LUKE LESSON 36

     We will begin this lesson in Luke 13:22 "And he went through the
cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem."

     This last few months of Jesus' ministry was all leading up to the
climax of the Passover in Jerusalem where He would be the Passover
Lamb.  He taught right up till the time of the crucifixion.

     Luke 13:23 "Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be
saved? And he said unto them,"

     This is a legitimate question for then and now.  The answer both
times is "yes", as we see Jesus expound upon it in the next few
verses.

     Luke 13:24  "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I
say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able."

     Jesus answers the question of verse 23 by telling them how to be
saved.  Jesus explains that a person needs to have determination to
live the life that Jesus has set before us.  Those who seek and cannot
get in have too broad a view.  They are full of compromise and will
not walk the disciplined, self-sacrificing life that it takes to enter
in.  The door is Jesus.  If we walk on the narrow path that leads to
righteousness, we will find the door (Jesus) and enter in.

      Luke 13:25 "When once the master of the house is risen up, and
 hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at
 the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and
 say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:"

     This is a sad scene which indicates that somehow they found the
door; but by the time they had wandered everywhere but the narrow
path, they had spent too much time of their life in the world.  They
have lost their chance to enter in.  The doors of this symbolic city
were closed at nightfall or at the end of a person's life.  What this
means to me is there is no salvation after death: only judgement.  In
Hebrews 12:17 we read of someone who waited too long to repent, "For
ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing,
he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought
it carefully with tears."

     Luke 13:26 "Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk
in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets." Luke 13:27 "But
he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from
me, all ye workers of iniquity."

     We see in this that these people feel that because they are
Hebrews (God's chosen people), that He will make exceptions for them.
Race, color, creed, or station in life will have nothing to do with
any of us making it to heaven.  There is only one way to heaven and
that is through Jesus.  In John, Jesus told them, "I am the way".  He
also said, "No man cometh to the Father but by me".  You see, being
Abraham's physical descendents won't get you there.  I know some
people whose parents were mighty men and women of God.  I am here to
tell them that will not get them to heaven, either.  The Lord does not
have grandchildren, just children.

     Luke 13:28 "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye
shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the
kingdom of God, and you [yourselves] thrust out."

     Salvation is an individual thing.  Each person has to activate
their own will to follow Jesus.  The offer is to whosoever will.
These prophets (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) are all accepted because of
their faith.  The ones thrust out will be because they rejected Jesus
and His teachings.  The sorrow will be unexplainably horrible when
they discover they have not made it.

     Luke 13:29 "And they shall come from the east, and [from] the
west, and from the north, and [from] the south, and shall sit down in
the kingdom of God."

     No one will be rejected because of nationality.  There will be
individuals from all nations who will be saved.  Those who follow
Jesus' plan of salvation will be saved.  Jesus lets them know by this
that salvation is not reserved to just the Israelites, but is open to
all who will receive it.

     Luke 13:30 "And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and
there are first which shall be last."

     Those who the world classify as last sometimes receive the
message of Jesus more freely and so might be the first to believe.
His is a religion of the common people.  Learned people of the law
rejected Jesus.  Israel had been first; but if they reject Jesus, they
shall be last.

     Luke 13:31  "The same day there came certain of the Pharisees,
saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill
thee."

     Herod and Herodias wanted to get rid of Jesus, because He was so
popular with the common people.  Herod was so superstitious about John
the Baptist that he was afraid to do anything himself.  These
Pharisees, whether working for Herod or for themselves, would like for
Jesus to be gone, as well.  They warned Jesus of Herod, because Jesus
knew Herod had John the Baptist beheaded.

     Luke 13:32 "And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox,
Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and
the third [day] I shall be perfected."

     Jesus calls Herod a fox.  He sends him word not to bother Him
because He is going on with His work 3 more days here.  He sees right
through these Pharisees and will not be stopped.

     Luke 13:33 "Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and
the [day] following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of
Jerusalem."

     Jesus tells the Pharisees, "You nor Herod are not driving me
away.  I must go to Jerusalem because that is where a prophet must
die."

     Luke 13:34 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets,
and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have
gathered thy children together, as a hen [doth gather] her brood under
[her] wings, and ye would not!"

     God's great love for Jerusalem had been long standing.  God
always wanted Jerusalem to come to Him and let His covering protect
them.  God had dwelt here in this city with His people.  He had led
His people out of Egypt, and He led them with His fire and smoke for
forty years to the promised land.  Solomon built a temple in Jerusalem
where God dwelt with His people, but His people activated their free
will and rejected God's only Son.  Jesus is mourning for the beloved
city Jerusalem when He says, "O Jerusalem".  They rejected the
prophets God sent and then rejected God's Son.  I say with Jesus, O
Jerusalem why did you not understand how much God loved you?

     Luke 13:35 "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and
verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until [the time] come when
ye shall say, Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord."

     Jesus now speaks to them that this is their house.  They have
taken it away from God with their evil will.  They will not receive
the Lord at this time.  They are blinded with the very law that God
had given them to set them free.  Jesus is speaking prophetically here
that there will come a day in the far future when they will see Him
coming in the clouds and then they will mourn for what they had done.
Then everyone will bow to Him and confess that He really was Messiah.



















                           Luke 36 Questions

1.  What did Jesus go through the cities and villages doing?
2.  What was the last few months of Jesus' ministry leading up to?
3.  In verse 23, one asked Jesus what question?
4.  What is the answer to this question then and now?
5.  How is the gate we enter in described?
6.  What is wrong with those who want to enter in and cannot?
7.  Who is the door?
8.  When is it too late to try to get in?
9.  What is taught in Hebrews 12:17?
10. Why do the people in verses 26 and 27 believe they should be
    saved?
11. No man cometh to the Father but by whom?
12. The Lord has no ---------, only children.
13. What happens when they see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the
    kingdom of God and are thrust out themselves?
14. What does verse 29 mean?
15. Is God a respecter of persons?
16. The learned people of the law rejected ----------.
17. Who came to Jesus and told Him to get out?
18. What reason did they give Jesus why He should leave?
19. What did Jesus call Herod?
20. What did Jesus tell them to tell Herod?
21. What is the city where prophets perish?
22. What fowl did Jesus use to describe how God would have protected
    Jerusalem, if they would have accepted it?
23. How had God led His people 40 years in the wilderness?
24. What is Jesus doing when He says, O Jerusalem?
25. In verse 35, their house is left -------.
26. What is Jesus speaking prophetically of in verse 35?