Enter By The Narrow Gate

Matthew 7:13-29

The Narrow Way
13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

You Will Know Them by Their Fruits
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?
17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Build on the Rock
24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching,
29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Our Lord said, “Go in through the narrow gate, because the gate to destruction is wide and the road that leads to it is easy, and there are many who travel it. But the gate to life is narrow and the way that leads to it is difficult, and there are few people who find it."

This saying of Christ seems to discourage rather than encourage people to become Christians. Why did Jesus say this?

Not surprisingly, only a small number of people remained with Jesus after He was arrested, accused, beaten, mocked and eventually crucified! Those multitudes that followed and chased after Jesus like a celebrity for signs, wonders and miracles quickly dwindled away along the journey to the old rugged cross. Truly the path to becoming a true disciple of Jesus is never easy and only a few will find it.

The word “narrow” comes from the Greek word "qlibw" (pronounce: thlee'-bo). It means to afflict, narrow, throng, suffer tribulation, and trouble such as:

· to press (as grapes), press hard upon
· a compressed way
· narrow straitened, contracted
· to trouble, afflict, distress

In John 16:33, Jesus told His disciples:

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Jesus is seeking for true disciples, and not just multitudes and multitudes of people who follow Him with other motives and agendas in their hearts.

Let's examine the cost of true discipleship:

Luke 9:57-62
57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”
58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”
But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”
61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”
62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

It is so easy for anyone to say, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” However, our Lord didn't say, "Wonderful! Please join My team.” Instead, He said, "Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lie down and rest.” The path of true discipleship is not towards prosperity, popularity, prestige, fame, wealth and health. Very often, it includes treading on lonely paths that are less travelled through rough terrains, deserts and wildernesses.

Jesus said to another man, “Follow Me.” But that man said, “Lord, first let me go back and bury my father.” As the Jewish tradition was to bury the dead as soon as possible, it was very unlikely that the man was outside his house having a dead father at home and moving with the crowds who were following Christ. Most likely, he was requesting to spend more time with an aging or sick father. A very reasonable and filial request.

But the Lord told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.” Dead people do not bury another dead. Jesus was making reference to those who were spiritually dead - those people who heard His Word but did not do it! Those who are spiritually alive will do His will!

Someone else said, “I will follow You; but first let me go and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus said to him, “Anyone who starts to plow and then keeps looking back is of no use for the Kingdom of God.”

All of these three responses bring clarity and confirmation to our Lord’s teaching that the gate of life is narrow, and few will walk therein.

In fact, in Matthew 7, Jesus went on to tell us who would be walking on the broad way to destruction.

He told us to beware of false prophets. Why? Simply because multitudes will follow after false teachers and prophets. They will come disguised as harmless sheep, but are wolves and will tear us apart eventually. The nation of Israel had gone astray and away from God because of these false prophets! Similarly, the Church is facing the same crisis. Many will follow their destructive ways!

2 Peter 2:1-3
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.
3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

How do we detect them? We can detect them by the way they act, just as we can identify a tree by its fruit. We must not confuse grapevines with thorn bushes or figs with thistles. Different kinds of fruit trees can quickly be identified by examining their fruit. Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit produced. What is his true agenda? God or mammon?

Jesus said, “Not all who look and sound religious are really godly people. They may call Me ‘Lord,’ but still won’t get to heaven. For the decisive factor is whether they obey My Father in heaven and do His will. On that Day, many will tell Me, ‘Lord, Lord, we told others about You and used Your name to cast out demons and to do many other great signs and miracles.’ But I will reply, ‘You have never been Mine. Go away, for your deeds are lawless and evil.’

Jesus then said, “All who listen to My instructions and follow them are wise, like a man who builds his house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents, and the floods rise and the storm winds beat against his house, it won’t collapse, for it is built on rock. But those who hear my instructions and ignore them are foolish, like a man who builds his house on sand. For when the rains and floods come, and storm winds beat against his house, it will fall with a mighty crash."

Who are we following? Jesus or some celebrity pastors, teachers, prophets or apostles? What gate are we entering? A broad and easy way or a narrow and difficult path? Do we trust and obey Him? Do we do what He says to us? Are we hearers only? Or are we both hearers and doers of His Word? Are we seeking and enjoying temporary earthly pleasures now to endure eternal sufferings later? Or are we enduring temporary earthly sufferings now to enjoy eternal heavenly pleasures forevermore?

In conclusion, let us turn our eyes again to our Lord on the old rugged cross:

On a hill far away, stood an old rugged cross
The emblem of suffering and shame
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain

Chorus:
So I'll cherish the old rugged cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it some day for a crown

Oh, that old rugged cross so despised by the world
Has a wondrous attraction for me
For the dear Lamb of God, left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary

In the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine
A wondrous beauty I see
For the dear Lamb of God, left His glory above
To pardon and sanctify me

To the old rugged cross, I will ever be true
Its shame and reproach gladly bear
Then He'll call me some day to my home far away
Where His glory forever I'll share

Yes, we will follow Christ and will ever be obedient and true to Him even though the paths are difficult through the narrow gate.


Written on: 1 March 2018