20260531 - GMC 2026 - Derek Brotherson - Jesus, the Lost and Us (Luke 13:22-35)

Devotional

Day 1: Narrow Doors and the Urgency of Now

Jesus paints salvation as a narrow door requiring urgent effort to enter before it shuts forever. This image confronts the comfortable assumption that heaven’s gates remain perpetually open. The door’s narrowness demands focused striving, while its impending closure heightens the stakes for those lingering outside. Jesus’ warning isn’t theoretical—it’s a call to act now, before eternal exclusion becomes irreversible. His words cut through complacency, revealing the cost of delay. [10:09]

“Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. Once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’”
(Luke 13:24-25, ESV)

Reflection: What practical step can you take this week to “strive” toward Jesus with fresh urgency? Who in your life needs to hear this warning about the door closing?

Day 2: A Mother Hen’s Unwanted Shelter

Jesus compares his love for the lost to a hen gathering chicks under her wings—a tender image of protective care met with rejection. His lament over Jerusalem reveals divine heartbreak: God’s longing to shelter the resistant, His grief over their refusal. This isn’t distant disapproval but visceral sorrow from a Savior who aches to save. The metaphor exposes both God’s vulnerability and human stubbornness. [21:11]

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”
(Luke 13:34, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you resisted Jesus’ sheltering love recently? How might you intercede for someone currently rejecting His protection?

Day 3: Walking Lost Through Unending Kampungs

Overwhelm comes when we grasp the scale of lostness—like endless kampungs where few know Christ. Jesus felt this weight yet channeled it into mission rather than despair. The maze of alleyways mirrors our world’s spiritual disorientation, where many wander without hope. This reality isn’t meant to paralyze but to propel us into compassionate action. [06:30]

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’”
(Matthew 9:36-38, ESV)

Reflection: When did the reality of lostness last move you to prayer or action? What specific group feels like your “kampung” to engage?

Day 4: The Costly Road to Jerusalem

Jesus’ resolve to face Herod’s threats and die in Jerusalem models mission-driven perseverance. He calls Herod a “fox”—trivializing the tyrant’s power compared to His redemptive purpose. The path to Calvary wasn’t detoured by danger, proving love’s determination to save even hostile souls. Our callings demand similar courage against lesser obstacles. [19:11]

“And he said to them, ‘Go and tell that fox, “Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.”’”
(Luke 13:32-33, ESV)

Reflection: What “Herod-like” fear or obstacle have you allowed to delay your obedience? How does Jesus’ defiance of threats empower your next step?

Day 5: From Overwhelmed to On Mission

Jesus transforms overwhelm into active love—warning, sacrificing, lamenting. His response to lostness rejects despair and denial, choosing instead costly engagement. The kampung walk becomes a commissioning: every alleyway a potential altar, every stranger a soul Christ died to gather. Mission starts where our overwhelm meets His unrelenting love. [30:03]

“For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”
(2 Corinthians 5:14-15, ESV)

Reflection: What overwhelms you about the lostness around you? How can you channel that burden into one concrete act of love this week?

Sermon Summary

Luke sets Jesus on the road to Jerusalem, and the road is lined with lost people. When someone in the crowds asks, Will those who are saved be few, the question presses Jesus to answer as a shepherd, not as a statistician. The text answers with an image that carries weight in the bones: strive to enter through the narrow door. The door to the kingdom is not a wide, easy gate. It is a squeeze. Grace is free, yet following Jesus costs denial of self and cross-bearing. The image pushes urgency too. Once the master rises and shuts the door, latecomers will knock and hear, I do not know where you come from. Familiarity with Jesus, proximity to his teaching, or covenant pedigree cannot substitute for repentance and faith. When the banquet is set and the patriarchs recline with people streaming in from east and west, from north and south, those who assumed entry but never turned to him will face weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The journey note in verse 22 keeps humming beneath the scene. Jesus is still going to Jerusalem. When Pharisees warn of Herod, Jesus answers, Go and tell that fox. Today and tomorrow there will be signs, and on the third day I finish my course. The resolve is steady. No threat will turn him from the cross where he will die for the sins of the lost. The mission is love on the move.

Then the lament breaks open God’s heart. Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. The city that kills the prophets still meets the sent Son with the same refusal. Yet the image shifts from courtroom to farmyard: as a hen gathers her brood under her wings. That is what the Messiah longs to do, but you were unwilling. Judgment will come, yet it will not come from cold indifference. It will come with tears in his eyes.

So the text teaches a way to carry the weight of global lostness. Not despair, not doubt, not denial, not distraction. Love moves. Love warns before the door shuts. Love sacrifices so the gospel advances. Love laments, and in lament keeps praying and going. As people once lost and now gathered, the church is called to join Jesus in his mission with the same urgency, the same cross-shaped resolve, and the same tender heart.

Key Takeaways

1. Strive through the narrow door Grace is free, but discipleship squeezes the soul into a cross-shaped life. Jesus refuses the fantasy of an easy, wide gate and calls for real repentance, real allegiance, real effort that clings to grace. Striving is not earning, it is the honest cost of following a crucified Lord. The image refuses complacency and awakens urgency. [09:47]
2. The door will not stay open Opportunity has a clock. The master rises and shuts the door, and late knocking cannot undo a lifelong refusal to come. Presumption shatters when proximity to religion replaces turning to Christ. Urgency is mercy, because warning now spares grief later. [12:12]
3. Jesus moves unflinchingly toward the cross Herod threatens, friends advise retreat, but the mission holds steady. Signs continue, then the course is finished at Jerusalem for the sins of the lost. Courage here is love with a spine, the kind that bleeds rather than back down. Assurance for mission today is anchored in that settled resolve. [19:36]
4. Lament becomes fuel for mission Oh, Jerusalem is not a slogan, it is a sob. The hen’s wings picture a love that longs to gather even those who resist. Tears keep love from hardening into cynicism and keep urgency from becoming harshness. Prayerful grief becomes the fire that sends and sustains. [20:57]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:53] - Gratitude for a mission-shaped church
[02:32] - Gridlock and a walk through kampungs
[05:16] - The scale of lostness lands
[07:33] - What is Jesus’ response
[09:47] - Strive to enter the narrow door
[12:12] - When the master shuts the door
[15:20] - Banquet joy and outer grief
[18:23] - Herod’s threat and Jesus’ resolve
[19:36] - Finishing the course at Jerusalem
[20:57] - Lament like a hen’s sheltering wings
[27:28] - Love, not denial, fuels mission
[30:03] - Go, send, support, and pray

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Luke 13:22-34 (ESV)
22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who be saved be few?” And he said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 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.” 31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” 32 And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. 33 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ 34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

Observation Questions

What does the image of the “narrow door” teach about the nature of following Jesus? (Luke 13:24)
In Luke 13:25-27, what reasons do the people outside the door give for why they should be let in? How does the master respond?
How does Jesus describe his own mission and resolve in Luke 13:32-33?
What emotion does Jesus express toward Jerusalem in Luke 13:34, and what imagery does he use to illustrate his heart for the lost?

Interpretation Questions

Why might Jesus use the metaphor of a hen gathering her chicks to describe his love for the lost (Luke 13:34)? What does this reveal about God’s posture toward those who reject him?
Jesus says, “Strive to enter through the narrow door” (Luke 13:24). How does this urgency contrast with the idea of salvation as a free gift?
The Pharisees warn Jesus about Herod’s threat (Luke 13:31), but Jesus dismisses it. What does his response teach about the relationship between love, courage, and mission?
In the parable of the shut door (Luke 13:25-27), why do you think the people assumed they deserved entry? How does this challenge assumptions about religious familiarity or heritage?

Application Questions

The “narrow door” requires self-denial and cross-bearing. What habits, attitudes, or comforts in your life might need to be “squeezed out” to follow Jesus more fully?
Jesus warns that the door will not stay open forever. How can you cultivate urgency in sharing the gospel with others, especially those who assume they’re “close enough” to God? [12:12]
Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem reveals a heart of love, not anger, for the lost. When was the last time you felt genuine grief for someone outside of Christ? How could prayerful lament shape your actions toward them? [20:57]
The sermon mentions “love with a spine” that sacrifices for mission. What practical step could you take this week to support global or local gospel work (e.g., giving, praying, going)? [30:32]
Have you ever been tempted to respond to lostness with despair, denial, or distraction? How might Jesus’ example of warning, dying, and lamenting redirect your response? [25:38]
The banquet in God’s kingdom includes people from all nations. How does this vision inspire you to engage with cultures or communities different from your own?

Sermon Clips

34s

“And so what I wanna finish with today is to ask you that question, will you? Will you, brother? Will you, sister? Follow Jesus' example. Devote yourself to the lost and their needs for the gospel to Jesus and the mission he calls us on? Will you sacrifice your time and your energy and your resources and your gifts for local mission here in Melbourne, warning the lost around you here in Australia, here in Melbourne, warning them to enter before the door is shut?”

28s

“We need a better response than that. And in Luke 13, we have one, don't we? We have a better response. We have the response of Jesus himself. We've seen in Luke 13 that Jesus' response to the lost was not to despair, and it was not to doubt. It was not to ignore and wasn't to deny. Jesus' response to the lost is to love them.”

34s

“He's talking about his death there. He's gonna go to his death in Jerusalem, that death that he will die for the lost, for the sins of the lost, for our sins. This once for all history shaping decisive act, which is gonna open the way for the lost to be found again, for those outside to be welcomed in again. And no one, not not these well intentioned Pharisees, not Herod the threatener, no one is gonna put Jesus off his course.”

33s

“Lament that his offer of love is refused. Lament that these lost people are remaining lost. We saw back in verses 22 to 30, the sobering reality that the that the door of heaven will one day be shut forever by god to those who haven't responded to Jesus. But here in verse 34, we see that he will do so with tears in his eyes and with grief in his heart.”

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20260531 - GMC 2026 - Derek Brotherson - Jesus, the Lost and Us (Luke 13:22-35)

Devotional

Day 1: Narrow Doors and the Urgency of Now

Day 2: A Mother Hen’s Unwanted Shelter

Day 3: Walking Lost Through Unending Kampungs

Day 4: The Costly Road to Jerusalem

Day 5: From Overwhelmed to On Mission

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

20260531 - GMC 2026 - Derek Brotherson - Jesus, the Lost and Us (Luke 13:22-35)

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