Tackling Tradition (Part 10) Luke 13:23 - 24

 Luke 13:23–24 (ESV): And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 

A day or two ago, I interacted with a gentleman on social media who used Matthew 7:13 - 14 as a means to assert that, when all was said & done, not only does the Bible teach Particularism (which is demonstrably false), it also teaches that the number of the Elect vs. that of the Reprobate tilts toward a greater number of the Reprobate than the number of the Elect.  When confronted, he ran to Luke 13 :23 - 24, saying that this text & Matthew 7:13 -14 are parallel. 

In truth, the parallel is only superficial at best.  Parallel texts should be handled the same way as analogies.  In order for an analogical argument to work, it must correspond correctly at the key points of comparison.   

Matthew 7:13 - 14 appears in the Sermon on the Mount as a reiteration of the idea expressed in Matt. 7:1 - 6.   The angry & dutiful culture warriors of the day - the majority of the Sanhedrin & Zealots, along with Herodians, Herod, Pilate, the Roman Occupation & others who thought as they did - were notorious for sitting in hypocritical judgment of each other.  Yeshua warns them that if they continue casting their pearls (the hypocrisy & judgmental attitude), thus stoking the fires of mutual enmity and continuing the cycle of mutual oppression, then the swine (their targets) would one day rise up to trample them. 

7:7 - 14 deals with Yeshua’s constructive alternative.  Instead of giving stones & serpents to their neighbors, the warring parties ought to paraclete one another.   The issue at hand is not an answer to the question, “What must I do to be saved.   The issue at hand is how to engage in principled civil disobedience in a culture in which hatred & bigotry are becoming or have become the norm, specifically how to do so without destroying one another, especially when one or more warring parties has the authority & might to rise up in reply & destroy a nation.    

Yeshua reminds us that the nature of human nature trends toward the path of violence & unbelief, which is a major reason that obedience to the Law & Gospel is so very counterintuitive.  The text has nothing whatsoever to do with Particularism vs Universalism, nor is it a statement about the ratio of the Elect to the Reprobate. 

Luke 13:23 - 24 doesn’t fit the bill either.  How so?  First of all, it’s true that my opponent’s prooftext does serve as a reply to the question, “Will only few be saved?”  However, Yeshua doesn’t state that is the case.  In fact, He infers that the opposite is true. 

Luke 13:23–24 (ESV): And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 

This only informs us that there are many who seek to enter & are unable.  Why? Because they seek to enter by way of works righteousness.  After all, Romans 8:7 is clear that those whose mind is set on the flesh are unable to please God.  That is the reflexive posture of unregenerate people in general, & the gospel of works righteousness was everywhere in 1st Century Israel.

There is more to this text.  My opponent should have considered it.

Luke 13:25–28 (ESV): When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 

It should be obvious that they are appealing to their works righteousness in order to be saved. That’s true of all unregenerate people, & in Matthew it is particularly true of the majority of the Sanhedrin & Zealots & others.  Luke’s audience is primarily Gentile.  They too affirmed a gospel of works righteousness. 

So far, we only see that Yeshua’s answer is that obedience to the Law & Gospels is majorly counterintuitive, & that the majority of people have major issues finding that path in general.  At no point does He state that when the last trumpet sounds, the minority of humanity will be saved.  All we can properly deduce at this juncture is something like “Those whose mind is set on the flesh are unable to please God,” and, “The error of the Jews’ teaching in Yeshua & Paul’s day was its emphasis on works righteousness (Romans 9:30 - 33).

Luke 13:28 (ESV): In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 

Here, the text teaches that the Pentateuch & the Prophets (& Wisdom Literature) do not teach a gospel based on works righteousness. 

Luke 13:29–30 (ESV): And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. 

Every tribe, tongue, people, & nation - not just Israel.   Here, Yeshua’s answer moves away from an emphasis on the difficulty of finding the way. 

30 And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” 

The text informs us that the purveyors & peddlers of works righteousness in Israel & in the Gentile world were all about exclusivism based on works righteousness.  That is the reflexive posture of false teachers in particular & unregenerate people in general.  Incidentally, those same people often looked down on the rest of us plebians.  There was no real middle class in those days.  It was the rich & powerful (the few) vs the rest of us (the vast majority).  

The text deploys a feast metaphor, which makes it a partial parallel to Matthew 22:1 - 14.   This text is very clear.  The Many are those in the Wedding Hall, the Few are the targets of Yeshua’s message - the Gluttons, the Majority of the Sanhedrin, a great many Zealots, Herodians, & anyone who thought like they did. 

Once upon a time, there was a king who was planning his son’s wedding.  He invited the rich & powerful, & the rich & powerful mistreated the messengers, even killing some of them.  Word got back to the king, & he responded by leveling their holdings, razing them to the ground.  

The servants reminded him about the wedding.  He commanded them to head out into the highways & byways & invite everyone to the wedding, not just the rich & powerful.   They obeyed, practically dragging them in, & the wedding hall was filled.  

However, there was one man in the hall who seemed to be a heckler &/or a hater representing the rich & powerful who had recently been displaced.  The servants drew the king’s attention to him, & the king chatted with him about his presence.  The man refused the wedding garment provided by the king, & the king had him thrown into Outer Darkness.   

Many are called from North, South, East, & West, from every tribe, tongue, people, & nation. They fill the Wedding Hall.  Few are chosen, like the lone man who refused to wear the garment of grace & faith provided by the king, & they go into Outer Darkness.   

The Bible teaches that the majority of people are elect - not reprobate.  In the words of Lorraine Boettner (paraphrased), “There is no reason to believe that, in the end, the number of the Reprobate will outnumber the number of the Elect.”