Luke 13:23-30
23 Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,
24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.
29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
30 And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.
The Grace New Testament Commentary - Luke 13:23-30
13:23-24 While Jesus continues on His journey to Jerusalem, an unnamed person inquires, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" The question deals with the promised OT Messianic deliverance - or salvation - anticipated by the godly believing remnant (cf. Luke 1:68-75) and the number of those who will experience it.
Jesus responds to a larger group. The exhortation does not address the issue of finding "the narrow gate" (in the NT only here and Matt 7:13-14), but rather of entering through it - by belief in Him. Jesus here affirms neither that one can earn eternal life through strenuous self-effort nor that only a few will see salvation. The many refer to Jewish contemporaries of Jesus who witnessed His ministry and yet rejected Him (cf. esp. v 29). The gravity of the future consequence merits every effort in the present to avoid it.
13:25 Jesus describes a future attempt to enter the kingdom by the same contemporaries who had rejected Him. As "Master of the house" He will either exclude people from, or welcome them into, the future millennial kingdom, here pictured as a house where guests enjoy an exclusive dinner banquet. When He closes "the door" of opportunity (i.e., He returns to establish His reign), then those very contemporaries would "begin to stand outside and knock." But because they had not expended the effort to validate Jesus' claim to messiahship - and consequently believe in Him - "He will answer...'I do not know you.'" Entrance into the kingdom requires a spiritual union with Jesus - established forever the instant that one believes in Him as Savior.
13:26 The ones outside will then attempt to help the Master's recollection saying, "We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets." Ironically their claim confirms their just exclusion from the house. They experienced Jesus' compassion and teaching and yet rejected Him.
13:27 Those outside the house hear the same message again with the addition of a command: "'Depart from me all you workers of iniquity.'" In addition to having no relationship with Jesus they did evil. The basis of their condemnation lies in the words "'I do not know you.'" The phrase workers of iniquity describes their characteristic sin.
13:28 The Lord predicts deep regret - "weeping and gnashing of teeth" - for unbelieving Jewish people who witnessed His ministry firsthand and yet rejected Him. They will experience profound pain when they see the famous "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets" in the kingdom and they themselves barred from entering.
13:29 Not only will they not participate with their Jewish forefathers and prophets, but Gentiles - whom they typically despised will "sit down in the kingdom of God." This close fellowship of the Gentiles with Messiah strikes a marked contrast with the exclusion of those in the chosen nation who rejected Him.
13:30 The Lord employs this saying ("there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last") with different senses in the Synoptic Gospels (cf. Matt 19:30; 20:16; Mark 10:31). Here it contrasts the last - Gentiles - with those in the Jewish nation first in privileges (cf. Rom 9:1-5).
Charles Bing - Grace, Salvation, and Discipleship - False Professors, Matthew 7:21-23
(Salvation) Interpretation: Many who profess to be Christians are not really saved because they are practicing sin.
Second (Salvation) Interpretation: Many who profess to be Christians are not really saved, because they do not know Jesus as Savior.
This passage is often used to argue that not all who profess to know Jesus Christ as Savior are truly saved because they do not have corroborating good works. Works, therefore, are necessary evidence of salvation. While it is certainly true that not all professors of salvation are possessors of salvation, it does not follow from this passage that works are the determinative test. If anything, works in this passage actually show the opposite - that they cannot prove one's salvation.
If we are mindful of the context, we see that this passage relates to the discussion of false prophets in Matthew 7:15-20 (see v. 22 - they "prophesied"). While Matthew 7:21-23 would surely include the false prophets, Jesus seems to broaden the application to "everyone" (v. 21) who makes spiritual claims. He focuses first on professing believers who are false prophets, then on unbelievers who are false professors. Like the false prophets, they have the outward appearance of true sheep. But these also have miraculous deeds and some correct theology, acknowledging that Jesus is Lord. But ultimately, Jesus Christ rejects them with the verdict that he never knew them. They are not genuine believers.
Jesus' criterion for rejecting these professors of salvation is that they are not doing "the will of My Father in heaven." The will of the Father could not simply be good works because they had those. If they could achieve kingdom righteousness by good works, that would be salvation apart from grace. If works are the standard for entry into heaven or the kingdom, then they must be done according to God's standard, which is perfection (Matt. 5:48). But that is an impossible standard that even the fastidious scribes and Pharisees could not reach (Matt. 5:20). Then what is the will of the Father? It is to believe in the only One who could perfectly fulfill all the commandments in our place, Jesus Christ (John 6:28-29).
The context leads us to the conclusion that trusting in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation. In Matthew 7:13-15, Jesus spoke of a narrow gate that leads to life (cf. John 10:9). Luke 13:24-30 also mentions the narrow gate as the way to salvation in a parable with similar language. There, Jesus answers the question posed by an anonymous hearer, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" Jesus talks about entering the narrow gate and those who are shut out by a closed door. He explains that false professors are excluded from the way of salvation, and they will grieve deeply as they realize their exclusion from the kingdom of God (Luke 13:28).
The (Salvation truth) of Matthew 7:21-23 is that faith in Jesus Christ must be our only hope of eternal life. Doing good works are not a part of that saving message. Good theology, impressive deeds, and submission to Christ as Lord cannot save us. This group of professors had all these things, but they were not saved. All they had was self-righteousness instead of Christ-righteousness.
The sad result of trusting in theology, good works, or submission to Christ's Lordship without trusting in Christ for His righteousness is that many who think they are saved have never really been saved. This is as true today as it was then.