Two Gates and Two Roadways: Matthew 7:13-14

Good morning from the Panhandle. Here it is just three days until school starts, were has the summer gone. I pray y'all have had a good summer, and if you are below the equator I pray your winter has been a good one.

Choices, there are always choices to make. Do I get out of bed this morning, do I shower this morning or tonight and so on and so forth. Of course there are those decisions that are more important than others such as do I go to college or straight into the work force? Do I take the job offered or not? And then there is the question that has eternal consequences, do I ask Christ Jesus to become my Lord and Saviour or reject Him?

Christ Jesus was long on giving invitations. In fact, the entire section of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:13 – 27 constitutes an invitation. Christ Jesus closes the Sermon on the Mount with a striking comparison between four sets of pairs.

1. There is a pair of gates leading to a pair of roadways. The narrow gate of self-denial leads to the narrow way of the Christian life, and the broad gate of self-indulgence leads to the broad way of hell.

2. There is a pair of trees producing two kinds of fruit. Self-deception is the fruit of false prophets, and assurance in Christ Jesus is the fruit of the true prophets.

3. There is a pair of men. One is wise, and one is foolish.

4. There is a pair of houses. One is built on the rock, and one is built on the sand.

There is a story about a man who was on his way to the airport to catch a plane. He came to an intersection where his wife had told him he needed to turn left to get to the airport. It was a two lane road and he was on a four lane road that also would let him see some of nature’s beauty. He decided to take the more scenic route.

There is a way that seems right to man the Bible says. The time was getting away and the traveler kept hearing that nagging little voice saying turn around and go back to the two lane road. He said to himself, "I feel like an idiot." Pride and stubbornness kept him going on the scenic road. He got to the airport and raced to the where he was to board the plane only to hear, "The gate has been shut. The doors were locked. The plane was leaving. You have missed your flight." He was too late because he made the wrong choice. The plane was not be coming back for him.

In this blog we will look at the narrow.

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.”

I. Christ Jesus Was Narrow.

He lived in a narrow area. The area of Palestine is a long, narrow country no larger than the state of Connecticut. Christ Jesus never traveled more than a hundred miles from the place where He was born.

He had a narrow goal in life — Salvation of all mankind by way  ​the cross: 30 Jesus said, "This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. (John 12:30-33).

In the wilderness Satan tempted Christ Jesus to bypass the cross: 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil...8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." (Matthew 4:1,8-9).

All through His earthly ministry people tried to draw His attention away from the narrow path that led to the cross. One example of this is in Mark 8:31-33: 31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

People still try and take our attention away from the narrow path set out for us by Christ Jesus.

II. Christ Jesus Demands Narrowness.

To be broad-minded is the order of the day. The “in” crowd , “casual sex,” “no-fault divorce,” “crack,” homosexuality, and “all religions are the same.”

Self-indulgence is the norm. After all no one likes to talk about self-denial unless they are on a diet. We often joke about the person who was so narrow-minded that a flea could sit on his nose and kick out both eyes. Yet the greatest Man who ever walked this earth was quite narrow-minded and taught that the real secret of enjoying life is not self-indulgence but self-denial. 34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. (Mark 8:34-35).

Entrance into the Christian life is narrow: 6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6). Cities in Christ Jesus’ day were off the beaten path. One entered ancient cities by a gate that led to a narrow passageway before going into the city. Christ Jesus compares entrance into the kingdom of God to entrance into a city gate. This gate lets one in at a time. We do not come to Christ Jesus as families, or couples, or groups. We come to Christ Jesus as individuals in an individual personal encounter.

When we come to Christ Jesus, we must leave some things behind. As one enters the narrow gate of the Christian life, they cannot carry excess baggage. Christ Jesus challenged one man to bid his company farewell and follow Him without compromise. He said to another, “Let the dead bury the dead. Come and follow me.” He challenged James and John to leave their ship and their father and follow him. “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men,” he said to Peter and Andrew.

The way of the Christian life is narrow. The gate was narrow and the way that led into the city was also narrow. It is a radical experience to follow Christ Jesus. The Christian is challenged to take up their cross daily and follow Christ. They are engaged in a continual battle with the Devil, and they must put on the whole armor of God daily to withstand him (Ephesians 6:12 – 19).

The great violinist Fritz Kreisler once said, “Narrow is the road that leads to the life of a violinist. Hour after hour, day after day, and week after week, for years, I lived with my violin. There were so many things that I wanted to do that I had to leave undone; there were so many places I wanted to go that I had to miss if I was to master the violin. The road that I traveled was a narrow road and the way was hard.” Just as Kreisler found fulfillment in his self-denial, the Christian finds fulfillment in life by denying themselves and taking up the cross of Christ Jesus daily.

III. Christ Jesus Invites All To Enter The Narrow Way. Christ Jesus calls us not to admire or consider Him but to follow Him. He calls us not to look at the narrow gate and the narrow way but to enter.

1. Recognize your need of Christ. Christ Jesus opened the blind eyes of Bartimaeus because he recognized his need. He gave the water of life to the Samaritan woman when she said, “Give me this water, that I thirst not.” He lifted Simon Peter from the waters of the Sea of Galilee when he cried, “Lord, save me.”
   
   
   The first step toward entering the narrow gate of the Christian life is that of recognizing your need of Christ: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23).

2. Understand the cross. That is if one fully understands the cross. Theologians have argued for generations about the various theories of atonement. But if one opens their heart to an understanding of the cross, they have taken another step toward the narrow gate. 
    
   A young reporter in Scotland was asked what Billy Graham was preaching at a crusade in Glasgow. When he tried to explain the gospel, he said, “You see, it’s this way — ​ Christ died for me; Christ died for my sins and rose again.”
   When he said this, he suddenly realized that he was speaking the truth and trusted Christ Jesus as his own personal Savior.

3. Count the cost. Before one ventures into the narrow gate of salvation, they should count the cost and be sure that they are willing to pay that price: "For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? (Luke 14:28).

4. Take that definite step. Most people have some amount of intellect, emotion, and will. We can accept Christ Jesus intellectually and emotionally, but we are not saved until we surrender our will to Christ Jesus: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you,” (Matthew 6:33).

5. Allow God to change your life. When one has taken that definite step of commitment, they must allow God to change their life. Then they commit their life to walk the narrow road that leads to life and God and not the broad road of self-indulgence, and death.

Conclusion: In 1967 the driving laws changed in Sweden. At five o’clock one September morning, drivers switched from driving on the left to the right side of the street.

Some radical changes took place for the two million cars and the thousands of bicycles and motorcycles in Sweden. More than a quarter million traffic signs on sixty thousand miles of roads had to be changed. Ramps designed for low-speed exits from superhighways became high-speed entrance ramps, and the entrance ramps became exit ramps. Doors on buses and trolleys that once let passengers out at the curb now let them out in the center of traffic.

Likewise, when Christ Jesus calls one to enter the narrow gate and walk the narrow road, it may be an upsetting experience to that person and to those about Him. However in the eternal scheme of things it will be worth it.