“Strive to enter through the narrow door.”
This is Jesus’ cryptic response to a rather simple question in Luke 13:23-24: “Will those who are saved be few?” You may have noticed that in the gospels (and in your own prayer life) Jesus often responds like this. We ask a question that, unbeknownst to us, is narrow, and he responds by revealing truths that we hadn’t even dreamt of seeking.
In this case, Jesus doesn’t just want them to rejoice in the multitude that will find salvation, or to heed his warning lest they find themselves on the outside (although his answer encompasses both points). Jesus wants them to see him, and his salvation, in a deeper way.
He does this by opening up a familiar image for them in Luke 13:24-30—the image of the Great Flood. When the waters came down, the way for salvation was narrow, for there was only one door into the ark, nd the ark was the only safe harbor. God sealed up Noah and his family in the ark, but everyone who rejected God’s warning had no refuge.
Jesus uses the Flood story for two reasons. First, he wants them to see that belonging to Israel would not be enough to gain salvation. The animals that came on board the ark found safety, but the people who ignored God’s message didn’t. In the same way, even foreigners who come from every direction will find safety (Lk. 13:29), but the Jews who reject God’s ultimate messenger will be left outside, banging on the door.
Jesus’ second reason touches us more directly. He wants us to see that Jesus himself is the way to salvation. He isn’t just the messenger—he is the ark himself. He’s the one who longs to gather his people “as a hen gathers her brood under her wings” (Lk. 13:34). Jesus is our refuge.
When you encounter storms in your life, seek shelter in him. Bring him your illnesses, your sorrows, your fears, or whatever else threatens you. But if it seems like the storms keep raging despite your pleas, take heart. He hasn’t abandoned you. Instead, look for the ways that Jesus would draw you to safety in himself. He is our shelter, and in him we have a security that no storm or sorrow can break.
Justin