I Do Not Know You

Jesus, journeying toward Jerusalem, confronts the urgent reality of salvation in Luke 13, where He answers a question about the number of the saved not with abstract theology, but with a commanding call to personal faith. He warns that while many will seek to enter heaven, only those who strive through the narrow gate—agonizomai, meaning a desperate,全力以赴 effort—will succeed, emphasizing that salvation is not earned by works but is available only through faith in Christ, the one true key. The sermon underscores the danger of delaying faith, the futility of seeking salvation through other means or at the wrong time, and the tragic reality that even those who heard Christ's teachings or participated in religious rituals will be excluded if they do not personally know Him. Drawing from biblical examples like the Samaritan woman and Nicodemus, it illustrates how Jesus redirects every conversation to the individual's soul, urging believers to examine their hearts, reject the 'manana' mentality, and embrace the narrow, yet infinitely generous, way of Christ, which welcomes even the chief of sinners.