Luke 13:23–24

Context

Luke 13:22 records that Jesus taught in various cities and villages as he journeyed toward Jerusalem. In this setting someone asks whether those who are saved are few. Jesus does not answer the questioner alone but speaks to "them," that is, the crowd who were listening.

In the verses that follow (25–30), after the master of the house has shut the door, those who plead, "We have eaten and drunk in thy presence," are turned away. By contrast, people coming from the east, west, north, and south sit down at the feast of the kingdom of God. A similar saying appears in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:13–14. Matthew, however, contrasts the broad way with the narrow way, whereas Luke uses the image of a house door being shut.

Interpretation

• Redirecting the question: Many commentators hold that Jesus declined to answer the abstract question of how many will be saved. Instead, he redirected it so that the questioner would examine whether he himself was entering in.
• Contextual reading: Read together with verses 25–30, the passage becomes a warning that having been close to Jesus, or one's lineage or affiliation, is not sufficient in itself. On this reading, those who "will seek to enter in, and shall not be able" are understood not so much as people whose effort fell short but as people who seek entry only after the door has been shut.
• Reformed reading: Presbyterian and other Calvinist traditions often connect the strait gate with Christ himself. In this view, "strive" is explained not as a merit that earns salvation but as the earnest response of those called by grace.
• Wesleyan reading: Methodist, Holiness, and other Wesleyan traditions tend to see in this command an emphasis on the human responsibility to respond to grace and on the struggle toward sanctification (the process of growing in holiness).

Debates and Issues

• Effort and grace: The Greek verb translated "strive" (agōnizomai) means to contend with all one's strength, as in an athletic contest. Consequently, it has long been asked how this command can be reconciled with the doctrine of justification by faith. The question is bound up with the debate over predestination and free will, and denominations differ in how they weigh grace against human response.
• The number of the saved: Some object to concluding from this passage that few will be saved, noting that Jesus did not directly answer the question about numbers and that verse 29 speaks of many coming from every direction.
• Manuscripts: Modern critical editions read the word rendered "gate" in this passage as a term meaning the door of a house. By contrast, some later manuscripts, and translations based on them, are reported to use a term meaning a city gate, as in Matthew.
• Use outside its context: "Narrow gate" is widely used in everyday Korean speech to describe competition for university admission or employment. This usage, which refers to the few who succeed in such competition, is far removed from the original context. André Gide's novel Strait Is the Gate (La Porte étroite) is also reported to have taken its title from this passage.

In the Korean Church

The "narrow gate," together with Matthew 7:13–14, is a frequent theme in preaching in Korean churches. It is chiefly cited as a text urging a decisive commitment of faith and a godly life.

Related Passages

• Matthew 7:13–14
• Matthew 7:22–27
• Matthew 25:10–12
• John 10:9
• Philippians 2:12–13