Luke 13-14: Reasons to Not Go to Heaven

We read Luke 13–14 and sit with Jesus’ warnings and invitations, from repentance and mercy to the parables of the narrow door and the great banquet. We wrestle with why “few” make it in, and we name the real barriers as timing, distractions, and the cost of discipleship. 
• Jesus reframing tragedy as a call to repent 
• the fig tree parable and God’s patience for fruit 
• Sabbath healings exposing empty rule keeping 
• mustard seed and yeast as the kingdom’s quiet growth 
• the narrow door and the danger of waiting too long 
• Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem and rejected prophets 
• humility at the table and choosing the lower seat 
• inviting the poor and overlooked as true hospitality 
• the great banquet and the power of everyday excuses 
• counting the cost and renouncing everything to follow 

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Transcript

Welcome And Why Luke

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Hey, thanks for joining me here on the Out Loud Bible Podcast. This is Mike. I hope you enjoy reading through the book of Luke. I know we did very early on in this uh podcast, back in the first year that we uh that we were running the podcast, we covered Luke. So it's been a while at this point if you've been with me this long. Maybe this is your first time going through the book of Luke with me, in which case, welcome. Uh, we're here in what I believe is one of the most relatable books. I think certainly of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, I think Luke is probably the more relatable one. That is Luke's focus here in writing this, the focusing on the humanity of Jesus. Uh, and we get a lot of what Jesus felt. We have a lot of inside kind of uh accounts of what Jesus was feeling in situations uh about people and about things going on and his very human responses to things. And Luke includes a lot of teachings of Jesus that are very practical in nature and very relatable, where we can see ourselves in these situations that Jesus is talking about. And sometimes it's encouraging for us. Keep going, stay faithful. Sometimes it's more challenging and forces us to have to correct, to make some corrections to align ourselves with God's heart based on what Jesus is saying. In our chapters that we're going to read today, we're going to see Jesus giving some teachings that sound like following him is very exclusive. It's going to sound like it's only for certain people. But as we look more into it and see the heart behind what he's saying, is he really rejecting anyone from coming to him? Or is he just recognizing that many people are going to reject him and not even pursue him in the first place? Let's check out what Jesus has to say here in Luke chapter 13 and 14 in the New English Translation. Now there were some present on that occasion who told him about the Galileans

Repentance And The Fig Tree

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whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And he answered them, Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered these things? No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all perish as well. Or those eighteen who were killed when the Tower of Siloam fell on them. Do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you all will perish as well. Then Jesus told this parable. A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it, and found none. So he said to the worker who tended the vineyard, For three years now I've come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and each time I inspect it I find none. Cut it down. Why should it continue to deplete the soil? But the worker answered him, Sir, leave it alone this year too, until I dig around it and put fertilizer on it, and then if it bears fruit next year, very well, but if not, you can cut it down. Well now he was teaching one of the synagogues on the Sabbath, and a woman was there who had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over

Healing On Sabbath And Kingdom Growth

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and couldn't straighten herself up completely. When Jesus saw her, he called her to him and said, Woman, you're freed from your infirmity. And then he placed his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. But the president of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the crowd, There are six days on which work should be done, so come and be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath day. Then the Lord answered him, You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from its stall and lead it to water? Then shouldn't this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be released from this imprisonment on the Sabbath day? When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated, but the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things he was doing. Thus Jesus asked, What is the kingdom of God like? To what should I compare it? It's like a a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the wild birds nested in its branches. Again he said, To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It's like a like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen. Then Jesus travelled throughout the towns and villages teaching and making his way toward Jerusalem, and someone asked him, Lord, will only a few be saved? So he said to them,

The Narrow Door And A Late Knock

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Exert every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and not be able to. Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, then you will stand outside and start to knock on the door and beg him, Lord, let us in, but he'll answer you, I don't know where you came from. And then you'll begin to say, Well, we ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets, but he'll reply, I don't know where you come from. Go away from me, all you evil doers. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. And then people will come from east and west and from north and south and take their places at the banquet table in the kingdom of God. But indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last. At that time some Pharisees came up and said to Jesus, get away from here because Herod wants to kill you. But he said to him, go and tell that fox. Look, I'm

Herod’s Threat And Jesus’ Lament

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casting out demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I'll complete my work. Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, because it's impossible that a prophet should be killed outside Jerusalem. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you. How often I've longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it. Look, your house is forsaken, and I tell you you will not see me until you say Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Now, one Sabbath, when Jesus went to dine at the house of a leader of the Pharisees, they were watching him closely, and there right in front of him was a man whose body

Honor Humility And Who To Invite

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was swollen with fluid. So Jesus asked the experts in religious law and the Pharisees, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? Hmm? But they remained silent. So Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away. And then he said to them, Which of you, if you have a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out? But they couldn't reply to this. And then when Jesus noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. He said to them, When you're invited by someone to a wedding feast, don't take the place of honor, because a person more distinguished than you may have been invited by your host. So the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, Oh, give this man your place. And then ashamed, you'll begin to move to the least important place. But when you're invited, go and take the least important place, so that when your host approaches, he'll say to you, Friend, move up here to a better place, and then you'll be honored in the presence of all who share the meal with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. He said also to the man who invited him, When you host a dinner or a banquet, don't invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, so you can be invited by them in return and get repaid. But when you host an elaborate meal, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, and then you'll be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. When one of those at the meal with Jesus heard this, he said to them, Oh, blessed is everyone who will feast in the kingdom of God. But Jesus said to him, A man once gave a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time for the banquet he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, Come,

Excuses That Keep Seats Empty

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because everything's now ready. But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first said to him, I've bought a field and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me. Another said, Oh, I bought five yoke of oxen. I'm going out now to examine them. Please excuse me. And another said, I just got married, I can't come. So the slave came back and reported this to his master, and the master of the household was furious and said to his slave, Go out quickly to the streets and the alleys of the city and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame. And then the slave said, Well, sir, what you've instructed has been done, and there's still room. So the master said to his slave, I will go out to the highways and the country roads and urge people to come in so that my house will be filled. For I tell you, not one of those individuals who were invited will taste my banquet. Now large crowds were accompanying Jesus, and turning to them he said, If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, and wife and children,

Counting The Cost Of Discipleship

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and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he can't be my disciple. Whoever doesn't carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you wanting to build a tower doesn't sit down first and compute the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? Otherwise, when he's laid a foundation and is not able to finish the tower, all who see it will begin to make fun of him. They'll say, Well, this man began to build and he wasn't able to finish. Or what king going out to confront another king in battle will not sit down first and determine whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he can't succeed, he'll send a representative while the other is still a long way off and ask for terms of peace. And in the same way, therefore, not one of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his possessions. Salt is good, but if salt loses its flavor, how can its flavor be restored? It's of no value for the soil or for the manure pile. It's to be thrown out. The one who has ears to hear had better listen. So today Jesus spent a lot of time talking about the very few who are going to be able to enter the kingdom. Again, not because he's rejecting anyone who's coming to him, but

Timing Priorities And The Real Barrier

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because of various factors that are in the way. When we saw the parable of the gate, it actually sounded like maybe you caught it, it kind of struck me that many are going to try to come in that narrow gate, but they will be rejected. And you're like, wait, why is he rejecting people who are trying to come in, want to come in? And then you realize the problem. The problem is the timing. It's at the the end of the world when people realize that, oh, this is this is the only way. Can you let me in? And he's saying, I gave you all the time and all the opportunity in the world, and you didn't take it then. Now it's too late. C.S. Lewis even talks in Mere Christianity about like what use is it of surrendering when they're already invading you and trampled over you? That's not the time to surrender. That's not the time to say, Oh, I'm I'm ready to join you now. No, the time is done. I'm sure a lot of people wanted to enter the Ark when the flood waters were rising and they had to doggy paddle up to the door. I'm sure a whole lot of people wanted to join the Ark then, but not for the hundred years that it was being built when there was no obvious threat to their life. So the problem is the timing for many people. But we also see other obstacles in the way. We see in the parable of the great banquet, we see people's distractions. We see people's lives, other priorities that they have. That I oh, I would come join the master at the banquet, but I've I've got other things to do. I already invested in this and I don't want to waste my money. Oh, I don't want to miss this opportunity. Oh, I just started this, I can't come. They're certainly welcome. They were invited. They were invited to be in the banquet, but they're prioritizing other things. That's what's stopping them from joining the banquet with the master. And finally, we see the cost. We see that Jesus is encouraging people to count the cost because it is very costly to be his disciple. You have to lose everything, your entire life. Your right to make your own decisions, your right to call your own shots in your life, your right to use your will against following Jesus in the first place. You have to give that up. So that you can actually have a life where your will conforms to his and where you actually experience the real true life and hope that he has. But that only comes after giving up everything you hold so dear. So for some, the obstacle between them and entering that narrow gate and entering the kingdom of heaven is the cost. The timing, the other priorities, and the cost. These are major factors preventing people from entering the kingdom of God. It's not exclusive only for certain people. Everyone's invited, but many will find reasons to not accept that invitation. I hope if you're listening today, you have already entered this narrow door and are walking down this narrow road, and I will see you in the kingdom of heaven. We'll we'll have a banquet together someday. I look forward to that. But who is someone in your life that is maybe held up by one of these three areas? You see it in their life. Perhaps the most kind and loving thing would be to share maybe the passage, maybe your paraphrase of the passage, maybe a prayer that you have for them based on what Jesus has spoken, helping them recognize that they are truly invited, and it may cost them something. It may give up some of their priorities, and it may require acting soon, now, while we have the chance. But who comes to your mind who could be blessed and encouraged, if not a quite a bit challenged, by some of the readings that we that we read today in Luke chapters 13 and 14? That's the Thinking Out Loud thought for the day. Thanks for joining me here on the Outloud Bible Podcast.