Matthew 7.13-14

Life is a matter of choosing correctly between two distinct options.  A response is either right or wrong, an action good or bad, a relationship is either warm or cold. As Jesus nears the end of his sermon we find a set of contrasts between two ways (vv. 13-14), two kinds of fruit (vv. 15-20), two kinds of followers (vv. 21-23), and two kinds of builders (vv. 24-27). In each case a decision has to be made. Now is the time to decide. Our concern today has to do with which gate we choose and which road we take. It is not clear in the imagery whether one goes through a gate in order to take the way or choose the way that leads to a gate. The probable answer is that Jesus has conflated the two images.
       One of the ways (roads) is wide and appealing, so most people choose it. In every moral decision the majority take the less demanding alternative. Intrinsic to decision making is personal and immediate rewards. The natural man regularly chooses the option that is immediately rewarding. The other way (self-denial) is less attractive. It may require you to postpone personal gratification with the promise that in the end you will be better off. And that is why few choose to take it. Grab life while you can is the working principle of the pagan heart.
       These two roads lead to two distinctively different destinations: the wide and pleasant to destruction, the narrow to life. The usual understanding is that the destinations are heaven and hell. That implies that most people will go to hell. They go through the wide gate with a smile on their face but very quickly what was a major highway becomes a narrow path with little chance of turning around. The fires of hell have closed in all around them. By way of contrast the other road goes through a gate that is narrow. (Incidentally, while most English translations use “narrow” in both verses, the Greek has two different words, the second being cognate with the word for persecution. This suggests that the road is not merely narrow but may well involve persecution.) The narrow road, while few chose it, leads in the end to heaven (“life”). The choice is whether to take the wide and pleasant road or one that is narrow and difficult. The wise person looks beyond the gates themselves to the destinations of each road.
       It is also possible to understand the figures as two ways of living. In this case one road is the way of self-centeredness. It is easy to take but ends in loosing everything of permanent value. The narrow road is the way of personal discipline. Few take it but it leads to a life of rewarding fellowship with God. It is probable that both understandings are true. The pleasures of the broad way are minimal and the end destruction. While difficult, God’s ways are rewarding both now and in the coming kingdom.