Bible Strands
Luke 13:24
“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus answers a question from someone in the crowd (v. 23) about whether only a few will be saved, and responds with this imperative rather than a direct yes or no.
The words — ἀγωνίζεσθε (agōnizesthe) is the present imperative of the verb used for athletic combat; it means sustained, competitive striving, not a single casual attempt.
The thread — The narrow-gate image recurs in Matthew 7:13; the same verb root appears in 2 Peter 1:10 ("strive to make your calling sure") and 1 Corinthians 9:24 ("run in such a way as to take the prize").
Why it lands — The verse treats entry as something requiring deliberate, ongoing effort, and the warning that "many will not be able" removes any assumption that proximity to the door guarantees access.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
Cross-references
- Matthew 7:13 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
- 2 Peter 1:10 Therefore, brothers, strive to make your calling and election sure. For if you practice these things you will never stumble,
- 1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize.
- Hebrews 4:11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same pattern of disobedience.
- Luke 21:36 So keep watch at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”
- Ezekiel 33:31 So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.
- Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
- Proverbs 21:25 The craving of the slacker kills him because his hands refuse to work.
- John 6:27 Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”
- Romans 10:3 Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.