Devotions

So That My House Will Be Filled!

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Jesus gets a question, “are there only a few who are saved?”. He has been teaching “he that has an ear”, “whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him” and as he heads to Jerusalem “to be taken up”, his followers are beginning to understand that not everyone will be saved. But in their heritage, all of the children of Israel were God’s chosen. This is a new concept, “whoever does the will of my Father”. Salvation isn’t by family line, but “through the narrow door”, by faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus knows exactly what is waiting for him in Jerusalem and continues healing as he comes to the city. Early on he said he was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Now, he offers a new imperative. The best guests have been invited and have made their excuses. Now he says “Go out into the highways and hedges and press them to come in, so that my house will be filled!” 

Enter Through the Narrow Door

Luke 13:22–30
Jesus had been “going throughout towns and villages, teaching” as it says in Luke 13:22 and it wasn’t the first time he was “making his journey to Jerusalem” so I must wonder, why did they ask this question now in Luke 13:22 “Lord, are there only a few who are saved?”

If we look at his teaching before this time, there is a picture that we can see; Not everyone will be saved. Jesus had said in

Matthew 10:34 (LEB) “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth! I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

And in

Matthew 12:49–50 (LEB) And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Behold my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Throughout his teaching he had included a recurring message like in

Mark 4:23 (LEB) If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”

(see also Mark 4:9 , Matthew 11:15, Matthew 13:9 , Luke 8:8, and Luke 14:35) And in

Mark 4:25 (LEB) For whoever has, more will be given to him, and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

(see also and Luke 19:26, Matthew 13:12; 25:29, Luke 8:18; 19:24–26)1

But understand this, the door is open now for us to come in. Jesus answered their question in Luke 13:24 “make every effort to enter” because in Luke 13:25 “when once the master of the house has gotten up and shut the door”, then it is too late. 

Jerusalem, the One Who Kills the Prophets

Luke 13:31–35
Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem for the last time as he had purposed in

Luke 9:51 (LEB) Now it happened that when the days were approaching for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

It is a bit surprising that in Luke 13:31 “some Pharisees came up and said to him, ‘Go out and depart from here, because Herod wants to kill you!’”. We know that “Herod wanted to get rid of Him (see on Mk 6:14), and seems, from our Lord’s answer, to have sent these Pharisees, under pretense of a friendly hint”2

Because, in Luke 13:32, “he said to them, “Go and* tell that fox …” and then goes on to say “I am expelling demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work”. And in just a few days, Jesus will say from the cross, “It is finished”.

Is it Permitted to Heal on the Sabbath

Luke 14:1–6
In Luke 14:1 “he came to the house of a certain one of the leaders of the Pharisees on a Sabbath to eat a meal”. And again it seems odd to us that Jesus would be invited with the tension that we have already seen. But “Dinner on the sabbath seems often to have been a rather special meal (the food having all been prepared beforehand) and it was common to invite guests”.3

And I think, even more so for those in Jerusalem where every male was required. This was the command of the Lord, “Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival (Exod. 23:14; 2 Chr. 8:13); three times a year, for the feasts of Unleavened Bread, Weeks and Booths (Deut. 16:16); three times a year your males are to appear before the Lord (Exod. 23:17); these are my appointed feasts (Lev. 23:2)”.4 So, hospitality to visitors would have been particularly important at these times to accommodate the large influx of people.

Jesus sees a man in Luke 14:2 “in front of him, suffering” so in Luke 14:3 it says “he answered and said”. They may not have prompted Jesus with their words, but they had prompted him by their actions. So, in Luke 14:3 he asks “Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath?”. There were many requirements to be kept for the Sabbath, but none of them answered so in Luke 14:4 Jesus “healed him, and sent him away” and then explained why it was not only permitted, but an action that any one of them would have taken to save one of their animals in distress.

Friend, Move Higher

Luke 14:7–11
People are pressing in to find a place. Some are taking the best seat they can find. Some are content to be included. 

So That My House Will Be Filled!

Luke 14:12–24
Jesus continues using this opportunity to explain God’s heart. We want to invite our friends, our family, the people we know, or maybe, as he says in Luke 14:12, those who will “also invite you in return, and repayment come to you”. This is the natural way of the world, self satisfying. But Jesus says to them in

Luke 14:13-14 But whenever you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they are not able to repay you. For it will be paid back to you at the resurrection of the righteous.”

And, in Luke 14:15 he gets a religious response, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”. And I say this is a religious response, because it is a true statement, but there isn’t any right now, in this world, action that helps anyone or gets them into the kingdom of God. So, Jesus answers with a banquet story in Luke 14:16-24. All of the best quests were invited but they all have more important things to do and in Luke 14:18 “excuse themselves”. Then, with urgency, the master says in Luke 14:23 “Go out into the highways and hedges and press them* to come in, so that my house will be filled!”

This is a great lesson even for us today. How many churches sit with empty seats? People have come, and then gone about their business in the world. They may come for Christmas or Easter or some special occasion but where is their heart? Isn’t a Sunday service where we join to celebrate our relationship with Jesus Christ? But what Jesus has taught us here is that if “there is still room”, “Go out into the highways and hedges and press them* to come in, so that my house will be filled!”

If Anyone Comes to Me

Luke 14:25–35

This Man Welcomes Sinners

Luke 15:1–7

Search Carefully Until She Finds It

Luke 15:8–10

So He Divided His Assets Between Them

Luke 15:11–19

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Luke 13:22-35
  • Luke 14:1-35
  • Luke 15:1-19

The Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ – The Gospels

This series follows the order of readings from the Tyndale One Year Chronological Bible. Covering these events chronologically as they happened, gives a much different context and helps us understand the move of God as He is introducing the Saviour, the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. This series begins with Return To Me And I Will Return To You at the end of Malachi and introduces the “Witnesses” writing the Gospels.

Operation Exodus

is helping Jewish people return to their homeland. You might fund one that desires to go home. http://operationexodususa.org/Overview

References

  • 1. Blayney, B., Scott, T., & Torrey, R. A. with Canne, J., Browne. (n.d.). The Treasury of Scripture knowledge (Vol. 2, p. 26). London: Samuel Bagster and Sons.
  • 2. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 113). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
  • 3. Morris, L. (1988). Luke: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 3, p. 247). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
  • 4. Day, A. C. (2009). Collins Thesaurus of the Bible. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.