Jesus said: “For many are called, but few are chosen.” That's kind of a downer.

“For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matt. 22:14)

This verse, from the end of the parable of the Wedding Feast, is often taken, across the evangelical spectrum, to mean: only a small percentage of the human population or, even more dramatically, a small percentage ¹ of the fortunate subset that has heard the gospel call (and therefore has a "fair shot," in Arminian-Speak) will actually heed the call ("are chosen" in Calvinist-speak) ² and be saved. Bummer.

It might mean that. But the chances, in my opinion, are small. ³

For one thing, it is quite possible that the phrase is not theological or eschatological, but rather proverbial. It appears (in various forms) in the ancient literature, including Plato and the Gospel of Thomas, where it roughly means, in crude terms, "only the smart (or enlightened, in Gnostic-Speak) people will understand what I am saying and will use it to their advantage." In the KJV it also appears at the end of Matt 20:16 in the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. There it is less susceptible to be interpreted as eschatological prophecy and more likely to be viewed as proverbial. Alas, it does not appear at the end of Matt 20:16 in more modern translations, so I don't know what to make of it.

I will add, however, that the phrase (in either the one or in both occurrences) is tied to a parable, so the proverbial interpretation is consistent with what Jesus himself says about the parables:

Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. (Matt. 13:13)

If Jesus' words recorded in Matt: 22:14 are to be taken more literally, it is still unlikely that he was making a prophecy for the ages. He was probably speaking of the time period of his ministry. Why do I  say this? Because the Bible. ⁴ Viz.

1. Within a month or so after the crucifixion, the number of believers increased by a significant multiplicative factor-- as least by 10 times.
2. Paul refers to those who are saved as the many, not the few. (Rom. 5:15,19)
3. The Revelation speaks of an uncountable number in Johns vision of heaven. (Rev. 7:9)

Or, as Calvin puts it, in his commentary on Romans and Thessalonians,

If Adam's fall had the effect of producing the ruin of many, the grace of God is much more efficacious in benefitting many, since admittedly Christ is much more powerful to save than Adam is to ruin.

Calvin. Is. Da Man. (Except when his writings refute my armchair theology.)

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¹ Exactly 1:10 according to poet Robert Burns:

O Thou, that in the heavens does dwell,
As it pleases best Thysel',
Sends ane to Heaven an' ten to Hell,
For Thy glory,
And no for onie guid or ill
They've done afore Thee!
(Holy Willies Prayer, stanza 1) 

But he's a Scot, and they are always dour due to the bad weather, and the fact that they can't beat the English in soccer. (Although his Calvinism is spot-on, which may also be correlated with being dour.)

² And at least in this case, Bible-speak.

³ I have noticed a weird insistence (occasionally with a small but discernible über-creepy dash of pleasure) from some of my fellow believers that this is indeed a prophecy from our Lord that the population of hell will be far greater than that of heaven. If that is what it means, and I don't think it is, it should be regarded as one of the saddest verses in the bible.

⁴ I love the new Because [noun] construct in the English language. Example: I love libraries. Because books. This is fantastic!