²² Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he went, always pressing on toward Jerusalem. ²³ Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?”

He replied, ²⁴ “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail. ²⁵ When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ ²⁶ Then you will say, ‘But we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ ²⁷ And he will reply, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil.’

²⁸ “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you will be thrown out. ²⁹ And people will come from all over the world—from east and west, north and south—to take their places in the Kingdom of God. ³⁰ And note this: Some who seem least important now will be the greatest then, and some who are the greatest now will be least important then.”

³¹ At that time some Pharisees said to him, “Get away from here if you want to live! Herod Antipas wants to kill you!”

³² Jesus replied, “Go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow; and the third day I will accomplish my purpose. ³³ Yes, today, tomorrow, and the next day I must proceed on my way. For it wouldn’t do for a prophet of God to be killed except in Jerusalem!

³⁴ “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. ³⁵ And now, look, your house is abandoned. And you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Dear God, as I read this passage today, I just got the feeling that Jesus was feeling the full height, breadth, and depth of his deity. Well, the first thing I actually noticed was that some Pharisees seemed to care about Jesus’s safety. They were probably in the know among the other Pharisees and their plans for killing Jesus. Nicodemus might very well have been in this group. Anyway, it is nice to see some compassion and concern among some of the Pharisees.

But back to Jesus really feeling it. He was on a roll here. Again, if I were to find one theme among all of these parables as they describe you and your kingdom–your autobiography, if you will–it would be that there truly is a narrow road. I’m still not totally certain what defines the narrow road, but I know that it’s a matter of heart and purpose as we strive to love and know you.

It seems lately there are a lot of politicians who building their brand on describing themselves as knowing you, but their fruits simply are not there. They worship you with their lips, but their hearts are far from you (Matthew 15:8). And the weird thing is how many people are following them. I suppose because they are playing on the people’s fears and then giving them what they want to hear. They are sowing doubt and then giving the people themselves to worship.

But as for me, Father, I need to follow you. I need to pray for those who are my “enemies.” And I do. I have a few people right now who consider me their enemy. I pray for absolutely each and every one of them. I pray for their peace and healing. I pray for their joy. I pray that they would know you. I pray that they would experience you in the people around them. I pray that you would use people in their sphere to influence them with your voice. Your peace. Truly be their God. Help them to turn loose of all of their idols.

And now, lest I be seen as somehow seeing myself as better than any of them, I ask the same things for myself…for us all. I pray for my peace and healing. I pray for my joy. I pray that I would know you. I pray that I would experience you in the people around me. I pray that you would use people in my sphere to influence me with your voice. Your peace. Truly be my God. Help me to turn loose of all of my idols. Reveal to me what those idols are. What my sin is.

I pray all of this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

Amen