Luke 13:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’

NIV: Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.'

NASB: Then you will begin saying, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets!’

CSB: Then you will say, 'We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.'

NLT: Then you will say, ‘But we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’

KJV: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.

NKJV: then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’

Jesus is explaining what it takes to be saved. He's addressing how only those who "know" Him can spend eternity with Him, but He has different standards for that knowledge than the culture does. Here, He mentions two typical ways the culture would define a deep personal knowledge.

First, they ate with Him. Specifically, they ate the food He provided (Luke 9:10–17). Hospitality and shared meals are still an important part of Middle Eastern culture. To eat with someone is to fellowship with them. To offer food, as Jesus did, is to offer protection. The problem is, they misinterpreted Jesus' motivation for feeding them. It wasn't a sign of deep permanent fellowship; it was a sign of Jesus' compassion towards their physical hunger. It was also a metaphor for His ability to sate their spiritual hunger. The people appreciated the food so much they wanted to make Him king (John 6:1–15). Jesus had to explain that they focused on their physical state when they needed to come to Him for spiritual life. Literal bread can bring life for a limited time, but they need the bread of life: Jesus, Himself, who came down from heaven and provides eternal life (John 6:35–51).

Second, the people had listened to Jesus teach in their streets. Surely, they thought, His presence in their neighborhoods was a sign that He identified with them. That isn't the case, however. Jesus preached to tens or hundreds of thousands of people. Very few took the time to understand what He taught. That is the point of parables: that those who don't really want to know the truth don't have to (Luke 8:10).

A similar teaching in Matthew points out another reason people might claim to know Jesus without actually knowing Him. Some self-labeled believers will perform great deeds in Jesus' name (Matthew 7:22). But even doing good works out of respect for Jesus does not identify a true follower. Jewish mystics learned this in Ephesus (Acts 19:13–16). Paul will later explain, "whatever does not proceed from faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). Saying you do works for Jesus isn't the same thing as knowing Him and being empowered by Him (Matthew 7:23; Luke 13:27).

These issues aren't unique to the crowds that follow Jesus. The same happens today. You can be in fellowship with other believers, pray, read the Bible, listen to sermons, even serve, and still not know Jesus. Doing such things should be markers of Christians, but they don't save. Only knowing Jesus—knowing He is the Son of God who came to take the sins of the world and asking Him to take your sins—ensures you can fit through the narrow door.

Luke 13:22–30 records another of Jesus' teachings about the kingdom and salvation. In the previous pericope, He explained that the kingdom of God is close, easily accessible, and inevitable (Luke 13:18–21). Here, He explains that, although close, the way into the kingdom is very narrow. Many will think they have entered when they haven't. In the final story of this group, Jesus will mourn the Jews who should know to pass through the narrow door but refuse. Matthew includes similar lessons in several distinct teachings (Matthew 7:13–14, 22–23; 8:11–12; 19:30; 20:16; 25:10–12, 41).

Luke 9:51—19:27 is sometimes called "Jesus' Travelogue to Jerusalem." The segment describes how Jesus prepared the disciples for their future as He approached His own death and resurrection. Interspersed are a few altercations with religious leaders. There are calls for the crowd to repent of their sins and reconcile with God before it's too late. In Luke 13, two stories in particular reveal Jesus' heart. In one, He heals a long-suffering woman on the Sabbath; healing is a type of rest. In the last, He mourns the fact that, for now, the Jews as a nation will reject their Messiah.

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.