The man wanted to know how many people God would save. The text does not say why he asked, and the commentators read him a little differently. Barnes thinks it "probable that he was not one of the disciples, but one of the Jews," and calls it "a question of idle curiosity." Gill notes that it was "a received opinion among the Jews, that all Israel shall have a part in the world to come," so the man may have wanted to know whether Jesus agreed. Gill also allows that it may have been "a question of mere curiosity and speculation, as it seems to be, by Christ's treatment of it." Either way, the question was about other people: how many, not who.

Jesus did not give a number. He turned to the whole group ("he said unto them," Luke 13:23) and said, "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able" (Luke 13:24). He warned that once "the master of the house" has "shut to the door," some will knock and say, "Lord, Lord, open unto us," and hear, "I know you not whence ye are" (Luke 13:25-27). He ended by saying that people will come "from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south" to sit down in the kingdom of God, and "there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last" (Luke 13:29-30).

In Greek the man's words read literally "Lord, if few [are] those being saved?" The verb is a present participle, "those being saved."

The word "strive" in Jesus' reply is a strong one. Barnes says it is "Literally, 'agonize.' The word is taken from the Grecian games," where athletes strained every muscle to win. Gill explains that many Jews of the time held that all Israel would share in the world to come, which may be why a question about "few" mattered so much.

Jesus answered a question about numbers with a call to each person. Matthew Henry puts it plainly: "Our Saviour came to guide men's consciences, not to gratify their curiosity," and he turns the question around: "Ask not, How many shall be saved? But, Shall I be one of them?" Gill notes that Christ "does not give a direct answer to it," but "puts him and others upon showing a concern for their own salvation."

The surrounding words also show that the door will not stay open forever (Luke 13:25), and that being near Jesus is not the same as knowing Him: some will say, "We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets" (Luke 13:26). Yet the passage ends with a wide welcome, as people come from every direction to sit down in God's kingdom (Luke 13:29). The gate is strait, yet the kingdom will be filled from every direction.