To illustrate the need for vigorous effort, Jesus says: “When the householder gets up and locks the door, you will stand outside knocking at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us.’ . . . But he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.

Luke 13:25

This illustrates the plight of a person who comes late​—apparently when it is convenient for him—​and finds that the door is shut and locked. He should have come earlier, even if that was inconvenient. It is like that with many who could have benefited from Jesus’ being there teaching them. They failed to seize the opportunity to make true worship their chief purpose in life.