I Really Followed Jesus

October 9, 2022

Luke 13:22-35

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.”

³¹ At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” ³² He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ ³³ In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! ³⁴ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. ³⁵ Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Read Luke 13:22-28

1. This is a troubling passage. What troubles you in this passage?
2. Do you think the person who asked the question in verse 23 got the answer he was looking for? In what way is Jesus’ response an answer to the question he was asked?
3. As best as you can tell from this passage, what prevented people from entering through the narrow door? Is this passage about how wide or narrow the door is? Or is it about something else?
4. Verse 28 suggests that many people outside of the earthly kingdom of Israel would be welcomed into God’s kingdom, while at the same time some Israelites themselves might be excluded. How do you imagine this was received?
5. In what other passages have you run across the phrase “the first shall be last.” How does your understanding of this passage potentially affect your understanding of those other passages?

Read Luke 13:29-35

1. Do you think the Pharisees were really concerned about Jesus’ safety in verse 29? What other motives might they have had as they attempted to dissuade Jesus from continuing his journey to Jerusalem?
2. What was Jesus talking about when said he would reach his goal on the third day?
3. Read verse 33 carefully. How does this provide an answer for people who suggest that Jesus was merely a religious leader who made a political miscalculation and got himself killed?
4. Describe Jesus’ tone of voice in the last couple of verses. What do you see and/or sense about his emotional state at this point?
5. What is the significance of the fact that Jesus experienced very real and very deep emotions?