“Go in through the narrow gate; for the gate that leads to destruction is wide and the road is broad, and many travel it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14, Complete Jewish Bible)
Only a few? Noah, along with seven others, were saved from the flood that destroyed all other humans. “God said to Noah, “The end of all living beings has come before me, for because of them the earth is filled with violence. I will destroy them along with the earth.”” (Genesis 6:13, Complete Jewish Bible) The Bible describes Noah as righteous and wholehearted, and that he walked with God (Genesis 6:9). Eight people were saved from the flood. Few.
The Israelites began complaining before they left Egypt, and when they reached the Red Sea they became fearful. “Didn’t we tell you in Egypt to let us alone, we’ll just go on being slaves for the Egyptians? It would be better for us to be the Egyptians’ slaves than to die in the desert!” (Exodus 14:12, Complete Jewish Bible) Once God parted the Red Sea and they witnessed the destruction of their enemy, the Israelites quickly changed their tune and praised God. “I will sing to Adonai, for he is highly exalted…This is my God: I will glorify him…” (Exodus 15:1-2 Complete Jewish Bible)
Unfortunately, just three days later they began grumbling when there was no water (Exodus 15:24). Rather than trust God, who had just miraculously delivered the Israelites from their enemy, they were upset that God did not provide as they expected. Because of their continuous lack of trust, “…the Israelites had traveled in the wilderness forty years, until the entire nation – the men of military age who left Egypt – had perished; because they had not obeyed the Lord, and the Lord had sworn never to let them see the land that the Lord had sworn to their fathers to assign to us, a land flowing with milk and honey.” (Joshua 5:6, Tanakh) From that group only Joshua and Caleb were allowed to enter the promise land. Few.
Christ came to offer himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sin, allowing Jews and Gentiles alike to be reconciled to a perfect God. The ministry of Jesus saw thousands of people fed, healed and delivered from demonic possession. It would be a conservative estimate that 12,000 people heard the message of the Kingdom of God. When Christ came to Jerusalem riding on a donkey, the streets were lined with people waving palm branches and crying out, “Please! Deliver us!” (Matthew 21:9) Their cries were for deliverance from Roman rule. While they were thinking about their current situation, desiring self-rule, God sent his Son, Yeshua, with a more eternal purpose.
Not only did the crowd disperse, but some turned on Jesus while he was on the cross. “People passing by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So you can destroy the Temple, can you, and rebuild it in three days? Save yourself, if you are the Son of God, and come down from the stake!” Likewise, the head cohanim [priest] jeered at him, along with the Torah-teachers and elders, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself!”… “He trusted God? So, let him rescue him if he wants him! After all, he did say, ‘I’m the Son of God’!”” (Matthew 27:39-43, Complete Jewish Bible) Jesus didn’t meet their expectations as a deliverer.
After Christ was crucified, rose from the dead and returned to His Father in heaven, “…the group of believers numbered about 120…” (Acts 1:15) That’s 1% (or less) than the thousands that were following Christ during his earthly ministry. Few.
So it is with us today. God doesn’t answer our prayers as we may want or expect. His focus is on eternal blessings – the richness of his grace, love, wisdom and peace. What do the ‘few’ have in common? While I believe we could delve into the lives of the few – Noah, Joshua, Caleb, the disciples, for example – I would like to look again at the life of Mary Magdalene.
It was noted that Mary Magdalene was present when Jesus was crucified (Matthew 27:56, Mark 15:40, John 19:25), and came back to the tomb following Shabbat. “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Miryam from Magdala [Mary Magdalene] went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.” “but Miryam stood outside crying. As she cried, she bent down, peered into the tomb, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Yeshua had been… “Why are you crying?” they asked her. “They took my Lord,” she said to them, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
“As she said this, she turned around and saw Yeshua standing there, but she didn’t know it was he. Yeshua said to her, “Lady, why are you crying? Whom are you looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you’re the one who carried him away, just tell me where you put him; and I’ll go and get him myself.” Yeshua said to her, “Miryam!” Turning she cried out to him in Hebrew, “Rabbani!” (that is, “Teacher!”)” (John 20:1, 11-16, Complete Jewish Bible)
Mary Magdalene didn’t care about her own expectations and desires. She was heartbroken when Jesus was crucified because she loved him. Wholeheartedly.