The boarding area was jammed with travelers eagerly awaiting the train that would take them from Campanario in southern Chile to Santiago the capitol. Many were also lined up along the tracks far beyond the protective roof of the station, hoping to be the first to board a car that might still have a vacant seat. Buses and trains usually filled up at previous stops and the thought of standing the entire trip or of sitting on their suitcase in the aisle was cherished by nobody.

Suddenly, without warning, the skies dumped a torrential downpour upon us. People along the tracks racing for the cover of the station roof became drenched as they attempted to reach that protective area. Before most of them could gain shelter the drenching rain stopped as quickly as it had started. Those who had almost reached shelter were just as soaked as those who were yet far off.

“You are not far from the kingdom of God,” Jesus said to a religious leader who had made a good observation on what Jesus had just taught.* At first, the words of Jesus sound encouraging—the man was not far-- and yet the sad truth is that he was not in the kingdom of God, only near it. But the travelers at Campanario who were near the station got just as wet at those far from the station. The only dry ones were those under the station roof. Almost under the roof is no protection and almost in God’s kingdom is no salvation.

So Jesus’ words were not meant to put the man at ease, to make him feel that all was well, but rather to alert him to the fact that all was not well and he needed to be concerned about his eternal state. How sad to spend eternity realizing that you were so close to heaven, but never bothered to ensure your entrance.

This was the sad condition of Pontius Pilate. Jesus was standing before him and this was Pilate’s golden opportunity to repent and receive Him as his Savior and Lord. Pilate had been warned by his wife to take care what he did with Jesus, but the crowd was demanding His death because He had said He was the Son of God. After hearing those words, Pilate became even more afraid and tried to avoid the decision by sending Jesus to King Herod, only to have Herod send Him back again. So once again Pilate had the opportunity to repent of his unbelief and trust the Savior, but instead chose to try to wash his hands of the matter and then turn Jesus over to be crucified. Pilate was so close to salvation, but refused to enter in. Why? Why didn’t he repent and trust the Savior? He had even tried to release Jesus, but when the crowd shouted: “If you release this man you are not Caesar’s friend,” Pilate was startled. Caesar was the one who had appointed Pilate to the position of governor. It was very important to be Caesar’s friend. So, to save his job, Pilate rejected Jesus. Four years later, Pilate was called to Rome and sent off into exile where he took his own life. He had rejected Jesus to save his job, but ended up losing not only his job, but also his life and his soul.

A young man, who had attended our services for many months, was standing outside the church one evening after the service. I asked him, “John, when are you going to accept Christ?” He pointed to a group of young men standing down at the street corner and replied, “If I did, all my friends down there would laugh at me.” “But, John, when all of you get to hell, nobody will be laughing, except the devil.” John was so close to being saved, but was lost.
Whether you are close or far, your only hope is to repent and trust Christ now and be saved before it is too late.

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Revelation 21:1-8 RE146