The Door that Opens to Life in God’s Kingdom Luke 13:22–30; Isaiah 66:18–23; Hebrews 12:4–24 

Grace, mercy and peace be with you, from God, our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who opens the door for us to enter God’s Kingdom.

We’re going to talk about doors and kingdoms, based on our Gospel, especially verses 24 and 29:  24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able… 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

In the 2nd Petition of the Lord’s Prayer, we pray: Thy Kingdom Come. 

In Catechism classes we learned there are 3 Kingdoms God that rules, the Kingdom of Power, the Kingdom of Grace, and the Kingdom of Glory.

The Kingdom of Glory is Heaven, the Kingdom of Grace is the Church, and the Kingdom of Power is the Universe.

We might say that two of those Kingdoms have a door, and one doesn’t. Grace and Glory have a door, in a manner of speaking, but the Kingdom of Power doesn’t. 

And that’s because the Kingdoms of Grace and Glory have to be entered into by faith, while the Kingdom of Power, we’re automatically a part of, simply by being alive, by existing. 

Everything that exists in the natural order, in all the Universe, is a part of God’s Kingdom of Power: all nations and all things and all people on earth; and all things above the earth -- all planets and stars and galaxies; all matter and energy, time and space, light and dark; and on earth, all plant life and animal life, birds and fish and insects and reptiles, all forms of life, bacteria and viruses; all things -- rocks and mountains and dirt and minerals and chemicals and oceans and lakes and water and atmosphere; all were created by God, and exist by His command, under His rule, upheld and sustained by His power

When you believe God’s power is benevolent, then it’s very comforting to know you’re a part of this Kingdom, protected by God’s mighty rule. 

This Kingdom of Power, this Universe we live in, will someday reach its end, as Jesus says in Matthew 24:35, Heaven and earth will pass away.

On the day Christ returns, this world will be discarded and dissolved, because it’s no longer needed; it will have served its temporary purpose, and will be replaced by something better, an eternal, glorified world, not a dying, fallen world, as this world is.

John had a vision of this new and eternal world in Revelation 21:1: “And then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth has passed away.   

In eternity, God’s Kingdom of Glory will replace His 2 Kingdoms on earth, His Kingdom of Power, and His Kingdom of Grace, the Universe and the Church.

As we said, all who live on earth live in God’s Kingdom of Power, but not all live in His Kingdom of Grace, so we might say that it has a door, and must be entered into by faith.

This Kingdom is ruled not by the constitutions and bylaws of men, but by the Word of God; and this Kingdom is sustained not by the laws of nature, but by the means of grace, the Gospel and the Sacraments, and so we call it the Kingdom of Grace.

This is the Kingdom that includes all and only, those who believe in Christ. He’s the way into this Kingdom, He’s the door, the narrow door, as Jesus says in our Gospel. Jesus is the only way into the Kingdom that dispenses God’s saving grace.

While we become a part of the Kingdom of God’s Power, the Universe, through natural birth, we become a part of the Kingdom of His Grace by spiritual birth.

As Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:5, Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

In the Gospel and in holy Baptism, we receive the gift of repentance and faith in Christ. Jesus opens the door, and we enter into His grace, and become a part of His family.

Just as the Kingdom of Power, the Universe, will end, so this Kingdom of Grace, the Church on earth, will end. 

God’s Kingdom of Grace will give way to His Kingdom of Glory. To put it another way, the Church on earth will become the Church in Heaven.

As we become a part of the Church, we enter into salvation on earth. And by faith we abide in the Church, as a part of it, until we reach salvation in Heaven.

By Church I don’t mean the institution or the building, although we do enter here to receive God’s Word and Sacraments, but rather the Church as the fellowship, the body and family of Christ, the sum total of all on earth who believe in Jesus.

He’s the door that opens our lives to God’s grace now, and to His glory forever.

The Kingdoms of Grace and Glory share the same door – Jesus.

There aren’t multiple doors into God’s Kingdoms of Grace and Glory, just one, only God’s Son, only faith in Him opens the door. 

The way into God’s gracious and glorious Kingdom is narrow, through His one and only Son.

As Jesus says about Himself: I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one can come to the Father except by me; only He died and rose for the world.

He is the narrow and only door that opens to the riches of God’s grace, and the vastness of His everlasting glory. Jesus is the narrow target; missing Him we miss it all, all God’s grace and glory. 

We’ll still live for a brief while in this Kingdom of God’s Power, in this world, with some material blessings, but that’s a poor consolation prize, when compared to the grand prize, the life of blessings and joys that are wonderful beyond our dreams, and that never end.

Jesus tells us that the door to that glorious, never-ending life is narrow, not because He’s trying to keep us out, but because He wants all to enter in.

He won’t mislead us into thinking that there’s some other path into God’s immediate grace and future glory, it’s only through Him.

And so it’s the task of us who live in God’s Kingdom of Grace, to share His Word with the world; the Word that Jesus is the door to God’s love and life forever.

Although the door into His fellowship is narrow, Jesus can handle all the traffic; He’s a door that’s big enough for all who will repent and believe. 

Jesus says in our Gospel, 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.  30 And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

There is no place at the table of our Father’s blessings apart from Christ; He won our place at the eternal table by His death and resurrection.

So when we’re tempted to turn our back on Him, to walk through the world’s broad door of vain selfishness and sin, to trade a few years of earthly pleasure for an eternity of holy love and exceeding joy, let us remember our Lord’s warning in today’s Gospel, of a life of eternal grief and pain that causes weeping and the grinding of teeth with no relief.

And even more, let us remember His gracious invitation to enter into and rejoice in His blessed Kingdom.

Let us slam shut the door that leads to eternal regret, and by faith, walk through the door that Jesus has opened to us, that leads to eternal thankfulness.

May we seek no other door, but only and always Christ, to live in the Kingdom of His present and everlasting love, and to serve Him and each other with joy.

And as we walk through the door into His Kingdom, we enter into His peace, which passes understanding, and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, who gives us a Kingdom of Grace for today, and a Kingdom of Glory forever. Amen