18 And he said, 'To what is the reign of God like? and to what shall I liken it? 19 It is like to a grain of mustard, which a man having taken, did cast into his garden, and it increased, and came to a great tree, and the fowls of the heavens did rest in its branches.'
20 And again he said, 'To what shall I liken the reign of God? 21 It is like leaven, which a woman, having taken, did hide in three measures of meal, till that all was leavened.'
22 And he was going through cities and villages, teaching, and making progress toward Jerusalem;
23 and a certain one said to him, 'Sir, are those saved few?' and he said unto them, 24 'Be striving to go in through the straight gate, because many, I say to you, will seek to go in, and shall not be able; 25 from the time the master of the house may have risen up, and may have shut the door, and ye may begin without to stand, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, lord, open to us, and he answering shall say to you, I have not known you whence ye are, 26 then ye may begin to say, We did eat before thee, and did drink, and in our broad places thou didst teach; 27 and he shall say, I say to you, I have not known you whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of the unrighteousness. 28 'There shall be there the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth, when ye may see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the reign of God, and yourselves being cast out without; 29 and they shall come from east and west, and from north and south, and shall recline in the reign of God, 30 and lo, there are last who shall be first, and there are first who shall be last.'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Luke 13:18-30
Commentary on Luke 13:18-22
(Read Luke 13:18-22)
Here is the progress of the gospel foretold in two parables, as in Matthew 13. The kingdom of the Messiah is the kingdom of God. May grace grow in our hearts; may our faith and love grow exceedingly, so as to give undoubted evidence of their reality. May the example of God's saints be blessed to those among whom they live; and may his grace flow from heart to heart, until the little one becomes a thousand.
Commentary on Luke 13:23-30
(Read Luke 13:23-30)
Our Saviour came to guide men's consciences, not to gratify their curiosity. Ask not, How many shall be saved? But, Shall I be one of them? Not, What shall become of such and such? But, What shall I do, and what will become of me? Strive to enter in at the strait gate. This is directed to each of us; it is, Strive ye. All that will be saved, must enter in at the strait gate, must undergo a change of the whole man. Those that would enter in, must strive to enter. Here are awakening considerations, to enforce this exhortation. Oh that we may be all awakened by them! They answer the question, Are there few that shall be saved? But let none despond either as to themselves or others, for there are last who shall be first, and first who shall be last. If we reach heaven, we shall meet many there whom we little thought to meet, and miss many whom we expected to find.