I often refer back to this very passage to underscore to point that there is only one way into heaven, and that’s through Jesus Christ.
There is one gate on a sheep pen, and Jesus plainly identifies himself as the gate. There is no getting into heaven without first passing through Jesus Christ. Therefore, all who profess that you can enter heaven without acknowledging Jesus as God are proved to be false. I know that statement has an edge to it, but the truth often does. There is simply no way around what Jesus said. In John 14 He will repeat it again, saying “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me”. The idea that Jews will go to heaven without accepting Christ is false. The idea that Buddhists, or Muslims or Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons will enter into heaven without accepting Jesus Christ is false.
I repeat this next part simply because it is so amazing. Jesus had authority to surrender and resurrect himself. I’m sure this all happens through the Holy Spirit, with the approval of the Father. But it boggles my mind that death has no ring of finality to it for Jesus. I can’t even wake myself back up when I want. Some exterior force must awaken me, or my body must sense that it has rested long enough, and begin awakening itself. I am asleep and cannot effect it. How much less can I hope to do anything when I am dead? But Jesus knew that He would be fully aware even after He died. Before He was alive as a human, He was alive as God. We began as human, and will one day be eternal. But He began eternal. (actually, He has no beginning). He knows and has experienced what we cannot. This is why He tells us not to fear death, but to trust in Him. This must be why He calls death “sleep”. In reality, it’s temporary. It only looks permanent from our limited perspective.
Those who do the work of sharing the Faith will always be persecuted in some way, at the very least they will be mistrusted and not believed. In more severe cases, they will be tortured and even put to death. Jesus models this fact in His ministry as well. We should not expect anything different than what the Master has endured. Persecution is part of the Christian landscape, and while we shouldn’t long for it, we can accept it when it comes.
In verses 28 and 29 Jesus speaks of the permanence of His salvation. Some have taken this verse to mean that once we accept Christ we are guaranteed heaven no matter how we act. We cannot be removed from the Father’s hand. While the idea that Satan cannot “steal” us away from God is true, the idea that we cannot “fall” is not. In Revelation 3 Jesus tells the Church in Sardis that they are in danger of incurring His wrath. He tells them that if they are victorious, their names will not be “blotted out of the book of life”. (NLT says “erased”). Since the idea is introduced, it is possible that those who know Christ can become unfaithful, and “lose” their salvation. I suspect this is the story for 5 of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25.
Continuing in faith,
PR