NOTES for Luk 11:23

Few people like Jesus' sharp words. We would prefer something about forgiveness, salvation, love, eternal life... But He is speaking precisely about this: only in order to receive all this from Him, one must be with Him. This is not the same situation as in Luke 9:50, where Jesus says, "Whoever is not against you is for you." There He warns His disciples against hostility toward those who differ from them in some way but are not hostile. Here the matter is different: only in Jesus has God revealed Himself in fullness; only through Him is the way to eternal life opened. Therefore every second spent with Him goes into eternity, while every second not spent with Him is cut off from eternity. Half measures are impossible here; one cannot go at once both into eternity and into death. Therefore every moment is either gathering, increasing life, or wasting it.