The Narrow and Wide Gates

In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus is beginning to bring his Sermon on the Mount to a close. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus takes the time to re-establish the true meaning of how a believer is to apply the Old Testament law in his/her life and how that should affect his/her relationship with God and with others. As he brings the sermon to a close, however, the tone changes dramatically. Jesus now begins to provide a few crucial warnings to his disciples. The first is a warning to be sure that his disciples stay on the straight and narrow road. The path that Jesus desires for his disciples begins through entry in a narrow gate. That gate is none other than Jesus himself, which he declares in John 10:7. This gate is not just narrow, it is exclusive. Jesus says in John 14:6 that he is THE way, THE truth, and THE life and that he is the ONLY way to the Father. The warning is a stern one, because in contrast to the narrow gate, the road leading to destruction is broad, its gate is wide, and there are many people on it. A number of theologians argue that there is no hell or that hell will be sparsely populated. Most recently, there has been uproar in the media over a book published by popular evangelical pastor Rob Bell that supposedly questions the existence of hell. The argument that such doubters provide is that a loving God would never send so many people into destruction. Indeed, Rob Bell reportedly makes the pronouncement that “Good news, Love Wins” (Love Wins is the name of his book). As a result, either God will honor the faithful effort of all religions, will provide post-mortem opportunities for repentance, or will simply forgive our sinfulness on the basis of Jesus’ work without the requirement of faith. Jesus, who is God incarnate, says exactly the opposite in these verses. The way to destruction that Jesus speaks of is none other than the way to hell and he is very clear that not only is it the easy path, but that many people will be on it.

By contrast, path leading to life is not only narrow, but it is also difficult. Although Jesus just finished promising that God will provide the basic needs for all of his children, he now counters that with a reminder that the way of life will be hard. Too many “easy grace” evangelists attempt to “sell” Christianity as something that will solve all of their problems. Certainly, Christianity solves the most important problem that all humans have – the penalty of sin. However, there are no promises that Christianity will result in an easy life. In fact, this verse is only one of several places where Jesus teaches clearly that the Christian life will be anything but easy. A narrow road would be difficult to follow simply because it is narrow, but Jesus says this particular narrow road is especially difficult. Paul echoes this in Romans 8:17 when he says that we must suffer with Christ in order to be glorified with Christ. This is a warning, therefore, not to embark upon the journey lightly. However, it should not dissuade a true believer from embarking on the journey. The way does, after all, lead to life. Furthermore, while Jesus tells his disciples in John 16:33 that they will have difficulty in the world, he also reminds them that he has overcome the world. Most importantly, Jesus promised his disciples in Matthew 28 that he would always be with them on the journey. A Christian can be assured, therefore, that even though the journey will be difficult, Jesus will be there to help us overcome those difficulties and carry us to the end. As Paul says in Philippians 1:6 “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

A Discussion on Matthew 7

In my Greek Class this week, I was translating and studying the first 6 verses of Matthew 7. Verse 3 says "Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye."

It is natural for humans to see the error in the lives of others while being blind to the error of their own ways. Matthew Henry tells us that this is due to the fact that the devil blinds us to our own faults (Henry, public domain). That tendency to see faults in others while ignoring one’s own faults can lead to a judgmental attitude. In his book on the Sermon on the Mount, D.A. Carson uses the example of the Prophet Nathan’s confrontation of King David to make this point (Carson, 109-110). David clearly saw the error in the parable that Nathan told and was angered by the injustice to the point of taking action against the offender. However, he was blind to the fact that he was the man who had done the offending. In this verse, Jesus uses hyperbole to make the same point, asking why the disciples are looking for the small speck (literally a speck of sawdust or a small splinter) in another person’s eye when there is a log (literally a plank of wood or beam) in their own eye. There may have possibly been an element of humor involved in this analogy as one imagines the ludicrous prospect of a log stuck in a person’s eye. As is generally the case with hyperbole, however, the point was painfully clear. Every person has faults, but Jesus is speaking here to the person who is “looking for” the faults of others. The Greek, "blepo", in this case is most likely referring to looking out for or paying attention to rather than simply seeing. Rather than seeking out the fault of others, Christians should be painfully aware of their own sinfulness before God. When a person’s focus is always on the faults of others, they cannot see their own sinfulness. Carson says “the more I reflect on this passage, the more I find I am self-condemned” (Carson, 111).

The prior verse, verse 2, tells us that with the measure of judgement we have towards others, we will be judged the same.  The danger of being judgmental towards others is that the same measure of condemnation one has towards the world, God will apply in kind. This is very similar to the quid pro quo treatment that Jesus discussed about showing mercy in the Beatitudes of chapter 5 and about showing forgiveness to others in chapter 6. Paul echoed this sentiment in Romans 2:1, reminding us that we who judge do the very same things as those we judge. Jesus is clearly teaching that God wants his disciples to view and approach others with the same level of love, affection, and concern that God had with them when they were still sinners – not in justifying or facilitating their sinfulness, but in showing them that God has provided forgiveness. Rather than judge the world in its sinful state, God chose to send his Son Jesus to provide a means of grace and mercy (Romans 5:8). Jesus’ disciples are to have the same attitude. As Carson points out, this does not mean that Christians are to pretend as if sin does not exist (Carson, 108). Indeed, Verse 5 demonstrates that the opposite is true - but only after we have dealt with our own sin. There are times where Christians are to take notice of and, under certain conditions, act when confronted with sin. Eventually, God himself will judge the world for its sinfulness, but his desire is that all men everywhere repent - and be reconciled. The disciple’s responsibility is to encourage others towards repentance, which cannot be done with a self-righteous, judgmental attitude.