NOTES for Luk 13:18-35

We have read many times already that Christ's Kingdom is not like all our human "kingdoms." It is like salt in food, like yeast in dough, like a seed in the ground that has not yet sprouted. It is real, but not visible to the "naked eye." It cannot be defined by our concepts, but its presence irreversibly changes this world.

That is exactly why it is so hard to limit "membership" in this Kingdom, however much "chosen ones" of every kind try to do so. The question asked of Jesus about the number of those being saved, that is, the participants in God's Kingdom, in essence means a demand to mark the boundaries of salvation: "who is inside, and who is outside?"

This question remains unanswered: instead of a limited sect, there is a call for everyone. Yes, entering by the "narrow gate" is hard, and the chance of being left out is quite real. But the gate is not closed; it is merely narrow. And everyone for whom this is truly important and necessary can find himself at Christ's feast with those who have also passed along this path.

Before the coming of Christ most of the Jewish believers expected that the Kingdom will come immediately the day of the arrival of the Messiah, that it will be seen by all and each, such that nobody can any more doubt of its reality. Jesus speaks differently: He compares the Kingdom with the leaven, the presence of which is imperceptible at first, and the action takes time. He speaks about the history of the Kingdom, which has already with Him entered the world, but did not yet reveal itself in it to the end, then at the beginning of its history one can completely not notice it at all, as if nothing changed with the arrival of the Savior. For many, His words seemed probably strange and incomprehensible: why, If He Himself has already brought all the fullness of the Kingdom in the world, a certain time was still needed for this Kingdom to reveal itself. Why not to reveal it all on the very day of His arrival?

If the Kingdom that Christ brought into the world was such as expected to see it most of the believers, everything would have really happened that way. Indeed, most of those who waited for the Messiah and for the Kingdom, waited for something completely earthly, even if built differently than the heathen States, but existing by the same earthly laws, by which exist all human societies. The laws of the messianic Kingdom had to correspond to the Torah, the Messiah Himself had, unlike the heathen rulers, to be a righteous King, and for the rest nobody waited for anything particular from the Kingdom, if of course we do not consider the miracles, which, as expected many believers will spill abundant flow on the Messiah and His Kingdom. Such a Kingdom could have really appeared, if it is not suddenly, then fast enough, within the life of a generation.

But Jesus spoke about another Kingdom, which had to cover the whole world, having beforehand transformed it in a way that it receives the possibility of living according to other laws. Time is needed for this transformation, that is why the Kingdom has in our world being transformed its own history, about which speaks the Savior comparing the Kingdom with the leaven. Is it possible that there was an immediate transformation of all the creation the day of the arrival of the Christ? Probably, yes: because for God nothing is impossible. But the chance to enter the Kingdom would then have been only to very few chosen ones. But God wants to save if possible everyone, and thus, the chance must be also given to each of those who are destined to be born on earth. And time is needed for that, about which says the Savior. Time, which in such a situation becomes the practical manifestation of God's love to each of us.

Before the coming of Christ most of the Jewish believers expected that the Kingdom will come immediately the day of the arrival of the Messiah, that it will be seen by all and each, such that nobody can any more doubt of its reality. Jesus speaks differently: He compares the Kingdom with the leaven, the presence of which is imperceptible at first, and the action takes time. He speaks about the history of the Kingdom, which has already with Him entered the world, but did not yet reveal itself in it to the end, then at the beginning of its history one can completely not notice it at all, as if nothing changed with the arrival of the Savior. For many, His words seemed probably strange and incomprehensible: why, If He Himself has already brought all the fullness of the Kingdom in the world, a certain time was still needed for this Kingdom to reveal itself. Why not to reveal it all on the very day of His arrival?

If the Kingdom that Christ brought into the world was such as expected to see it most of the believers, everything would have really happened that way. Indeed, most of those who waited for the Messiah and for the Kingdom, waited for something completely earthly, even if built differently than the heathen States, but existing by the same earthly laws, by which exist all human societies. The laws of the messianic Kingdom had to correspond to the Torah, the Messiah Himself had, unlike the heathen rulers, to be a righteous King, and for the rest nobody waited for anything particular from the Kingdom, if of course we do not consider the miracles, which, as expected many believers will spill abundant flow on the Messiah and His Kingdom. Such a Kingdom could have really appeared, if it is not suddenly, then fast enough, within the life of a generation.

But Jesus spoke about another Kingdom, which had to cover the whole world, having beforehand transformed it in a way that it receives the possibility of living according to other laws. Time is needed for this transformation, that is why the Kingdom has in our world being transformed its own history, about which speaks the Savior comparing the Kingdom with the leaven. Is it possible that there was an immediate transformation of all the creation the day of the arrival of the Christ? Probably, yes: because for God nothing is impossible. But the chance to enter the Kingdom would then have been only to very few chosen ones. But God wants to save if possible everyone, and thus, the chance must be also given to each of those who are destined to be born on earth. And time is needed for that, about which says the Savior. Time, which in such a situation becomes the practical manifestation of God's love to each of us.

The Lord Jesus Christ spoke these words in answer to an unknown person's puzzled question about the number of those being saved. As far as one can judge, the logic of the conversation from which the evangelist Luke recorded only Christ's words is as follows. The Lord says more than once that salvation depends on a person's thoughts and deeds, on the state of his heart, on his relation to God. He calls people to repentance and to the correction of life; in the absence of all this, salvation is obviously impossible. Many Jews of that time, though not all, believed that with the coming of the Messiah, salvation would automatically be given to all "full" participants in the Old Covenant. In part this view was determined by an overly primitive understanding of the prophets' words, and in part it was a legacy of the formal religiosity of the post-exilic era. In one way or another, the thought that salvation from sin and death would not be given to everyone and not automatically caused bewilderment in many, and even strong protest. It is in this context that the question put to Christ apparently sounds: "Will those who are saved be few?".

"If there really are few who are saved, if not all Jews automatically fall into their number, then I may not be among them!" This is the emotional subtext of the question. It must be said that "assigning" whole categories of people to the saved regardless of their personal spiritual condition is a very common thing, characteristic not only of Jewish thinking, but of human thinking in general. In answering this, the Lord Jesus Christ shifts the conversation to an entirely different plane. He does not offer new criteria for selecting those who will or will not be saved. The Lord addresses the questioner personally, saying that salvation depends on the will and efforts of each concrete person. The path of salvation must be sought, and the entrance into the Kingdom is the narrow gate, through which one can pass only by applying effort. "Strive," says the Greek text of the Gospel; "labor in spiritual struggle," the Synodal text brilliantly translates this verb. The matter, then, is not how narrow the gate is, but what the will and effort of the person himself are like.

Jesus Christ pronounces these words in answer to the perplexed question of this unknown concerning the number of those who will be saved. As we can judge it, it is the logic of the dialogue, that evangelist Luke wrote only the words of Jesus. The Lord says several times that salvation does not depend of man's thoughts and acts, neither on the state of his heart, on his relation to God. He invites to repentance and to change of behavior, it is evident that salvation is impossible without all this. Several Jews of this period believed that with the coming of the Messiah, salvation would automatically be given to all the "deserved" participants of the Old Testament. Such an approach was partially defined by the very primitive understanding of prophets’ words, and partially it was the heritage of the formal religion after the period of captivity. Somehow or other, the idea according to which salvation from sin and death will not be automatically given, and nor to all provoked a bewilderment to many, and even sometimes a vehement protest. It is surely in this context that this question was given to Jesus: " Lord, are there few that be saved?"

"Because if the few that be saved, and if all the Jews don't enter automatically in this number, then I might not be there!" - that is maybe the emotional subtext of this question. It would be necessary to say that the "adding" to those to be saved , independently from the personal spiritual aspect of any categories is something very widespread, inherent not only to the Jews, but to all human mentality. Answering this question, Jesus Christ transfers completely the conversation in another plan; He doesn't propose criteria of selection of those that will be saved or not. The Lord addresses personally the questioner, saying that salvation depends on the will and efforts of every concrete person. It is necessary to look for the road of salvation and for the entrance into the Kingdom - the strait gate, where we can pass only with many efforts. "Fight" said the Greek text of the Gospel; "strive" - King James’ text translates goldenly this verb. It is not thus a matter of knowing how much the door is narrow, but to know what are the will and the efforts of the very man.

Speaking of the Kingdom, the Savior undoubtedly has in mind the Kingdom that He Himself brought into the world, not the one usually imagined by the people listening to Him. His listeners, as a rule, imagined a strong earthly state, living according to the laws of the Torah and therefore enjoying God's protection, headed by a righteous King to Whom God had given special authority over the world and over people. Such a kingdom, of course, could also be open not only to Jews, but everyone else would in any case have to become Yahwists and accept Judaism in order to make use of what the Messiah would bring into the world.

But Jesus, meanwhile, is speaking of something else: of the Kingdom as a spiritual reality that exists independently of any earthly structures and institutions, whether governmental or social. This Kingdom enters the world through Him, and the way into it is opened by relationship with Him and with His heavenly Father. The true Kingdom of Christ is a space of relationships, above all the relationships that bind Christ with the Father. And anyone can enter the space of Their relationships, regardless of language, nationality, cultural tradition, or religious tradition. Christianity is not a religion and not even a spiritual practice, but life in the Kingdom, and therefore in the space of relationship between the Father and the Son. Here the question of who is first and who is last is not so simple. In essence, it has no meaning at all: in the Kingdom everyone receives the fullness of life that he can contain. But who will be joined to this fullness earlier is indeed an open question.

It would seem that in Judea in Gospel times there were many people whose main goal and meaning in life was precisely the expectation of the Messiah and the Kingdom. But their expectation became for them a kind of religion, or more precisely, part of their religious life, at the foundation of which naturally lay Judaism. And religion tends to become something valuable in itself and self-sufficient, often obscuring the goal for which it arose and exists.

On the other hand, there were many people in the world seeking, often without realizing it, precisely the Kingdom and its life, often not knowing where or with Whom to seek it. And if it was often very difficult for religious messianists to humble themselves before the Messiah as He is, then for seekers of the Kingdom, unburdened by any religion, it was much simpler and more natural to come to Him. And no wonder: Jesus Himself says that it is hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom. And here it no longer matters whether we are speaking of material, cultural, or religious wealth.

Addressing Jerusalem, the Savior at the same time addresses the history of this city. Since David's time it had been not only the capital of the Jewish state, but also the capital of Yahwism. And it remained the capital up to the gospel age, apart from a brief interruption by historical standards during the Babylonian exile.

And in every age the same tragedy was played out in this city again and again. The tragedy of not accepting those who spoke on God's behalf. Not one of the great prophets of antiquity became a triumphant figure during his lifetime. Even Isaiah of Jerusalem, who had influence over King Hezekiah, in the end, judged by earthly standards, lost: his influence was insufficient to determine the policy of Hezekiah, who seemed favorable to the prophet. And although the stories of this prophet's martyrdom during the reign of Manasseh appear much later, it is possible that a real story stands behind them: under Manasseh there were indeed persecutions of the followers of the prophets.

Others were less fortunate: at best they were viewed as annoying eccentrics, and at worst as enemies of their country and their people, as happened, for example, with Jeremiah. Of course, later, already after the Babylonian exile, the Jews began to look at the prophets as great people; their legacy was studied and systematized, which is how the collections of the books of the Former and Latter Prophets appeared. But something remained unchanged, and precisely this something prevented many of Jesus' contemporaries from seeing in Him the Messiah promised by God. The issue is distrust, or insufficient trust, toward living revelation.

Jesus' contemporaries believed the prophets not so much because their life and spiritual experience allowed them to see the depth of prophetic revelation, but because by that time the prophets were already regarded as absolute spiritual authorities and the prophetic books had entered the canon of Holy Scripture. They believed not the Spirit, but tradition. And everything that did not fit into tradition seemed no less suspicious to these people than the words of ancient prophets seemed to their contemporaries.

There were, of course, exceptions, but they were few. The old tragedy was repeating itself again. But now the issue was no longer a prophet, but the Messiah. The One for whose sake God raised up His people and gave them historical life. Therefore the rejection of the Messiah inevitably had to become a historical catastrophe for them. And the Savior, of course, wants another fate for Jerusalem. But even He is not able to change the choice made by His countrymen. For everyone chooses his own path, whether an individual person or a whole people.