Luke 13

      24. Strive to enter in by the narrow door. The language implies that effort, earnest, agonizing is necessary. The word "strive" in the Greek is the one from whence our word agonize comes. The narrow door. The door of the kingdom is so narrow that we cannot take our sins, our lusts, our worldliness and worldly pleasures in with us.

      25. Hath shut the door. Even that narrow door shall be shut. The time of opportunity will pass by. Even here on earth, the heart hardens so that it will be impossible to stir it to repentance.

      26, 27. We did eat and drink in thy presence. Compare with Matt. 7:22 , where see notes.

      28, 29. Ye shall see Abraham. See notes on Matt. 8:11, 12.

      30. The last shall be first. See notes on Matt. 20:16.

      31. There came certain of the Pharisees. Their object was to frighten Jesus away, and hence they asserted that Herod, Herod Antipas, would kill him. He was the tetrarch of Galilee and ruler of the country beyond the Jordan, who slew John the Baptist. See notes on Matt. 2:1.

      32, 33. Tell that fox. Herod's most marked characteristic was unscrupulous cunning. The Lord uses the term to indicate that he understood the scheme. It was an artifice of Herod and the Pharisees to get him away. Herod was afraid to kill him on account of his popularity. I perform cures to-day. The meaning is, "I will attend to my present work here, which is only for a little season," and the third day, in a short time. I shall be perfected. By the suffering at Jerusalem. See Heb. 2:10 . In other words, he will go freely about his work, but will soon be put to death, but not by Herod, who had no jurisdiction at Jerusalem. In that city he would die, for It cannot be that a prophet should perish out of Jerusalem.

      34, 35. O Jerusalem. See notes on Matt. 23:37-39. These words were probably uttered twice.