By Fr Trevor D’Souza, OFM –
Matters connected with eternal life, life after death, take central place in every religion. Each religion provide answers based on their philosophical and theological perspectives. The Judeo-Christian religions too provide an answer. Today we take up one issue dealing with this theme, namely, Is salvation (eternal life) available only for few or is it open to all?
The disciples asked Jesus a question: “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” (Lk 13:23). Is this question about the “number” of people who will be saved? No. Sometime we hear popular evangelist say only “a hundred and forty-four thousand” (Rev 7:4) will be saved, because that is the number mentioned in the Bible! Are we able to count how many people have walked the earth through the centuries? India itself has a population of 1.3 billion. Is it possible that only 144000 will sit down at the feast in kingdom of God ? What about the rest, are they doomed to damnation?
Let us see what Jesus and the Bible has to say on this question. When we read the passages of the Bible, we realize that salvation is for all people.
When Jesus encountered the Cananite Woman, he told her, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel” (Mt 15:24). Again when he sent his disciples to preach he “instructed them as follows: ‘Do not make your way to gentile territory, do not enter any Samaritan town; go instead to the lost sheep of the House of Israel” (Mt 10:5-6). Both these texts suggest that Jesus came primarily for the Jewish people and not for others.
So what about others? Is salvation only reserved for the Jews? Was Jesus interested only in saving the Jews? The answer to these questions is a firm “No”. Further his actions during his life prove otherwise. In the gospel narratives we see Jesus encountering many non-Jewish people and offering them the gift of salvation, for example, the Samaritian woman (Jn 4). He also spoke highly of non-Jews and those who did not belong to the lost sheep of Israel, for example the leper who came to give thanks, the Samaritan man who cared for the man who was robbed, etc. (Lk 10:33; 17:16).
To the question, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?”, Jesus himself offers an answer. He said, “people from east and west, from north and south, will come and sit down at the feast in the kingdom of God.” (Lk 13:29).
The gift of salvation is for all, this is further confirmed by the events in the life of Sts. Peter and Paul. Peter initially began preaching only to the Jews. It was not clear to him whether God willed salvation only for the Jews or also for others? He received a vision (Acts 10:11ff) through which he understood clearly that God is offering salvation for all. Peter tells the others, “You know it is forbidden for Jews to mix with people of another race and visit them; but God has made it clear to me that I must not call anyone profane or unclean” (Act 10:28). After that Peter began to preach the Kingdom of God to the non-Jews too. In Act 10:45, Peter is once again astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit should be poured out on non-Jews too (Also see Num 11:29). This act confirms the message he had received in the vision.
Paul too, like Peter, was first engaged in preaching only to the Jews. But when they refused to accept the message of Jesus (Lk 13:28), he turned to preach to the non-Jews (Acts 13:46). He further confirms “For this is what the Lord commanded us to do when he said: I have made you a light to the nations, so that my salvation may reach the remotest parts of the earth” (Acts 13:47). Writing to the Thessalonians, Paul states, “it is the will of God that ALL should be saved” (1Thess 4:3). This text had a great impact on the Fathers at the Second Vatican Council and was responsible for a re-thinking in the Church about salvation to people of other faiths.
Jesus shows us the mind and will of God through a parable. He compares the Kingdom of God to a wedding feast given by the king (Mt 22:1ff). The invitations were first given only to the Jews, but they refused to accept (Mt 22:3; Lk 13:28; Acts 13:28). Then the king, in his anger, opened up the invitation to all people (Mt 22:9; Acts 10:45; Acts 13:47). He sent his servants to invite everyone to the wedding feast. Jesus makes it amply clear that salvation is not meant only for a few, but is open to all.
In the OT too, God’s word makes it clear that salvation is for all peoples of the earth. Israel was to be the sign and instrument through whom God’s law would be given to all people (Is 42:6; 49:6; 52:10; 60:3). Jesus became the center point, as THE LIGHT for the nations (Jn 8:12). After his resurrection, he handed over this mission to the Apostles (Mt 28:19-20) and through them to the Church (Jn 21:15ff; Mt 16:18ff). The line of salvation history in the Bible is as follows: Salvation to/through Abraham ► to/through Jewish people ► JESUS ► to/through the Church ► to the whole human race.
If people choose to distance themselves from accepting the invitation of God and refuse to be part of the kingdom, then they have only themselves to blame (Mt 22:8). All are called, but some give excuses and others refuse to respond (Mt 22:14), what can God do? The good NEWS is this: N = North, E = East, W=West, S=South, salvation is available for all human beings. People from East and West, from North and South, will come and sit down at the feast in the Kingdom of God (Lk 13:29). The mission of the Church and every Christians continues, to be a light to the nations.