In my teenage years I learned how to play guitar and I really wanted to start a band. It just seemed cool, with the head banging and the noise and cool sounds you could make on the electric guitar and drums. That thumping bass. The problem was that although I had the desire to start a band, I couldn’t find anyone who wanted to take it seriously enough to make it happen. And if I’m being honest, I probably wasn’t serious enough. The idea was cool, but making it a reality was something else. In the last half of Luke 13 Jesus desires to gather members for a heavenly chorus but many were left out. It wasn’t that they tried really hard and didn’t make the cut. No, Jesus doesn’t kick people out of His band. They were unwilling to join.

Verses 18-21.

Jesus tells two parables about what the kingdom of God is like. In both instances, the thing mentioned starts small and then grows. A mustard seed is very small, approximately one to two millimeters in diameter. But a mustard tree grows rapidly between 10 to 30 feet tall and its branches spread out roughly the same in width, providing a lot of shade. Leaven is a substance such as yeast or baking soda that is worked into dough creating air bubbles that makes the bread lighten and expand. Three measures of meal is a large amount that could feed about 100 people. 

Interpretations vary regarding these two short passages. The kingdom of God grew from twelve apostles to a worldwide movement. Yet did it grow purely? In the Bible and in later Judaic literature birds are described as emissaries of evil, such as in Matthew 13 when the birds come and eat the seed which fell upon the path. Leaven also is used throughout Scripture as an example of sin which corrupts the people of God. 

As the church grew throughout the centuries, it did not grow purely. For example, in the Middle Ages there was a tug of war in the church between the church of piety which valued spiritual growth and the church of power which valued political growth. Jesus and the New Testament writers consistently warned of corruption in the church. Yet God is faithful. Jesus says in John 10:27 that “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” No matter what corruption seeks to infiltrate the church, Jesus knows those who are truly His and any evil will be held to account.

Verses 22-30.

Jesus continues His Jerusalem journey, teaching in villages and cities along the way. Much of the time, the questions Jesus gets are intended to trap Him. But in verse 23, someone asks a question that is quite honest, “Lord, are there few who are saved?”Notice that Jesus doesn’t reassure the questioner so everyone can sleep well at night and maintain His popularity. Instead, He confirms that there are indeed few people that will be saved. 

But He doesn’t discourage His hearers so that they just give up and throw in the towel. But He tells them to get serious. The word for “strive” in verse 24 is agonizomai, where we get the word agonize. It has the idea of a struggle or a prize fight. If you’ve ever watched professional fighting, you see how the fighters basically have to become incapacitated before giving up. Usually, the referee will stop a fight due to the seriousness of an injury before the wounded fighter will ever give up. There are fighters who would die in the ring in order to win, and some have. Jesus is saying that there are indeed few who will be saved, but agonize every minute in the christian struggle like your life depends on it.

Few will agonize in the christian fight, yet many will be workers of iniquity, even those who are around Jesus and His teachings. The word for “iniquity” in verse 27 is adikias, which is translated as the opposite of righteousness, which is unrighteousness. There is no such thing as being neutral. 

Being a worker of unrighteousness does not mean you are a follower of Jesus who still sins. The fact is both unbelievers and believers sin yet only unbelievers practice unrighteousness. Think of it this way. If you are a serious athlete training for a competition, you will wake up in the morning and consciously spend the day making sure you are eating healthy, exercising, and overall living in a way that maximises your chances to win. But your training won’t be perfect. You might overexert yourself, eat too few calories, or not rest enough. But you will make corrections because winning the competition is worth it to you. In the same way, a true follower of Jesus will consciously yet imperfectly train themselves in righteousness because entering through the narrow gate means everything to them.

On the other hand, a non serious athlete will not do what is necessary to win. They may have signed up for the competition but their training days are full of snacking on chips and binge watching sitcoms. The competition doesn’t mean that much to them. This is what a worker of unrighteousness is like, yet it gets far worse. Since their minds are not set on the competition, they will live their whole lives distracted from training. 

The Bible talks about in more vivid detail what the works of the flesh are like. “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21).

Some rabbis taught that all Jews will be saved yet others taught only some will be saved. When Jesus is saying people from all directions will sit down in the kingdom of God, He is referring to Gentile converts. Salvation is not based on racial and cultural position, but on spiritual regeneration. Those who strive for Jesus will find Him because He means everything. Yet those who could care less and instead seek to gratify their own flesh will be cast out. 

Verses 31-5.

Jesus was journeying towards Jerusalem. He was on a mission to die. He was not afraid of Herod nor was He running from him. He compares Herod to a sly fox. They are clever hunters but subhuman in their worthiness. The Pharisees gave Him this report either because some cared for His safety or they were trying to get Him to leave. In any case, Jesus was thinking about the line of prophets who died in Jerusalem, and how He would be in their number.

Yet Jesus was not concerned about His own death. He was concerned about Jerusalem, the city of peace, the holy city set apart for God. Jesus describes His affection for Jerusalem as a mother hen who gathers in her chicks and protects them from predators. Yet when the Roman eagle came in A.D. 70, the chicks did not seek refuge under His wings but instead got plucked up. When Jesus says “Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” He is speaking in deep emotional language. Like a parent who laments over a backslidden child so Jesus laments over an unrepentant people. 

The kingdom of God continues to grow yet the door to the Father is narrow. Jesus is the only access point. He is not kicking anyone out, but like a mother hen He’s wanting to save as many as who are willing. Access to the Father cost Jesus His very life and the only thing keeping any of us out is our own unwillingness.

Questions:

1. How can the analysis of verses 18-21 help us understand these two short parables of the mustard seed and leaven?
2. What does it mean to strive to enter through the narrow gate (24)? NIV says to “make every effort” to enter.
3. Jesus wanted to gather His people but they were unwilling. What do we learn about Christ’s character here (34-5)?