The evangelist Luke recorded to us uncorrelated sentences of Christ’s many statements, which he said during his journey to Jerusalem, the town of his death. Jesus might have expressed more thoughts than those recorded by the evangelist, but the recorded things are the cream and summary of all that Jesus said in this journey and was capable of being grasped in the physician Luke’s mind.
The question addressed to Christ by one of his followers was not: "Are there many who are saved?" But on the contrary, he asked about the few that might be saved, for the people at that time began to withdraw from Jesus step by step. They wanted him to bring them bread and miracles which would help them in their life, but neglected repentance. The spiritual leaders of the nation decided to kill Jesus of Nazareth, and Christ was aware of that. The disciples also expected bitter persecutions to swoop down mercilessly on the little flock.
Keeping this in mind, and before he was asked, Christ gave them a promise that the kingdom of God would grow in spite of the hardships as a mustard seed which becomes a full tree, and that the gospel would work as a good leaven in the dough.
Then Christ commanded the questioner to turn his sight from the falling away multitudes and look into himself that he might repent, become sanctified, and continue in the kingdom of God. As such he described the aim of every believer’s walk that is to enter through the narrow gate. People enter through this narrow gate one by one and not in droves. No one can enter at it with many loadings, but every newcomer must be light and empty from his earthly possessions and burdens. Christ is the narrow gate, and people come to him not as crowded multitudes but as individuals. Whoever enters into his happy expanses must get rid of his offences, worries, problems, rights, books, and luxurious clothes. Come to Jesus as you are without veils.
Your commitment to him means self-denial, complete confession of the offences, and abandonment of the obstinate faults, requiring all your efforts, sacrifices, certain determination, and decision.
Do not hesitate over your love of yourself and commitment to Jesus, for the chance to repent soon disappears, and the Lord closes the door. Then many seekers try to accept Christ, but they cannot, because they neglected the time of grace and deceived themselves about God. Christ wants you to express your willingness, sacrifice your money, give your time, and be strongly determined to become worthy and worker in the kingdom of God. It is not sufficient to eat the bread of grace from the hand of Christ, and hear his beautiful words without moving and working effectually in the field of the Lord. Faith requires of you absolute repentance, and radical conversion as a result of your meditation on the gospel. Do not content yourself with your imaginations about God’s entity, and pray: "O Lord! O Lord!" for Christ wants to see in you the works of his love, the fruit of his righteousness, the words of his truthfulness, and the thoughts of his Spirit coming out of his fellowship with you in eternal life today.
Every man in whom the power of Christ is not at work remains unjust to himself, and doing injustice. He is not from God, but from the spirit of the evil one. Jesus does not know him, and his name is not written in the Book of Life. Christ, the Son of Man is asking you, today, "Where are you from? From God, or from the evil one? Do you belong to the fellowship of Christ where the Shepherd knows each one by name, or are you unknown to God? Examine yourself, strive to get free from your sins, and enter to Christ who will by no means cast out whoever comes to him brokenly and repentantly.
But he who arrives at the narrow gate, and then deviates from it with superficial faith, embracing only the blessing of the past fathers, will fall into hell in spite of his external godliness. His abode is Hell, an evil refuge indeed!
This vault is filled with continuous fear of the hosts of evil, and with the cries of penitence for late repentance. It also overflows with bitter blaspheming against the holy God. This place of painful darkness is not completely separated from heaven. But the reprobates see the fathers of faith, true prophets, and every humble saint sitting down near to God, where order prevails, peace dwells, joy spreads, and love continues in everyone in the Spirit of the Father and the Son.
Jesus said to the unrepentant Jews, "You will fall into hell, and millions of nations will come from the east, and from the west, instead of you, entering through the narrow gate, and partaking of all the blessings of heaven. They will meet with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the truthful, faithful prophets, and speak with them about the miracles of the love of God in their lives. They will also enquire of the apostles about the truths and meanings of their gospels and epistles, and meet with the dead and the living in Christ, for they are altogether the family of our heavenly Father. Do you belong to this family, or you sit down afar.
The Jews who rejected the gospel of Christ and became hardhearted will suffer acutely. They, who were the first in choice, became the last, having no other chance but to repent and accept Christ at the end of time. However the small-numbered, despised church that is considered backward by the Jews, became the first having been filled with the Holy Spirit and entered into the bosoms and glories of its Lord.