{"id":11803,"date":"2024-02-17T00:00:47","date_gmt":"2024-02-16T16:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/?p=11803"},"modified":"2024-02-18T17:16:41","modified_gmt":"2024-02-18T09:16:41","slug":"excluded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/2024\/02\/17\/excluded\/","title":{"rendered":"Excluded"},"content":{"rendered":"

Luke 13:25-28 25<\/sup>From whenever the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, \u2018Lord, open to us,\u2019 and answering he will say to you, \u2018I do not know from where you come.\u2019 <\/em>26<\/sup>Then you will begin to say, \u2018We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.\u2019 27<\/sup>But he will say to you, \u2018I do not know from where you come. Depart from me, all you evil doers!\u2019 28<\/sup>In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves being cast out. <\/em><\/p>\n

The story continues with the involvement of the master of the house. This part of the story has specific application to those who were listening to Jesus, especially those who were caught in the trap of hypocritical legalism. The invitation had been given, and the narrow door had been opened for a while. Those outside had the opportunity to come into the master house, but they refused. They wanted to be out on their own. The reason they could not enter is not specifically stated, but verse 27 states that they were\u00a0workers of evil<\/em>. They refused to repent from these wicked ways. The master had been out on the streets preaching the truth, but these people refused to listen and change their ways. The reason they wanted in the master’s house is not given but it is assumed that life was actually not so good outside. In fact, verse 28 hints that it was a place of great torment.<\/p>\n

The master has full control of who can enter into his house. There will come a point when the invitation will be withdrawn and the door will be closed. Now is the time of choosing salvation. There will come a point when it will be too late. This passage is a strong argument against universalism, the idea that everyone will one day enter heaven because God is love and would not allow anyone to perish. God leaves the choice up to people, as this parable indicates. The people who cannot enter do not know the master, nor does the master know them. They are strangers, even though they had heard the teachings of the master.<\/p>\n

The people make another desperate plea in verse 26. They claim association and knowledge just because they observed the master and spent a little time with him. The application in Jesus’ ministry is that people like the Pharisees spend time with Jesus. They heard his teachings and even had meals with him. They heard all they needed to hear to make an informed decision of faith. There will come a point when it will be too late for people. There is a difference between knowing about Jesus–evening studying about Jesus, than actually knowing him personally and following him in faith.<\/p>\n

Verse 27 gives two sad responses: I know not know you<\/em> and depart from me!<\/em>\u00a0 (see Matthew 7:21\u201323; 25:41\u201345). We do not want to hear those words from Jesus, who is the Way, Truth, and Life. Because the people did not know Jesus and he did not know them in a personal relationship, they had to depart from him. This statement refers to the final judgment when those who have not put their faith in Jesus will be locked out of heaven. They will be sent to the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.\u00a0<\/em>These people will not be expelled because they never were even inside. They would be kept out. Everyone is bound for hell unless we put our hope in Jesus. Those who did not know Jesus but still trusted in God would be allowed in. These people include the Patriarchs and prophets. This passage provided a strong warning to the Jews who first heard it and a warning to us as well. Have we repented and believed in Jesus Messiah? Do we have the assurance that the door is open for us?<\/p>\n

For older posts, click\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Luke 13:25-28 25From whenever the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, \u2018Lord, open to us,\u2019 and answering he will say to you, \u2018I do not know from where you come.\u2019 26Then you will begin to say, \u2018We ate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotions","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11803"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11839,"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11803\/revisions\/11839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}