Matthew 7:13-14
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the
gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction,
and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate
and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few
find it.
In the conclusion of the sermon on the mount,
Matthew 5:1 to 27, Jesus in these two verses He says something of which is a very short point in His sermon, which has
very little facts or explanation. In spite of this there some divisions to each point of which we can get a good and clear
understanding what Jesus is exactly talking about.
As we have studied the last two weeks Jesus was a master teacher; he knew how to capture His listeners attention by using parables, allegories, metaphors, similes and
comparisons. This method of teaching was not only effective
in helping the listener to clearly understand His teaching but
it also helps us today to apply the spiritual truth he was
teaching to our everyday life.
Jesus, in his teaching, referred to something that was
known to almost every listener. It was very common in Israel
at that time because they were all over the country side to
have to pass through gates narrow and wide that were in a
stone wall. Today these gates still exist throughout the world,
but most of us have only seen photos and movies of gates
narrow and wide that are in a stone wall.
esus, in His short teaching, makes a comparison be-
tween the characteristics of three things; a gate, a road and
the destination of the road. But what makes what He is com-
paring applicable to the listeners life then and our lives today
is the same, it is the destination a person chooses to take in
life.
Everyone who begins a kind of journey has a starting
point. The same is true for the journey of everyone’s life, we
all have a starting point. But in Jesus’ teaching, the life that
He is referring to is not a person’s social status because for
some are born into a wealthy family, others are born into a
middle class or a poor family. All of which has characteristics
that influence the paths of a person’s life and the many possi-
bilities that is available to them to take. Or was Jesus refer-
ring to a person’s education which also influences and even
can determine the many different paths of life a person is able
to take. Nor did he mention a person’s profession which can
give a person many different paths to take in their life.
What is common between the three examples given is
that there is a choice involved of the path of life each that
these persons chooses to take.
In Jesus’ teaching He is referring to our Spiritual life,
the life or the path we all choose to take to live. He begins His
teaching telling us what is the correct life choice or “gate” we
are to choose, verse thirteen, “Enter through the narrow
gate.”.
As was previously stated there are three main compo-
nents: a gate that we all go through, a road that we all take
and or travel on and the destination of the road of which we
all arrive because of the road we took.
The Gate
In Jesus’ day automatic gates did not exist. If you were
to pass through a gate it was because it was your decision
which was a result of you opening the gate to pass through.
The purpose of a gate kept people or live stock in and or out
from one side to the other, but also provided easy access
from one side of a wall to the other side. In many instances
most gates are as wide as the road they lead to.
The gate of verse thirteen Jesus said was “wide” which
afforded many to pass through at one time. This wide gate
would give one the impression that it was a popular and bet-
ter means of access. Passing through the gate meant you
could take with you as you pass a lot of stuff.
The gate of verse fourteen Jesus said was “small”
which would give the impression that it was difficult to pass through, which probably only one person at a time could
pass through. As the result of the gate being small or nar-
row, what you had with you had to be separated from you or
left behind to pass through.
The Road
A road provides the traveler the means and easy ac-
cess to their destination. It clearly indicates the direction to
your destination and in most instances a road has little or no
obstacles. A wide road allows many to travel the same direc-
tion at once.
The road in verse thirteen was “broad” which meant
that it was popular with many people and many people could
travel the same direction at the same time. It was much like
a five-lane highway of today.
The narrow road of verse fourteen like the gate Jesus
said was “narrow”, did not have the capacity for many peo-
ple to travel together at the same time, which also probably
made it not a popular road for travel.
The Destination
Both roads lead us to a final destination but that final
destination we arrive at all started with what gate we choose
to go through when we began our trip.
There is very little explanation needed, Jesus says it
very clearly, there are only two destinations of life we arrive
at depending the gate we choose to go through.
Verse 13, “…For wide is the gate and broad is the road
that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
Verse 14, But small is the gate and narrow the road
that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Jesus tells us in John 14:6, “I am the way and the
truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through me.”
The decision we made to follow Jesus every day of our
life is the relationship we have with Him which is not the
most popular and traveled road, nor it is an easy road to
travel on, but it is the only road that will lead to an eternity
with God our Father.
Pastor John
