Leading The Way

Guest (Female): Thank you for taking time in your day for Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef, cultural expert and trusted international Bible teacher.

Guest (Male): Ask these questions: Who is going to heaven and how do you get there? You’ll get any variety of responses. Some people will say everyone goes to heaven. Then others might narrow it down to only if the good outweighs their bad. And then other people might lean into the thought that heaven is really a fictional place. It was just thought up and taught to soothe the sting of death over the centuries.

Well up next, Dr. Youssef invites you into the pages of the Bible where Jesus himself specifically tackles the subject of heaven as he traveled and taught along the dusty roads of Galilee. This is part of his series, Enduring Wisdom, where Dr. Youssef gives a biblical look right at the heart of our Heavenly Father. To begin this episode of Leading The Way, here now is Dr. Youssef taking you into the truth of God's word.

Dr. Michael Youssef: Our passage for today is in Luke 13, beginning at verse 23. Some unknown person asks Jesus, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" Listen carefully to the question. It's a profound one. In verse 24 of Luke 13, Jesus does not really answer the question, but he tells the man the very essence of the Christian faith. Listen to me, this is very important, particularly today when we have so many people who claim to be Christians, so many people who claim to be followers of Jesus.

They could be living in open sin and open rebellion against God and against his word, but they nonetheless call themselves Christians. That is why this passage is of vital importance. Who goes to heaven? Well, the answer to the question is the true essence of the Christian faith and is found in our passage for today. Luke chapter 13, beginning at verse 22.

I'm just going to tell you one thing and I'm going to repeat that. These are the last days in the life of our Lord. He was making his journey to Jerusalem. It takes an hour and a half by car, but our Lord walked it day after day through the villages and through the towns. He knew this is the last moment for people to hear him calling them and inviting them to come and repent and believe in him. And so as he continues in that journey, someone asked him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?"

The question that this man asked Jesus has been asked by millions of people in million different ways. The way this man asked the question—will those who be saved are few—is a very intriguing way of asking the question. Jesus does not give him percentages. He does not give him numbers. He does not say small or many. But Jesus in effect left us all without a doubt that those who are going to enter heaven will be those who are willing to surrender their sin to Jesus, those who are willing to surrender their pride and their desire for self-salvation.

Only those who surrender their self-righteousness, only those who surrender their self-will, only those whose vehicle that will take them to heaven is the blood of Jesus Christ. In Romans 5:9, the apostle tells us, "Since, therefore, we are justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through him." The only people who are going to make it to heaven are those who have repented of their sin, who have grieved over their sin, have surrendered their sin and been washed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The question this unknown man asked here in verse 23 is a genuine question. It is a real, genuine question on the part of this person. Why? Because the Jews in the time of Jesus, those who were listening, those who were there, expected that when the Messiah came, he would save their nation and that’s it. Nobody else. Remember as I told you, Jesus was on his way to die on that cross, to be crucified and shed his blood for the sins of every repentant sinner.

And so Jesus' answer was, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow gate because many will tell you that they will try, they will try, they will try." Yes, Jesus said they will try. So many people who think that they are going to go to heaven with all of their baggage will give you a variety of reasons as to why they think they are going to heaven. If you ask them, they say because I go to mass every Sunday or I take communion every Sunday, or because they keep their church rituals and ceremony, or because God just is a good, cool Jesus who's going to let everybody in, or I like the Jesus who's a cool guy.

No, beloved, listen to me. Jesus' original hearers who were listening to him, they thought that by virtue of their birth, by virtue of their ethnicity, by virtue of the fact that they are physically the descendant of Abraham, that they are a shoo-in into heaven. Jesus disabuses them of this. Hear me right, please. Jesus is not teaching salvation by works. Never, never, never. Far from it. In fact, he's saying the very act of humble repentance before God, the very act of self-denial is a clear indication of salvation.

I believe few people can say with John the Baptist, "I must decrease and he must increase." Nothing in me, all of him. Or like the song says, "Nothing in my hand I bring." Or like the other song says, "Nothing but the blood of Jesus." What about you? What about the person who says, "Well, I've done some good things"? Oh, that belongs to the wide gate. What about the person who says, "I hope that my good is going to outweigh my bad"? Oh no, that belongs to the wide gate.

What about the person who says, "But I went to church every time the doors are open"? That belongs to the wide gate. What about the person who said, "I have done lots of charitable work"? That belongs to the wide gate. What about the person who said, "I follow Pastor Smellfungus and he said that it's okay to do this and that and the other thing"? No, with him you belong to the wide gate. The word strive is a Greek word "agonizomai" from which we get the word agonize.

Beloved, listen to me. If you do not experience agony of soul that leads to repentance, if you do not take up your cross on a daily basis and follow Jesus, if you do not know what it means to daily die to self, if you do not know what self-sacrifice is, you could be heading for the wide gate, not the narrow one. If you have embraced Christianity because somebody told you that this is the way to prosper in this life, or because this is the way you get some cheap salvation, or because this is the way you can develop self-esteem, then it is time to cry to the Lord, "Show me your way."

Look at verses 24, 25. It is a picture of those who will be protesting on this final day of judgment, for those who will not make it to heaven. "But we participated at communion, we participated in mass. But we went to church at Christmas and Easter. But we believed in the Jesus good man. But we believe that Jesus is a great prophet. But we believe that Jesus is a wonderful teacher. We like Jesus' teaching. We try to live by the golden rules." That will not work. That will not work.

Let me ask you this. Have you ever asked yourself the question whether you are a truly authentic believer of the Lord Jesus Christ? Not just believe in Jesus, but believe Jesus and take him at his word. Verse 28 all the way to 30, there are some of the most powerful verses in all of the gospels because in these verses, Jesus reveals a very surprise explanation and a very vivid description of hell.

I know some of you probably are asking right now, "What is this thing about Abraham, Isaac, and people from the east and the west?" Listen to me very carefully. In the Old Testament, people were saved by looking forward 2,000 years. They were looking forward to the day when Jesus comes, dies on a cross, and rises again. Every one of the prophets have predicted him. In fact, that is why Jesus said Abraham—remember this, 2,000 years before Jesus—Abraham saw my day and rejoiced.

How did he see Jesus' day? By faith. And everyone from Abraham on that is saved in the Old Testament is saved by faith by looking forward to the coming of the Messiah and dying on that cross for their sin and rising again. By faith. How are the New Testament people saved after Christ? By that same faith. We look back by faith 2,000 years ago. By faith, we look back to the cross of Christ and the shedding of his blood for my sins and your sins and then rising again with the power of his omnipotence.

That's why the book of Revelation said they're going to be from every tribe and every nation, every tongue. They're going to be coming from every corner of the globe and they're going to be participating with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the kingdom of God at the marriage supper of the lamb. But those who are so close, those who are physical descendants of Abraham and yet rejected Jesus, they will be in agony.

Our beloved friends, as I get on the road and I meet so many of you and you tell me how long you have been watching or listening to Leading The Way for years, and you’ve wanted to give financially in support of this ministry and our global impact for the gospel of Jesus Christ, but you haven’t been able to focus on it or take the time to just write the check or go online and make the donation. Now I’d like to ask you to stop and do that right now. Our ministry together is more important now than ever before.

Our greatest opportunity to make a real, lasting impact and difference for the cause of Christ is now. And as you know, this is my labor of love. I have no financial consideration with Leading The Way whatsoever. I give it all of my time now, full-time, literally. So would you join me in worshipping the Lord through giving? Souls will be in heaven because of our partnership. I encourage you to give right now. You won’t regret it. In fact, it will bring you great joy to know that your dollars are impacting lives. Visit ltw.org for details. That’s ltw.org. Thank you in advance. God bless.

Now I want you to use your imagination here just for a little bit. Now these Pharisees, they kept all of the external trappings of the religion. They kept all the external ones. They did all the religious rituals. But they are heading for hell, while repentant prostitutes and robbers and criminals, when they repent of their sin, they will be saved and end up in the kingdom of God, in the kingdom of heaven. It's mind-boggling, let me tell you, it's mind-boggling.

Here are the most agonizing words: "I don't know you. I don't know you." Verse 28, it's a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Far from focusing his hearers on their self-fulfillment, self-actualization, ambitions, desire for health, wealth, and prosperity in this life, far from it. That's what the preachers are preaching in pulpits today, but that's not the focus of Jesus. Jesus is calling them to have an eternal perspective. He's calling them to pay attention to hell.

Look at verse 31 and 32, 33 with me please. There is an Exhibit A of the Pharisees' hypocrisy here. You know from the moment of his birth, Jesus has been targeted for killing. Satan wanted to kill Jesus as a baby. Remember Herod sent and killed all the babies in Bethlehem? From day one, from the day he was born, they wanted to kill him. They wanted to kill the sinless, the only sinless, perfect, absolute, righteous, holy, compassionate, generous, and benevolent Jesus.

In verse 31, the first glance when you read that and you think, "Oh, these Pharisees, these hypocrites really are concerned about Jesus." I mean, they hated Jesus. They really wanted to kill Jesus, but you think they were concerned about him, that they were trying to be compassionate about Jesus. They said, "Get out of here, get out of here. Herod wants to kill you." But Jesus was not going to be fooled by their pretending to be concerned for him.

He knew that he was going to Jerusalem. He's on his way to Jerusalem for the purpose of dying. He is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. But listen to me, even the gentle lamb is suspicious of wolves when they pretend to be concerned for the lamb's safety. Think about it. What does our wise Lord say to that? "Let me give you a message that you can take to Herod. Go and tell that fox." Translation: go and tell this conniving, worthless rat.

"I will cast demons and I'll heal the sick on my own schedule. I will accomplish my goal on my own timetable. I will do the will of my Father until the time is up. I will do what I came from heaven to do until it's accomplished. I will go to Jerusalem on my own terms. I will go to the cross on my own terms. I will pay for the wages of every repentant sinner on my Father's watch. I will accomplish all things according to the counsel of my will.

I will lay my life down for my sheep by the sovereign determination of the will of the Father. I fear no threats of those who think that they can stop me. I will not be intimidated by those who think they have power over me. I will not be silenced or pushed around by those who think they are powerful. As it is, I'm heading for Jerusalem. I know what awaits me there. I know what I'm going to accomplish there. I know it's in Jerusalem where the prophets have been persecuted and killed, and I am going there."

Beloved, make no mistake about it. Herod did not kill Jesus. Pontius Pilate did not kill Jesus. Judas Iscariot with his betrayal did not kill Jesus. Caiaphas the high priest did not kill Jesus. It was the Father's will that his son die on that cross to redeem repentant sinners. Jesus is the one who took himself to that cross. And he said in the gospel of John, "I have authority to take it up, I have authority to lay it down, but I'm going to lay it down because that is the way I'm going to redeem and ransom my children."

All these people from Herod to Pontius Pilate to Judas to the high priest, all they will pay for their guilt. They'll be judged for that. But God in his sovereign will decided that Jesus will die on that cross to pay for the wages of my sin and the punishment of your sin and the sin of everyone who will repent and turn to him. And then on the third day, he will vindicate him by raising him up with every ounce of his omnipotence out of the grave.

Beloved, I've been to Israel many times. Every time I go and look, the tomb is empty. Our God is not only sovereign, he is not only a holy God, but don't ever forget the other side of the coin is that he's a compassionate God. He's a gracious God. Look at verse 34 and 35. I hope that when you go home, you read those words again and again and again. Just read and feel the incredible passion of the Lord Jesus Christ and his passion about those who have rejected his message, they've rejected his salvation, who have rejected his truth.

This is of course an agrarian image. I grew up in a culture where I could see with my own eyes when the hen takes her brood under her wings. And this is a constant biblical theme when Jesus cried, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem," and this double mention is always for emphasis, always like when Jesus said, "Simon, Simon, the devil wants to sift you as wheat," or when he said, "Martha, Martha. Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem. Despite of all your past sins and your persecuting and killing of the prophets, I still long for you to repent and turn to me." This deep longing on the heart of Jesus. He wanted them to repent from their false religion and come under his wings. It's mind-boggling, let me tell you, it's mind-boggling.