History of Interpretation paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

History of Interpretation paper - Essay Example This is a pointer to the progressive mission which Jesus had. He was not on earth for an instance but to carry out a continuous mission. Knowing that the questioner may have tuned to out to be hypothetical as was seen in Luke 10: 29 where one asked about whom his neighbor was, Jesus gave his answer to the question by posing a personal challenge. He calls on the individuals in the crowd to act in a way which will show that they are saved. In verse 24, Luke gives the condition for getting to eternal life by stating that people will â€Å"struggle to enter† the kingdom. The term agonizomai implies that â€Å"the few† will have to cope with â€Å"the many† for entry through a limited space. The struggle will be compounded by the short duration of time that those seeking to enter will have. Luke goes ahead to talk about the â€Å"narrow door†. In this verse, it may appear as though Luke has lost contrast as he does not talk of the wide gate which is seen in Matthew 7:1. However, this may have been intentionally done to provide a quick answer to the audience about the process of getting into the kingdom. Burns furthers this line of thought by noting that interpretation of the verse requires considering of two issues (588). First, is the aspect of entering the place being talked of. From the text, it is plain that Luke is talking about entering the Kingdom of God. After stating that the audience should â€Å"strive to enter through the narrow door†, he goes ahead to allude to a master of a particular house who stands and shuts the door to bar others from entering. The alternative to entering the narrow gate which Luke is referring to is found in the book of Mathew where it is stated â€Å"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction† (Matt. 7:13). Luke goes ahead to state that as the audience strive to enter the narrow gate, there are obstacles that they have to overcome so as