our lives are enriched more and more through Christian education, as we are making every effort to allow Jesus to enrich our lives through Christian education in every way possible, we become increasingly aware of something else: Jesus’ warning this morning is not intended to be heard only by us.  “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to” (v.24).  I pray that our concern with Jesus’ words doesn’t stop with self.  I pray that when we hear those words, “many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to,” that in place of a “ha – told you so” attitude that our sinful nature might wish to direct toward unbelievers, Jesus’ warning would instead tug at our hearts and stir up in us a genuine, heartfelt concern for those on the path to having the door shut in their faces.  As a congregation we’re about seeking the lost and serving the found.  Woe to us if we ever fall into the trap of being comfortable with only serving the found and taking care of ourselves.

Another benefit of Christian education is that it guards against that.  The more my life is filled up with Jesus, the more Jesus I have and want to give to others.  So Christian education keeps the focus where it needs to be for us to fit through the narrow door, but it also builds up our passion for the lost, a passion that Jesus would have translate into effort and action in helping others see Jesus as their only hope through the narrow door.

As many times as many of us have heard the pre-flight spiel about what to do with our oxygen masks, we no doubt can recall the specific direction given to adults with small children: adults, first secure your own masks, then assist the little ones with theirs.  So it is with Christian education.  Feed yourself with Jesus so that you don’t run the risk of being shut outside the narrow door.  Then, reach out to others and warn them so that they don’t run the risk of being shut out either.  Your mask is already on and secure; now help others with theirs.  Amen.

                                                              

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)