Am I going to heaven? - Luke 13:22-30

They say there is no such thing as a dumb question.  I am not so sure I agree with that.  Over the years I have heard some questions that come pretty close, and, according to my wife, have asked a few myself.   Apparently asking your wife to drive her old car for another 10 years so that you can upgrade your relatively new truck to a brand new 2026 Silverado High country with the premium leather seating, open poor wood grain trim, and concert quality sound system is a dumb question.   That being said, I have always thought the quality of the question was more dependent on the one answering than the one asking. 

I had a professor at the seminary who always knew how to make a dumb question sound better than it actually was.  His name was professor Panning.  Some of you have heard me talk about professor Panning before.  When I was at the Seminary, we asked that poor man some dumb questions.  Some budding theologian would ask, “Professor, do you think Jesus ever had zits?”  “That’s a great question!”, Professor Panning would reply.  “That question causes us to ponder the dual natures of Christ and consider how His humanity communicated with His divinity and how both the human and divine natures of Christ are necessary for your salvation.”  The man was masterful!!!

I have never met anyone who could make a dumb question sound smart better than professor Panning.  Indeed, the only one I know of who has ever been better at making a dumb question sound smarter than it actually was, is Jesus.  In verse 22 Luke tells us Jesus was traveling “through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.”  Jesus is making His way to Jerusalem for the last time.  On His way, Jesus is making the most of every opportunity to teach and preach to anyone and everyone He can.  One of the main lessons that Jesus seems to be trying to teach the people in these towns and villages is about heaven. 

 In the verses right before our section Jesus asks, “18 What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19 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.” 20 Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”  All this talk about the kingdom of God piqued the curiosity of at least one student.  “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”, the student asks.  It is a question concerning probability. The student wants to know the odds, the chances, the number of people who are actually going to make it into the kingdom of God.   The student seems to sense that it is not easy to get into heaven, so they assume only a few are going to get in.  They are expecting Jesus to say something like the odds are one in a million, or there is a 37% chance, or there are only going to be 1.7 billion people in heaven.  On the surface the student’s question concerning the probability of getting into heaven doesn’t sound like a dumb question, maybe you have pondered the same question yourself.  But in the grand scheme of things on a scale of cosmic importance, this is a pretty dumb question, at least it is not the most important question to be asked.

Thankfully the student asked their question to a teacher who knows how to make a dumb question sound smarter than it actually is.  Jesus addressed His answer to the entire class.  “23… He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.”  Did you notice how Jesus shifted the focus of the question?  Instead of answering a question about probability, Jesus makes the question personal.  Jesus focuses our attention not on other people but on ourselves.  Instead of asking, “how many other people are going to heaven” Jesus shifts the focus so that we are asking, “Am I going to heaven?”  In the grand scheme of things, on a scale of cosmic importance, that is the question that you should be asking.  Especially when you hear how Jesus describes what it will be like for everyone who does not go to heaven. 

Jesus tells us God will say to those who don’t go to heaven, “‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’  Of course, the omniscient; all-knowing God knows them.  In fact, He knows them quite intimately.  He knows their deepest darkest secrets.  He knows all about the slander and gossip that has been whispered by their lips.  He knows about every dark deed they have done when they thought no one is looking.  In short, God knows them to be doers of evil.  God knows that in life they wanted nothing to do with God.  Therefore, in eternity God gives them what they want.  “Away from me!”, He says to them.  Except separation from God is not what they thought it would be.  Separation from God is the essence of hell; it is a separation from peace, joy, love and happiness.  Which is why Jesus tells us among those who do not get into heaven 28“There will be weeping …, and gnashing of teeth”.  Outside of heaven there is nothing but sadness and pain.

You might be curious about how many other people are going to heaven, but I think you would agree, considering the consequences, it is cosmically more important to be curious about yourself.  The better question is, “Am I going to heaven?”  The answer to that question has everything to do with Who you think Jesus is.

There are many people who are going to be shocked that they are not going to heaven.  Jesus tells us they think they know Who He is but one day they will find themselves standing outside of heaven “25… knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’”  They say to Him things like, 26… ‘We ate and drank with you.’.  These are people who know Jesus socially.  They like to celebrate holidays like Christmas and Easter with Jesus.  When convenient, they invite Jesus to attend their weddings, at the urging of their grandmothers they introduce their children to Jesus when they were born, and inexplicably they expect Jesus to attend their funerals when they die.  They know Jesus socially, but they don’t really know Jesus.  To them Jesus is little more than a seasonal sentiment.  Such people will find themselves standing outside of heaven banging on the door and pleading to be let in.

There is another group of people who think they know Jesus.  Indeed, I suspect they think they know Jesus better than those who treat Jesus like a seasonal sentiment.  This group of people says things to Jesus like, 26… ‘you taught in our streets.’.  These are people who know Jesus on an intellectual level.  They likely own a bible and have even memorized a few passages.  They have perhaps been confirmed and maybe have studied the scriptures well enough to debate the finer points of doctrine.  Chances are they like talking about Jesus, discussing His miracles, gaining insights from His lessons, and maybe even implementing some of his teachings into their daily lives.  They know Jesus intellectually, but they don’t really know Jesus.  To them Jesus is little more than an intellectual curiosity.  Such people will find themselves standing outside of heaven banging on the door and pleading to be let in.

It is unsettling to realize people, such as these, will one day be weeping and gnashing their teeth as they bang on heaven’s door and beg to be let in.  As Jesus describes them, they seemed shocked that they are not in heaven, they seem to have assumed because they knew Jesus socially or intellectually, they would get into heaven.  But they didn’t.  As I said, unsettling.  Unsettling because if people such as these don’t go to heaven, how do I know if I am going to heaven; how can you know if you are going to heaven?  We eat and drink with Jesus – who here doesn’t love celebrating Christmas and Easter?  We make our vows before an altar bring our babies to a font and expect to have our remains eulogized from a pulpit.  Further, Jesus has taught in our streets, or more specifically in our preschool, classrooms, and kitchen tables.  We have memorized passages, discussed His doctrines, and talked about His teachings.  We sound a lot like the people who will one day be weeping and gnashing their teeth as they bang on the door and beg to be let into heaven.  And what is perhaps the most unsettling thing of all is, we know that is what we deserve, we deserve to weep and gnash our teeth, we deserve to be shut out of heaven.  Because let’s be honest, at least the people who treat Jesus like a season sentiment celebrate Him once or twice a year.  All too often we are guilty of despising Him.  Sometimes we skip church because, well just because we want to.  In his explanation to the third commandment Luther describes a failure to honor the Sabbath day as a despising of preaching and the Word.   Further, at least the people who are only interested in Jesus as an intellectual curiosity are interested in Jesus.  We spend more time watching the YouTube than we do in bible study. 

Am I going to heaven?  You might be reluctant to ask yourself that question because you’re afraid of the answer.  But you don’t need to be afraid to ask yourself that question.   The answer to that question is, “yes”.  Yes, you are going to heaven.  How do I know, how can you be sure? I know and you can be sure because you are doing what Jesus told you to do when He told you to 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door.”  The Greek word here translated as “effort” is the word from which our English word “agony” comes.  That is what you do when you recognize that you are so fat with sin and bloated with guilt that there is no way you are going to fit your morbidly obese soul through heaven’s narrow door.  You agonize over your sins.  Jesus wants you to agonize over your sin not so that you give in to despair, but rather that you turn to your savior.  Did you notice where Jesus was headed as He taught the people about heaven?  Jesus was headed to Jerusalem, for the last time.  Jesus was headed to Jerusalem where He would endure the agony of the cross so that your sin would be forgiven, so that you would fit through heaven’s door.  By God’s grace you know who Jesus is.  To you Jesus is not some seasonal sentiment or merely an intellectual curiosity.  To you Jesus is the answer to your agony.  By God’s grace you know who Jesus is which means you know you are going to heaven.   

They say there is no such thing as a dumb question.  I am not so sure I agree, but even if that is true there are clearly some questions that are better than others.  “Am I going to heaven” has got to be one of the best questions a person can ask themselves.  That is a question you never need to be afraid to ask yourself.  You are not going to be among those standing outside of heaven weeping and gnashing their teeth as they bang on heaven’s door and beg to be let in.  By the grace of God you know Jesus is more than a seasonal sentiment or intellectual curiosity.  By the grace of God, you know Jesus is the answer to your agony.  Therefore, the answer is “yes.”  Yes, Praise Jesus! Yes, you are going to heaven.  Amen