I heard a sermon in this passage once, the point of which was that Jesus didn’t directly answer the question He was asked, but rather stressed that it is of first importance for each of us to make sure we press into the kingdom of God, and keep pressing into it. In the history of the church, some have believed that indeed few will be saved and others have believed it will be many. The preacher did pause at one point, though, to indicate that there are good grounds in the Bible to believe that it cannot be just a few whom Jesus will save. A verse I read this morning brought me back to this subject, which I think is one of great hope and encouragement for us:
Proverbs 14:28 — In a multitude of people is the glory of a king, but without people a prince is ruined.
We thought recently about how an excellent wife is the glory of her husband, and therefore the church has been made excellent, full of splendor, to be a crown of glory for Christ. In the verse above, the picture changes to that of a king and his subjects, and the writer reminds us that a king or a prince with no subjects is a king or prince of nothing. The glory and splendor of a king lies in good measure in the number of people over whom he reigns. Surely, this has to be true of Christ also! If the souls of the saved are effectively rattling around in a largely deserted heaven, how does that bring glory to Christ? How would that reflect on the heart of God and of our Savior? I love the passage in Isaiah which, I believe, records a conversation between the Father and the Son:
Isaiah 49:5–6 — And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength— 6 he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Here is the heart of our God - it would have been too small a thing for Jesus only to bring salvation to the Jews - God wanted Him to shine as a light to the ends of the earth! God’s heart is full of mercy and also focused on the Son being glorified (read John 17 on this). This could not be achieved by Jesus saving just a few! And so in one sense it is no surprise when we read this amazing account of the worship in heaven:
Revelation 7:9–12 — After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
No one will be able to count the redeemed in heaven, who will come from all over the world. And the impossibility of putting a number on their gathering will magnify and glorify the King who is their Lord and Savior! No one will ever have been king over such a vast and diverse multitude of people - the new humanity, purchased by His blood through His grace and mercy, and made new in Him. No king will ever have had glory to compare with our King Jesus!
If we know Jesus personally, we will be there to see this amazing spectacle! So (as Jesus answered His questioner at the beginning of this meditation) the thing of paramount importance for us is that we enter into the kingdom and persevere in His service!
