The Sorrow and Exasperation of Jesus, and Why He Still Feels That Way Now

The Mustard Seed, the Narrow Door, and the Sorrow of Jesus Christ

(Luke chapter 13, verses 18–35)

Last week when we left off at verse 17 of Luke chapter 13, Jesus had just healed a woman on the Sabbath, which had drawn the ire of the Pharisees, the main critics of Christ. Today as we take up where we left off, we continue the conversation between Jesus, the Pharisees and the rest of the crowd that followed our Lord and Redeemer everywhere he went. Christ the Lord is still speaking as we begin at verse 18:

“Then Jesus asked, ‘What is the Kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches.’ Again he asked, ‘What shall I compare the Kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.’ Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.” (Luke 13, verses 18–22)

Just as humanity started out with one man, Adam, so it became reborn with another, Jesus Christ. In this parable, Jesus is talking about himself and his Bride, the Church. Not necessarily the main stream Christian denominations or the Vatican, but the real Bride of Christ. Jesus is the mustard seed in the parable that grows into a gigantic tree, the Church. In the next short parable, the yeast is the Word of God and the flour is humanity. Once God’s Word works its way through us, it causes all of us to rise just as He was going to be raised from the dead. So there is also a nugget of prophecy mixed into the dough, which as before represents the greater Church, the true Church. And so Jesus went and traveled extensively throughout the region, teaching the people all these things as he made his way towards Jerusalem. And now let’s pick up at verse 23.

“Someone asked him, ‘Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?’ He said to them, ‘Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter but will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and…