While the reasons for asking differ, the question is asked at least as early as the New Testament era. The Bible records that someone asked the very question of Jesus. In Luke 13:23, an unnamed person asks Jesus whether the ones being saved are few (oAiyoi). In his response, Jesus speaks of a door that is narrow and will soon be shut. The result is that
52John Nolland, Luke 9:21-18:34, WBC, vol. 35b (Dallas: Word Books, 1993), 758.
53Likely, the second sending refers to the inclusion of the Gentiles. Stein, Luke, 394; Bock, Luke, 2:1277; Fitzmyer, Luke, 1053. Nolland rejects the idea that this is a reference to the Gentile mission.
Nolland, Gospel of Matthew, 757. It is probably a stretch to see McGavran's concept of receptivity as being mandated in this parable, however, the symbolism is certainly there.
54Arland J. Hultgren, The Parables of Jesus (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2000), 340;
cf. Leon Morris, Luke: An Introduction and Commentary, TNTC (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1988), 257; Fitzmyer, Luke, 1054.
many (TTOAAOI) "will seek to enter and will not be able." Our concern here is not the meaning of the metaphor, but whether and how Jesus answers the petitioner's question.
Some commentators interpret Jesus' response as implying, in answer to the question, that the number of the redeemed would in fact be small55 or at least fewer than expected.56 This implication, however, is far from clear. First, significantly, Jesus does not answer the question directly but uses the opportunity to make his own point. Jesus shifts the focus from the number of the redeemed to a warning for his hearers.57 Notably, in the writings of Luke, similar shifts occur in which Jesus does not answer a question but redirects to his own teaching point (Luke 10:29; 12:41; Acts 1:6; cf. John 21:21).
Second, one should note that while the questioner asks whether the saved will be "few" (oAiyoi), Jesus does not use the word in his response. Rather, he refers to
"many" (TTOAAOI, 13:24). The many to which Jesus refers, however, is not many who will be saved but many who will not be. When he speaks positively in verse 29, although not using TTOAAOI, the context implies that the number who enjoy table fellowship in the
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kingdom will be many rather than few. The many who do enter the kingdom, however, may not be the same "many" that his hearers might expect. Again, Jesus offers a warning rather than answering the petitioner's question and commenting on the size of the
kingdom. As Alfred Plummer notes, "The practical answer to the question in ver. 23 remains, 'Whatever be the number of those who are in the way of salvation, that which concerns you is, that you should without delay secure a place among them.'"59
55Nolland, Luke 9:21-18:34, 734, 736; Marshall, Gospel of Luke, 565; France, Gospel of Matthew, 288.
56Bock, Luke, 2:1234.
57Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke, NICNT (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1997), 530; Bock, Luke, 2:1241; Nolland, Luke 9:21-18:34, 736; Francois Bovon, Das Evangelium Nach Lukas, EKK (Zurich: Benziger Verlag; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1996), 2:431.
58Plummer, Gospel According to Saint Luke, 348. The parallel text, Matt 8:11, adds ttoAAoi . 59Ibid.
Matthew 7:13-14. In Matthew's rendering (Matt 7:13-14), the teaching takes place not in answer to a question, but near the end of the Sermon on the Mount.60 In the Lukan passage, Jesus does not speak directly of the number of those being saved. In this passage, however, Jesus explicitly states that those who choose the narrow gate and the path that leads to life are oAiyoi, while those who choose the broad gate/path to
destruction are TTOAAOI. A primary question relevant to our study here is whether Christ means to make a statement about the number of the redeemed or is speaking rhetorically to make a different point.
Here, there is no real agreement. Davies and Allison suggest the possibility that the "few" and "many" of Matthew 7:13-14 are hyperbole so that a possible meaning is "act as // very few will enter through the gates of paradise." The text then would not be giving an "objective numerical estimate."61 Hagner sees TTOAAOI as "clearly
hyperbolic."62 R. T. France sees the emphasis not on individual responsibility for the choice of two paths, but on the "total numbers" of the two groups.
The view that this statement is hyperbolic is reasonable. Jesus may mean strongly to lead his listeners to choose the narrow path of radical discipleship he has been describing. First, in the context of the final section of the sermon (7:13-27), the emphasis of Jesus seems to be on the correct response to his teaching rather than a concern for a precise rendering of the number of the redeemed. Second, the text places emphasis on the imperative, EiasAGcrrE, so that the emphasis is not on the number of people entering the gate but on making sure one is among them. Clearly, Jesus mentions the TTOAAOI and oAiyoi to emphasize the importance of heeding the command. Finally, Jesus uses
60 Again, our focus here is not on the precise meaning of gates and paths in the metaphor, but on what Jesus says about the number of the redeemed.
61Davies and Allison, Gospel According to Saint Matthew, 1:701.
62Hagner, Matthew 1-13, 179.
63France, Gospel of Matthew, 288 note 16.
hyperbole elsewhere in the sermon (5:29-30; 7:3-5) to emphasize personal responsibility.
It seems reasonable that he would do the same here.
Admittedly, the issue may not be resolved with certainty. However, even if one takes the stricter interpretation, that Jesus is making a statement about the number of the redeemed, one still cannot make a definitive statement about that number. In context, the number of redeemed is relative to those who are ultimately not redeemed. That is,
TTOAAOI and oAtyoi are terms whose meanings are not quantifiable. As a numerical
marker, their meaning is relative to the context. This relativity explains why the number of people in the kingdom can be described in some places as TTOAAOI (Matt 8:11; 20:28;
cf. TTOAU^, 10:37; TTOAAWV, 26:28) while in others as oAiyoi (7:14; 22:14). Here, Jesus uses the words in comparison so that even if the passage is not hyperbole, the most that can be said is that the number of the redeemed is a significant minority. To use this text to say that the number of the redeemed will ultimately be small or as a negation of the idea of church growth would thus be inappropriate.
Matthew 22:14. A third place where Christ speaks of the number of redeemed