Recently, I read what two leading Evangelical scholars said about Luke 13:23-24. In v 23, a man asks the Lord if few people will be saved. Both scholars took this to refer to salvation from the lake of fire. These men said that when Jesus stated that people needed to strive to enter (v 24), He meant that belief alone was not enough to enter the kingdom. The word means that people need to do something difficult. The unbeliever needs to repent and commit himself to Jesus. These scholars were certainly right about the word. In Greek, it literally means “to agonize,” and was often used to describe an arduous athletic event, such as a marathon. That does not sound like a gift!
The problem with the way these men explain the passage is their claim that Jesus is teaching that if an unbeliever wants to be eternally saved, he must do good works. I know these men’s writings well and am confident in saying their view is that “true” believers will automatically do those good works. They will “strive” in good works, and those works will show they genuinely believed.
There is not enough room in a blog to discuss the whole passage, which runs through v 30. But in v 30, Jesus gives the conclusion of the whole discussion. He says, “And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”
This conclusion shows that Jesus is not talking about salvation from hell at all. He is giving instruction about rewards. All believers will be in the kingdom. But some will be great in the kingdom (first), and some will be last. Those who are last will not be great in the kingdom.
A major problem with these scholars is that neither believes in eternal rewards. I maintain that if you do not believe in rewards, you will not be able to understand what the Lord says in Luke 13:23-30. Christ’s words in v 30 indicate that this is what the whole discussion is about!
But another problem with applying these words to evangelizing unbelievers today is that it ignores the original audience. The Lord was talking to the Jews of His day. His teaching throughout Luke 13 is directed at the nation of Israel. In 13:1-5, He speaks of judgment’s coming upon that generation of Jews if they reject His offer of the kingdom. The parable of the fig tree in a vineyard, following Old Testament patterns (vv 6-9), also points to the nation of Israel. Christ attacks the religious traditions of the Jewish religious leaders (vv 14-16). He is seen teaching throughout Israel (v 22). He says in vv 23-30 that His teaching is addressed to those who saw Him in their streets and ate with Him (v 26). This refers to the Jews in Israel during His earthly ministry. At the end of everything He says in Luke 13, He laments over Jerusalem, the capital of Israel (vv 34-35).
This is a good lesson in how to study the Bible. Educated scholars can seriously err if they do not consider the context. My view is that when the man asked Jesus if “few [would be] saved,” he had in mind the physical judgment the nation was in danger of experiencing (13:1-5).
One thing is for sure. The unbeliever does not have to strive to “go to heaven” by turning from his sins and committing himself to Christ’s lordship. I am convinced that we would avoid making that error and changing the gospel of grace if we recognized that the Lord was not talking about eternal salvation in Luke 13:23-30.
Not forgetting about Israel would go a long way toward pointing us in the right direction.
