Luke 13:22–30 – Strive to Enter in at the Straight Gate
- Sep 20, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 28
Jesus warns that salvation is not automatic, unlimited, or forever available. While the door of grace stands open today, He urges every hearer to make entering it their highest and most urgent priority.
This article is adapted from a message preached on September 21, 2025. Watch the full sermon on YouTube.
Luke tells us that the Lord Jesus was travelling through cities and villages, teaching as He journeyed toward Jerusalem. He was not wandering aimlessly. He had set His face toward that city where He would die for sinners. This movement marks a turning point in Luke’s Gospel. From this point on, the Saviour’s path is deliberate, purposeful, and fixed.
Jesus is presented here as the travelling Saviour, moving steadily toward the cross. He is also revealed as a tender Saviour, one deeply concerned for souls. His words were clear, His tone compassionate, and even when He warned, His tenderness was evident. Everywhere He went, He taught. He saw people without Him and addressed their greatest need.
In the midst of this teaching, one man asked a piercing question:“Lord, are there few that be saved?”
A Man and His Great Perplexity
The question reveals genuine confusion. Here was the Messiah Himself, the greatest preacher who ever lived, yet the response seemed small. Where were the multitudes turning to God? Why did so many listen and yet remain unchanged?
That question still presses upon us. Are there few that are saved? More personally, are you saved?
Jesus had already spoken elsewhere of a wide gate and a broad way that leads to destruction, and of a narrow gate and difficult way that leads to life (Matthew 7). Every one of us began life on the broad road. We were born in sin and shaped in iniquity. The narrow gate must be entered deliberately.
Everyone who has entered that gate remembers the moment. Nicodemus never forgot the night he came to Jesus. The woman healed in Luke 13 never forgot the moment she was freed. Salvation is not vague or accidental. It is personal, decisive, and unforgettable.
The Saviour and His Great Plea
Jesus did not answer the man’s question with statistics. Instead, He turned the focus back on the individual:
“Strive to enter in at the straight gate” (Luke 13:24).
The man was thinking in general terms. Jesus made it personal. The issue was not how many would be saved, but whether he would be.
The straight gate is not merely a concept. It is a person. Jesus Himself said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved” (John 10:9). Through His death and the shedding of His precious blood, God’s righteous claims against sin have been fully met. The door is open because Christ has satisfied God.
An open door speaks of opportunity. It also speaks of possibility. You can either enter or remain outside. Salvation is available now. Forgiveness can be known now. Heaven can be your home now.
But Jesus also speaks of priority. Salvation is not merely one item on a list of life concerns. It must become everything. That is why He says to strive, even to agonize, to enter in. There is a day coming when the door will be shut.
The Urgency of an Open Door
Life is uncertain. Scripture reminds us that it is appointed for men to die once, and after this the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The coming of the Lord draws near. Christ may come before death intervenes, and when He does, those in Christ will be taken to be with Him forever.
How can I be saved?
God offers forgiveness and new life as a gift freely given, personally received.
But if Christ were to come tonight, or if death were to come suddenly, the opportunity to be saved would be gone forever.
That is why the Lord’s words are so urgent. Do not miss the open door. Nothing in life is more precious than your soul. Whatever must be set aside, salvation must not be.
Jesus warned that once the Master rises and shuts the door, people will stand outside knocking and pleading. They will use the right language, “Lord, Lord,” but it will be too late.
Great Panic and a Great Pronouncement
Those shut outside will protest that they knew His presence, heard His teaching, and were familiar with His name. Yet familiarity is not salvation. Knowing about Christ is not the same as knowing Christ.
The pronouncement is solemn and final:“Depart from Me, I never knew you.”
The result is eternal separation, described as weeping and gnashing of teeth. Scripture does not soften the reality of judgment. Those who reject the Saviour face everlasting loss, with no further offer of mercy.
The Great Peace
Yet the passage does not end in despair. Jesus speaks of a coming rest. People will come from the east and west, north and south, and will recline in the kingdom of God. Those who enter into peace with God now will enjoy that peace forever.
This is the invitation of the gospel. Turn from sin. Trust the Saviour. Enter while the door is open.
The words of Jesus still stand:“Strive to enter in at the straight gate.”
