The Two Ways (7:13-14).
Jesus commences His closing exhortation by setting before them a choice as to which way they will take in the future. His words reveal that He is very much aware that among the group of disciples are some whose commitment is not genuine (compare John 6:66) for He knows men's hearts (John 2:23-25). It is to them that these words are mainly addressed, although at the same time they are a reminder to all that the way of the disciple is a narrow and afflicted one, and that they are to examine themselves whether they are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). They are to satisfy themselves as to whether they have entered through the narrow gate or not.
This passage parallels Matthew 5:13-16 in the overall chiasmus of the Sermon. They were intended to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, but if they were to be so they must choose the right way.
The idea of a choice between two ways is a common one in the Old Testament. Moses informed the people as he was approaching his death, ‘see I have set before you this day life and good, (achieved by loving God and walking in His way), and death and evil' (Deuteronomy 30:15). The same themes of life and destruction are found there as are also found here. A similar choice is found in Joshua 24:14-15 at an official covenant ceremony, where he declares ‘choose you this day Whom you will serve', although the reply expected of all there was that they would serve the Lord. It can be found in Psalms 1 where the blessedness of the man who delights in God's Law is contrasted with the judgment on the wicked, and he finishes with the words ‘the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly will perish' (Matthew 7:6).
Furthermore in Isaiah the coming age was summed up in terms of a way of holiness in which the righteous alone would walk, a way that would lead them into everlasting joy, when all sadness and sorrow would flee away (Isaiah 35:8-10), and this in the context of the Messianic signs (Isaiah 35:5-6, compare Matthew 11:4-6). And in that way they would hear a word behind them saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it' when they turned to the right hand or turned to the left (Isaiah 30:21). So the choice of a new way to walk in is in these terms an indication of the arrival of the Messianic age.
As so often with Jesus' words we have here both a chiasmus, which centres on the judgment which is the theme of the whole passage, and a sequence which leads from the one aspect to the other.
Analysis.
a Enter you in by the narrow gate,
b For wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction,
c And many are those who enter in by it,
b For narrow is the gate, and hemmed in is the way, that leads to life,
a And few are those who find it.
In ‘a' we have the narrow gate and in the parallel few will find it. In ‘b' and its parallel we have the comparison between the two alternatives, and centrally in ‘c' is the emphasis that the many enter the way of destruction, something which continues to be the emphasis in the Matthew 7:19; Matthew 7:23.
a Enter you in by the narrow gate,
b For wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction,
b And many are those who enter in by it,
a For narrow is the gate, and hemmed in is the way, that leads to life,
a And few are those who find it.
Jesus commences with the command to ‘enter by the narrow gate'. As elsewhere He speaks of ‘ entering the Kingly Rule of Heaven' we may probably be seen as intended to see the one as resulting in the other (Matthew 5:20; Matthew 7:21; Matthew 18:3; Matthew 19:23-24; John 3:5; compare Matthew 11:12). The ideas of ‘life' and of the Kingly Rule of Heaven tend to go together (see Matthew 25:34 with 46; Matthew 19:16-17 with 23, 24).
The emphasis on the narrowness of the gate indicates that it is for the comparatively few, and that those who choose it must expect to find themselves with relatively few companions. It is not a gate to which men will be flocking. Being narrow it must be entered one at a time. Nor is it easy to find (only those who seek will find it - Matthew 7:7-8, compare Matthew 6:33) and only those who are in earnest and determined, and responsive to His words will do so. But if they wish to find life it is that gate by which they must enter.
The alternative is the wide gate and the broad way. That is where they will find the crowds. It is the popular way and does not have to be found. It is obvious to all. It is the way most people have chosen, for it is totally unrestricted, and on it you can think what you like, believe what you like, and do what you like, and there is plenty of room on it for all. But there is one problem connected with it. It leads to ‘destruction'.
Note on Destruction.
‘Destruction' (apowleia) is, in the sense used in this verse, found only here in Matthew (it is used in Matthew 26:8; Mark 14:4 of the ‘waste' which resulted from pouring the valuable ointment on Jesus' head instead of giving it to the poor). But it is found in Acts 8:20, where Peter tells Simon, ‘your money be in Destruction (Perdition) with you'; in Acts 25:16 where it simply means ‘to be put to death'; in Romans 9:22 where the vessels of wrath are fitted to Destruction; in Philippians 1:28 where it is the opposite of salvation; in Philippians 3:19 where it is the destiny of those whose god is their belly; in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 where the Man of Sin is also ‘the son of Destruction'; in 1 Timothy 6:9 where the desire for riches results in foolish and hurtful longings which drown men in ruin (olethros) and Destruction (apowleia); in Hebrews 10:9 where those who draw back in the face of persecution do so ‘to Destruction'; in 2 Peter 2:1 where ‘heresies of Destruction (such as denying the Lord Who bought them), result in swift Destruction for them; in the following verse in 2 Peter 2:2 where their ways are ways of Destruction; in Matthew 2:3 where their Destruction is fast approaching; in 2 Peter 3:7 where the heavens and the earth are ‘reserved to fire against the day of judgment and Destruction of ungodly men'; 2 Peter 3:16 where those who are unlearned and unstable wrest the Scriptures to their own Destruction; in Revelation 17:8 where the beast who arises from the abyss is about to go into Destruction (to be cast alive into the lake of fire - Revelation 19:20); and in Revelation 17:11 where again the beast is to go into Destruction. Compare also the use of the cognate verb apollumi in Matthew 10:28; Matthew 18:11; Matthew 18:14. But it is also used regularly simply of dying, compare Roman Matthew 6:23. (In Plato's work on immortality the use of apollumi clearly represents total annihilation).
‘Destruction' is paralleled with Hades in Jewish literature such as Psalms of Solomon Matthew 14:9 where it says that, ‘their inheritance is Hades and darkness and Destruction, and they will not be found in the day when the righteous find mercy'. And the same idea (although in LXX not apowleia) is found in Psalms 16:10, where there is also a contrast of destruction with ‘life' (Matthew 7:11). The contrast between life and apoleia is also found in the Psalms of Solomon Matthew 9:9 (Matthew 7:5), ‘he who does righteousness lays up life for himself with the Lord, and he who does wrong forfeits his life to destruction'; and in Matthew 13:9 (Matthew 7:11), ‘for the life of the righteous will be for ever, but sinners will be taken away into destruction'.
Thus ‘Destruction' indicates the awful end of the ‘unrighteous', those who do not respond to God and His will.
End of note.
The narrow gate and hemmed in (restricted) way on the other hand leads to life. It is narrow, and demanding, and ‘hemmed in' because of the troubles that they will face on it, and because those in it are not free to do just whatever they like. Their choice is restricted. They must do the will of the Father. But it is the only way that leads to life. Thus they must choose which way they will take.
Later in Matthew entry into ‘life' is contrasted with being cast into everlasting fire or Gehenna (Matthew 18:8-9). It is spoken of as referring to ‘eternal life', the ‘life of the age to come', both in the rich young man's eyes (Matthew 19:16) and in the words of Jesus (Matthew 19:29 compare Matthew 7:17; Matthew 25:46). Both are there referring to entry into the eternal kingdom.
The poet spoke of a high way, and a low way, and an ‘in between' way on the ‘misty flats', which was neither the one nor the other. But in Jesus' eyes those on that ‘in between' way are in the broad way. For the basic fact is that every man is either in the narrow and afflicted way or he is not. And that way is the way of obedience (Isaiah 30:21). It is the way of doing the will of His Father Who is in Heaven (Matthew 7:21).
So all must choose the gate by which they will enter and the way that they will take, whether the popular gate of man's choosing, where anything goes, or the narrow gate of repentance and entry under the kingly Rule of Heaven, which must result in walking in God's way as revealed by Jesus in this Sermon.
It is doubtful if we are intended to fill in the picture by deciding where the gates and ways, when looked on from a practical earthly point of view, lead (compare Isaiah 35:8), for Jesus may not have had any particular picture in mind. On the other hand it may well be that the idea of the broad gate and way did come from His own year by year memory of the pilgrims pouring joyously through the wide gates of Jerusalem on the road from Jericho, and sweeping towards the Temple, towards what they saw as the place where they could meet God, the place which was the centre of their life. They gave a great impression then of religious fervour and honesty. But the majority of them would never submit to Jesus and would therefore never find that life. Their religion was skin deep. In this case the narrow gate might be the wicket gate only used when the large gates were shut, and used especially in time of war when individuals would slip in and out, and it would open the way for those who entered into a place of affliction and tribulation. But this is all surmise.
However, what the narrow gate does indicate is the full response to Jesus of those who enter. They enter because they have heard His words. And the narrow way is the way of tribulation and worldly trouble which results from taking up their cross and following Him. It might also be seen as the way into God's presence as described in Matthew 7:7-8, as they seek Him and knock.
So what is really to matter to His listeners is as to where the ways lead. They lead finally to life or destruction. What they do indicate is an individual choice that has to be made for those who would enter the narrow gate, and a facing up to the need for a continuation in the way that they have chosen. This indicates the necessity for perseverance, and the recognition that such a way will not be easy (compare Matthew 16:24-25).
There is also disagreement as to whether the gates in question open into the ways, or whether they are at the end of the ways (e.g. the gates of Hades - Matthew 16:18). The order of the words strongly suggests the former, in which case the narrow gate is the gate of commitment to following Jesus and to walk in His way, and to enter under the Kingly Rule of God, but it is not conclusive enough to have convinced everyone. However, the importance that Christians later put on this general idea possibly comes out in the fact that later they were called the people of The Way (Acts 9:2; Acts 18:25-26; Acts 19:9; Acts 19:23; Acts 22:4; Acts 24:14; Acts 24:22).
We cannot finish commenting on these words without stressing how important it is for each one of us to enter through the narrow gate of commitment to Christ, and to walk in the ‘pressurised' way, the way of doing the will of God.