Church Fathers Commentary Luke 13:22-30

"And he went on his way through cities and villages, teaching, and journeying on unto Jerusalem. And one said unto him, Lord, are they few that are saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in by the narrow door: for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 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, open to us; and he shall answer and say to you, I know you not whence ye are; then shall ye begin to say, We did eat and drink in thy presence, and thou didst teach in our streets; and he shall say, I tell you, I know not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and yourselves cast forth without. And they shall come from the east and west, and from the north and south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And behold, there are last who shall be first, and there are first who shall be last." — Luke 13:22-30 (ASV)

Glossa Ordinaria: Having spoken in parables about the growth of the Gospel's teaching, He everywhere endeavors to spread it by preaching. Hence it is said, And he went through the cities and villages.

Theophylact of Ohrid: For He did not visit only the small places, as those who wish to deceive the simple do, nor only the cities, as those who are fond of show and seek their own glory. Instead, as their common Lord and Father providing for all, He went about everywhere.

Nor did He visit only the country towns while avoiding Jerusalem, as if He feared the objections of the lawyers or the death that might follow from it. And so He adds, And journeying towards Jerusalem. For where there were many sick, there the Physician chiefly showed Himself. It follows, Then said one to him, Lord, are there few that be saved?

Glossa Ordinaria: This question seems to refer to what had come before. For in the parable given above, He had said that the birds of the air rested on its branches, from which it might be supposed that many would obtain the rest of salvation. And because one had asked the question for all, the Lord does not answer him individually, as it follows: And he said to them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate.

St. Basil the Great: For as in earthly life the departure from what is right is exceedingly broad, so he who goes off the path that leads to the kingdom of heaven finds himself in a vast realm of error. But the right way is narrow, where the slightest turning aside is full of danger, whether to the right or to the left—as on a bridge, where he who slips on either side is thrown into the river.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: The narrow gate also represents the toils and sufferings of the saints. For just as a victory in battle bears witness to the strength of the soldiers, so a courageous endurance of labors and temptations will make a person strong.

St. John Chrysostom: What then are we to make of what our Lord says elsewhere, My yoke is easy, and my burden is light? There is indeed no contradiction. The one was said because of the nature of temptations, the other with respect to the feeling of those who overcame them. For whatever is troublesome to our nature may be considered easy when we undertake it heartily. Besides, though the way of salvation is narrow at its entrance, through it we come into a large space; on the contrary, the broad way leads to destruction.

St. Gregory the Great: Now when He was about to speak of entering the narrow gate, He first said, strive. For unless the mind struggles valiantly, the wave of the world, by which the soul is always thrown back into the deep, is not overcome.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Now, our Lord does not seem to satisfy the one who asked whether there are few who will be saved, since He instead declares the way by which a person may become righteous. But it must be observed that it was our Savior’s custom to answer those who asked Him, not in the way they might have expected—especially when they put useless questions to Him—but with regard to what would be profitable for His hearers.

What advantage would it have been to His hearers to know whether many or few would be saved? It was far more necessary to know the way by which a person may come to salvation. Therefore, He purposely says nothing in answer to the idle question, but turns His discourse to a more important subject.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Alternatively, our Lord confirmed what the questioner implied: that few are saved, because few enter by the strait gate. In another place He says this very thing: Narrow is the way which leads to life, and few there are who enter into it. Therefore He adds, For many I say to you shall seek to enter.

The Venerable Bede: They are urged to it by their love of safety, yet will not be able, because they are frightened by the roughness of the road.

St. Basil the Great: For the soul wavers, at one time choosing virtue when it considers eternity, at another preferring pleasures when it looks to the present. Here it beholds ease or the delights of the flesh; there, subjection or captive bondage. Here is drunkenness; there, sobriety. Here is wanton mirth; there, overflowing tears. Here is dancing; there, praying. Here, the sound of the pipe; there, weeping. Here is lust; there, chastity.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Now, our Lord in no way contradicts Himself when He says that there are few who enter by the strait gate, and elsewhere, Many shall come from the east and the west. For they are few in comparison with those who are lost, but many when united with the angels. They seem like scarcely a grain when the threshing floor is swept, yet so great a mass will come from this floor that it will fill the granary of heaven.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: That those who cannot enter are regarded with wrath, He has shown by an obvious example, as follows: When once the master of the house has risen up, and has shut to the door... It is as if a master of a house, who has called many to a banquet, has entered with his guests and shut to the door, and then afterwards others come knocking.

The Venerable Bede: The master of the house is Christ. Since He is truly God and is everywhere, He is already said to be “within” those whom He gladdens with His visible presence, even while He is in heaven. Yet He is, as it were, “without” to those whom He helps in secret as they struggle in this pilgrimage.

But He will enter in when He brings the whole Church to the contemplation of Himself. He will shut the door when He takes away from the reprobate all opportunity for repentance. Those standing outside will knock—that is, separated from the righteous, they will in vain implore the mercy they have despised. Therefore it follows, And he will answer and say to you, I know you not whence you are.

St. Gregory the Great: For God “not to know” is for Him to reject. In the same way, a person who speaks the truth is said not to know how to lie. This is not because he would be unable to lie if he wished, but because his love of truth makes him scorn to speak what is false. Therefore, the light of truth does not know the darkness it condemns. It follows, Then shall you begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in your presence...

St. Cyril of Alexandria: This refers to the Israelites who, according to the practice of their law, ate and were merry when offering sacrifices to God. They also heard in the synagogues the books of Moses, who in his writings delivered not his own words, but the words of God.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Or, this is said to the Israelites simply because Christ was born of them according to the flesh, and they ate and drank with Him and heard Him preach. But these things also apply to Christians. For we eat the body of Christ and drink His blood as often as we approach the mystic table, and He teaches in the streets of our souls, which are open to receive Him.

The Venerable Bede: Or, mystically, the one who eagerly receives the food of the word is he who eats and drinks in the Lord’s presence. For this reason, it is added for explanation, You have taught in our streets. For Scripture in its more obscure places is food, since by being expounded it is, as it were, broken and swallowed. In its clearer places it is drink, where it is taken down just as it is found.

But at a feast, the banquet does not delight someone whom the piety of faith does not commend. Knowledge of the Scriptures does not make a person known to God if the iniquity of his works proves him to be unworthy. As it follows, And he will say to you, I know not whence you are; depart from me.

St. Basil the Great: He is perhaps speaking to those whom the Apostle describes in his own person, saying, If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have all knowledge, and give all my goods to feed the poor, but have not charity, it profits me nothing. For whatever is done not out of love for God, but to gain praise from men, obtains no praise from God.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Observe also that they are objects of wrath in whose “street” the Lord teaches. If, then, we have heard Him teaching not in the streets, but in poor and lowly hearts, we shall not be regarded with wrath.

The Venerable Bede: But the twofold punishment of hell is described here: the feeling of heat and cold. For weeping is usually caused by heat, and gnashing of teeth by cold. Or, the gnashing of teeth betrays a feeling of indignation, showing that he who repents too late is also too late angry with himself.

Glossa Ordinaria: Or, the teeth that on earth delighted in eating will gnash, and the eyes that on earth wandered with desire will weep. By each of these, He represents the real resurrection of the wicked.

Theophylact of Ohrid: This also refers to the Israelites with whom He was speaking. They receive their severest blow from this: that the Gentiles have rest with the fathers, while they themselves are shut out. Hence He adds, When you shall see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God...

Eusebius of Caesarea: For the Fathers mentioned above, before the time of the Law, forsook the worship of many gods to follow the way of the Gospel and received the knowledge of the Most High God. Many of the Gentiles were conformed to them through a similar way of life, but their children became estranged from the rules of the Gospel. In this context it follows, And behold they are last which shall be first, and they are first which shall be last.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: For the Gentiles have been preferred over the Jews, who held the first place.

Theophylact of Ohrid: But we, it seems, are the first, having received the rudiments of Christian teaching from our very cradles; and perhaps we shall be last in comparison to the pagans who have believed at the end of their lives.

The Venerable Bede: Many who are at first burning with zeal afterwards grow cold; many who are at first cold suddenly become warm. Many who are despised in this world will be glorified in the world to come; others who are renowned among men will in the end be condemned.