22: And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23: Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 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. 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: 26: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27: But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 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. 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. 30: And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.

22: And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23: Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 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.

In this Bible verse, Jesus is physically journeying toward Jerusalem, so this acted parable will be about spiritually traveling in life towards the New Jerusalem or heaven. The Lord Jesus is asked by His disciples if the way is hard (few that be saved). The Lord answers the question with the word “strive” to enter in. Strive - # 75 means to: struggle, contend with an adversary; endeavor to accomplish. So Jesus is telling us that we will have to contend with an adversary. The Bible tells us our adversary is the devil – 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast in the faith . . . So Jesus is telling us that we will have to resist or struggle against the temptations of the devil. James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. This Bible text gives us the answer as to how to resist the devil. We must submit ourselves to God. Then the devil will flee because he is no match for the power of God. So our struggling is not against the devil directly, but our struggle is against our self. We must recognize that we are no match for the devil and that we must submit ourselves to God and let him fight the devil. The many that will not be able to enter in to the Holy City will not submit themselves to God, and will therefore not be able to contend with the devil and will be overcome by him.

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:

The illustration given in this acted parable by Jesus is that of a physical master of a physical house who has shut the physical door to his house and will not let those he does not know physically into his physical house. So this acted parable will be about a spiritual master (Jesus) who has a spiritual house (Church) who has shut the spiritual door (close of probation) on those he does not know spiritually and will not let them into his spiritual house (Church). Matthew 25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage and the door was shut. We know from our previous study that the marriage represents the judgment where the decision has been made by the Lord and a person as to whether they want to live together forever. The Shut Door at the marriage was to those the Lord did not know. The hour of judgment had closed on them forever. Matthew 24:13 watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh.

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

In these Bible verses the Lord describes church members who will be lost. They have eaten in the presence of the Lord (in Church) – Jeremiah 15:16 Thy words were found and I did eat them . . Song of Solomon 8:2 I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink . . .So these are Church members who have read the Bible and been instructed and been taught truth. Yet they did not have a relationship with Jesus because He said I know you not to them. They had not overcome the devil because they were workers of iniquity. They could not resist the devil’s temptations because they had not submitted themselves to God to let Him fight the devil. They were lost Church members who were weeping and gnashing their teeth.

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

The words that Jesus uses in this acted parable are the same words that he used in the parable of the laborers in the vineyard in Matthew 20:1-16, so he is referring to the same subject: working in the vineyard or in the Church.

Matthew 20:10 -16: But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

In this parable of working in the Church, Jesus is once again illustrating the principal that the amount of work done or how long a person has worked in the Church is not going to make him better than someone else in God’s eyes. Only in human eyes are these persons better. No one is saved by their works. If any one is saved, it is only through the grace and power of God. Without Him, human beings cannot overcome the devil or sin in their lives. This is why we are all equal in God’s sight. When we really understand this, we will stop trying to compete with each other and will instead begin to help one another.