He passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. 25 After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ 26 And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’ 27 Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where [you] are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!’ 28 And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God. 30 For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
As Jesus makes His way toward Jerusalem (Lk. 13:22), someone asks, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He declines the numbers game and redirects the crowd to a personal command: “Strive to enter through the narrow door” (v. 24)—a call to repent now and to persevere. It is not enough to appreciate and agree with Jesus’ words; we must repent and reorder our lives. In the biblical context, “strive” conveys training, struggle, and focused effort—not casual interest (cf. 1 Cor. 9:25). The “narrow door” is not a literal gate but an image for the path of discipleship shaped by Jesus Himself—repentance, faith, humility, and persevering obedience in love (cf. Mt. 7:13-14).
Jesus deepens the warning: many will seek to enter “but will not be strong enough” (v. 24). The point is not that God is eager to exclude; the subsequent banquet scene makes clear that God wishes to gather people “from the east and west and from the north and south” (v. 29; cf. Is. 25:6; Ps. 107:3). The weakness He names is moral unseriousness—the refusal to be converted when grace invites. The master of the house eventually rises to lock the door (v. 25), so delay is spiritually dangerous: opportunity is real, but not endless (cf. Lk. 12:35-40). In biblical imagery this locked door points to the moment of death, after which there is no further opportunity to repent or be converted (cf. Heb. 9:27; Mt. 25:10-12; Lk. 16:26; 2 Cor. 6:2).
Those left outside protest: “We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets” (v. 26). Familiarity with Jesus—attendance, proximity, even a kind of admiration—does not replace conversion of life. The Master replies, “I do not know where you are from; depart from me, all you evildoers!” (v. 27; cf. Mt. 7:21-23). To be “known” by Christ in Scripture means a living relationship marked by obedience of faith (Jn. 10:14, 27). What He rejects is not the weak who keep trying, but the “workers of evil”—those who persist in a pattern of life opposed to His teaching while presuming on His nearness.
Jesus then speaks of “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (v. 28). This ancient expression names both grief and defiant anger—sorrow at loss and the clenched reaction of a heart that would not yield (cf. Mt. 13:42). The contrast is stark: outside is self-chosen separation; inside is the kingdom banquet with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the prophets (vv. 28-29). “Recline at table” is a first-century way of describing festive participation in God’s promised communion—sharing the joy of His reign (cf. Is. 25:6; Lk. 12:37; Rev. 19:9). The surprising lineup—people arriving from every direction—signals that entry is not by ancestry or status but by faith working through love (cf. Rom. 2:6-11; Gal. 5:6).
The final saying—“some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last” (v. 30)—summarizes the reversal that runs through Luke’s Gospel. Those who presume on privilege (religious pedigree, cultural familiarity, public reputation) may find themselves last, while those who respond to grace with humble obedience—sometimes late in life or from far outside expected circles—may be first (cf. Mt. 20:1-16). The warning is medicinal: it cures spiritual complacency and invites everyone, insiders and outsiders alike, to real conversion now.
Practically, what does “striving” look like for disciples today? First, it is not anxious self-reliance but an active, grace-assisted response. We turn from patterns we know are incompatible with the Master’s teaching and ask for the strength to change. We root our lives in prayer and Scripture so that we may be ‘known’ by Him in truth, not just acquainted with Him at a distance—not treating faith like an insurance policy, but as a living obedience that abides in Him (cf. Jn. 15:4-5). We choose daily acts of mercy and justice, because love of neighbor is not separate from love of God; it flows from it and is its visible proof—so if we withhold love from the person before us, we cannot claim to love God (cf. 1 Jn. 4:20-21; Mt. 22:37-40; Jn. 13:34-35). And when we fall, we do not rationalize; we repent and begin again. The door is ‘narrow’ because it requires the way Jesus lived—humble, truthful, obedient, self-giving love—even to the Cross; yet it is ‘open’ because God offers this way to everyone, and anyone who believes, repents, and begins to live this love may enter (cf. Lk. 13:29; Mk. 8:34-35; Jn. 10:9). Therefore, do not postpone conversion: the door narrows by indecision and will one day be shut (v. 25).
Lord Jesus, Master of the house, teach my heart to recognize Your voice and to choose the narrow door that leads to life. Free me from presumption and from fear. Give me the grace to turn from sin today, without delay, to love my neighbor in truth, and to persevere when the way is hard. Gather me, with people from every land, to rejoice at Your table. Amen.
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Sources and References:
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, ed. Bernard Orchard et al. (London: Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1953).
- The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition, Faculty of the University of Navarre (Dublin: Four Courts/Scepter, 2008).
- The Paulist Biblical Commentary, ed. José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al. (New York: Paulist Press, 2018).
- Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990).
- St. Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376-444), Commentary on Luke.
- St. John Chrysostom (c. 349-407), Homilies (on Mt. 7:13-14, parallel to Lk. 13:24-30).
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