Matthew 7:13-14: Which Gate Will You Choose?

Introduction

"Enter in by the narrow gate." For this afternoon message at the Église Évangélique de Pentecôte de Nantes, the preacher opens Matthew 7:13-14. Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter in by it. Narrow is the gate and restricted is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it.

This passage closes a long series of teachings, chapters 5 to 7, on the principles that govern the kingdom of God. "You don't do whatever you want in the kingdom of God," the preacher reminds us: there are rules, there are principles. And yet, before even describing the two gates, Jesus gives an invitation.

The message answers a simple question: "But which is the gate?" It shows what the narrow gate costs, where the wide gate leads, and why no one, not even Jesus, will make this choice for you.

Message Outline

1. Jesus Begins With an Invitation

• Jesus could have started by describing the spacious gate. He starts with: "Enter in by the narrow gate." The explanation comes afterward. "This is Jesus' invitation this afternoon for someone."
• God speaks sometimes one way, sometimes another. Here it is Jesus who speaks, and Jesus is God. There are invitations like this one that must be seized.
• There are two gates, and these two gates open onto two paths. Christ taught that we should not expect a great majority to follow him on the path that leads to life: "few are those who find it."
• During the service, a sister chose to walk with Jesus: "There is joy in heaven."

2. Refusing the Narrow Gate Means Depriving Yourself of Jesus

• Those who go through the wide gate deprive themselves of the blessed person of Jesus Christ, while the apostle Paul says: "in him you are made full" (Colossians 2:10).
• "Not going through the narrow gate means deliberately choosing to deprive ourselves of the one in whom we can have everything fully." It is Jesus who leads us into the presence of God.
• Some answer: "I have my job, I have my possessions, I have my family, I have everything." The preacher insists: there is more than that, there is eternal life and the kingdom of God. If that were all there was, Jesus would not have needed to come and die on the cross.
• Few will attach themselves sincerely and lovingly to the commandments of Jesus. The psalmist says so: "I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you" (Psalm 119:11). Few will earnestly seek his kingdom and his righteousness, few will persevere to the end. "It is so easy to take the wide gate."

3. A Narrow Gate, but Promises of Happiness

• The narrowness of this gate speaks of difficulties, pitfalls, trouble and persecution. "Oh pastor, don't talk to me about difficulties, tell me about beautiful things." Answer: Jesus went this way, and because he went this way, we too must go through it.
• The preacher rereads the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) in the light of the narrow gate: blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the gentle, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart. "You could say: blessed are those who take the narrow gate." It is this gate that leads to seeing God.
• Jesus warns his disciples that they will not escape persecution: "A servant is not greater than his lord. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20). "Was Jesus mistaken? No." It is out of love that he points out the gate that leads to life.
• Some say that salvation is one of the easiest things in the world. Jesus teaches that following him involves heavy obligations: walking in righteousness, accepting persecution, loving your enemies, turning the other cheek (Matthew 5:39), denying yourself.
• Denying yourself means ceasing to say: "Your word says this, but I think that." "We think well, but God thinks better." If Jesus says "enter" right away, it is because God wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4).
• "I see Jesus there, he is waiting at this gate and he is watching us. Which gate will you choose? Which path will you choose?"

4. What the Narrow Gate Costs

• Because of sin and human will, there is in this world a permanent opposition to the things of God. The day before, while evangelizing in the street, the preacher handed the Gospel to a person who immediately threw it on the ground.
• It takes a continual fight to enter the path of God. Those who have walked with the Lord for years can say that they have been tested. What makes them persevere is a conviction drawn from the word of God: "At the end, there is eternal life."
• Entering through the narrow gate costs: our life, our time, our friends, our family. The preacher testifies: when he came to Jesus Christ, he was hit, "you there with your Jesus." Some time later, the one who had hit him came to Jesus Christ.
• It also costs our leisure ("Sunday morning, I have something else to do," surfing, soccer) and our ambitions. "Sometimes I would like to follow this road, and the Lord tells me: no, my child, this is the way you must go."
• "You don't understand everything. You certainly won't understand everything. But what I can tell you is this: go through this gate." We love walking on this path because at the end, there is life.

5. The Wide Gate: Letting the Current Carry You

• The wide gate is crossed without difficulty, without obstacle, without restraint. You only have to let yourself go with the current of this world and the natural inclination of your own heart, which loves what is easy and brings pleasure. "I am free. Let me live, let me live my life."
• Drifting, being rocked, being tossed around: "They tell me there's a new wave, I go there. They tell me there's a new trend, I go there." The one who goes through the narrow gate, on the other hand, is directed by the word of God.
• Man is not here below forever. One day, we will have to leave the stage of this world and meet the one who said: "Enter in by the narrow gate." Jesus will have the last word: he is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last (Revelation 22:13).
• All have gone astray, none is righteous (Romans 3:10-12). "If it can comfort you, everyone." But the love of God has opened another way, a new gate, "the gate that begins at the cross."
• The flesh has desires contrary to those of the Spirit (Galatians 5:17). "You cannot go through two gates. We have to choose one gate."
• The wide gate is also the gate of selfishness. The rich man of Luke 16 despised Lazarus. At death, Lazarus found himself in the presence of God and the rich man in the place of torment, not because he was rich, but because he did not live in the fear of God.
• It is finally the gate of pleasure: "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, be merry." God answers him: "You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you" (Luke 12:19-20).

6. Choosing Like Moses, Carrying Nothing

• Moses grew up in Pharaoh's house. He could have stayed there. He chose to be mistreated with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a time, and he considered the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt (Hebrews 11:24-26).
• Because Moses made the right choice, he was a blessing to Israel. You too can be a blessing to your family, to those around you, to the Church, provided you make the right choice.
• "Does Jesus have the main place in your heart today?" Jesus does not choose for us. He shows us and advises us the path of life. "The choice is in your court."
• The gate is narrow because you can only enter it by carrying nothing with you: prejudices, ambitions, pride. The narrow gate leads us to strip ourselves.
• It is too narrow for the one who thinks he can enter by his own means. It is not by works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). "There is no work to do. The sacrifice of Jesus is perfect." The day before, in prison, the team met a person who, despite explanations drawn from the Bible, answered: "That's just how I am."
• Many prefer an easy gate: "I am a believer, but I allow myself certain things that are not in line with the word of God." Jesus calls us to the gate of stripping away and renunciation, including of our own thoughts.

7. The Gate Is Narrow, Grace Is Not

• Many have heard the Gospel, understood it, and stopped right in front of the gate before leaving again. "How many more times will you stop in front of this gate?"
• That few people find the narrow gate does not mean that God's grace is narrow. "God's favor is immense." The grace of God, bringing salvation to all people, has appeared (Titus 2:11). To see it, you only need to look at the cross.
• Grace is rich, free, available to all. But only those who realize that they cannot stand before God and confess their sins to him enter through this gate.
• There are only two destinies, not three. "There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death" (Proverbs 14:12).
• Jesus is both the gate ("I am the door," John 10:9) and the way ("I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me," John 14:6).
• On the spacious path, "you will certainly have many friends, but you will miss the best that God has prepared for you." Man is a sinner and lost, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:23).

Key Takeaways

• Before explaining, Jesus invites: "Enter in by the narrow gate." It is an invitation to seize today.
• The narrow gate costs time, friends, leisure, ambitions and giving up your own thoughts, but it leads to life.
• The wide gate demands no effort: you just follow the current of this world. It is the gate of selfishness and pleasure, and it leads to destruction.
• Jesus does not choose for you. Like Moses, you must decide, and leave on the other side what does not fit through the gate.
• The gate is narrow, but the grace of God is immense. Jesus is the gate and the way, and eternal life is a free gift.

Personal Application

1. Which path are you on today: the one where you let the current carry you, or the one where the word of God directs you?
2. In which area do you still say to God: "Your word says this, but I think that"?
3. What does the narrow gate ask you to leave on the other side: a prejudice, an ambition, pride, a pastime that comes before God?
4. How many times have you stopped right in front of the gate without entering? What is still holding you back?
5. Does Jesus have the main place in your heart, or only one place among others?

Verses Cited

• Matthew 7:13-14
• Colossians 2:10
• Psalm 119:11
• Matthew 5:3-12
• John 15:20
• Matthew 5:39
• 1 Timothy 2:4
• Revelation 22:13
• Romans 3:10-12
• Galatians 5:17
• Luke 16:19-31
• Luke 12:19-20
• Hebrews 11:24-26
• Ephesians 2:8-9
• Titus 2:11
• Proverbs 14:12
• John 10:9
• John 14:6
• Romans 6:23

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean to enter through the narrow gate?

In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus invites us to enter through the narrow gate, the one that leads to life. The preacher explains that it speaks of difficulties, pitfalls and persecution, and that it requires us to deny ourselves. It is narrow because you can only enter it by leaving behind pride, prejudices and your own works.

Why does the wide gate lead to destruction?

The wide gate is crossed without effort: you only have to let yourself go with the current of this world and the natural inclination of your heart. The preacher also calls it the gate of selfishness and pleasure, recalling the rich man of Luke 16 and the fool of Luke 12. Its end is eternal separation from God.

Which gate is Jesus talking about?

Jesus himself is the gate: "I am the door" (John 10:9). He is also the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). The gate is narrow, but the grace of God is not: it is rich, free and available to all, and it appeared at the cross.