The Jews were the chosen people. God spoke to them first and guided them through a long journey, before Jesus, the Christ, was born from their race. They had a sense of being special and considered others as inferior. The Roman centurion who asked Jesus to cure his servant (Luke 7:1-10) would not let Jesus enter his house, as he felt unworthy as a non-Jew; yet Jesus recognised that he had greater faith than his own people. The Pharisees, Saducees and priests were especially guilty of resting on their laurels and thinking that strict observance of the Law was enough to win salvation. Mary, in contrast, in spite of being an observant Jew had a profound awareness of her lowliness before God.
Trito, or Third Isaiah, was written when the Jews returned after their exile in Babylon. They were going back to a devastated land, where gentiles lived and where they were still under foreign domination. Yet the message is one of hope, similar to the Book of Revelation, saying that all nations will be gathered together by God. This theme is taken up in Luke, chapter 13, where Jesus uses parables to highlight the fate of those who feel assured of salvation. He uses the symbol of the narrow door to emphasize that effort is required in the journey to eternity. Many would come from outside the Jewish community to take their places in the Kingdom with the patriarchs, while those who felt entitled would be shut out. As Christians we too must not become complacent, for much good is done by those who not share our beliefs.