When I was in my twenties, I was an avid cave explorer. Now, I just watch caving videos on YouTube. It is interesting how spelunkers will naturally follow a large wide-open passage first. They will bypass numerous smaller ones, all because the larger one does not involve hunching over or crawling in water; it is easier. But often, the large, promising trunk passage will “peter out” because of a breakdown. It is then that they will backtrack and check out a smaller one; crawling through jagged rocks over knee-pulverizing stones, on their belly in water with little room to breathe. But then, that tight crawlway emerges into a wide-open expanse that their lights cannot penetrate.
As a former spelunker, and now “armchair caver,” I sit back and think to myself, “If only they had tried the tight passage first!” In our Scripture today, Jesus shares a similar observation. When people come to the end of the wide, easy passage they have chosen through life, only to be met with a barrier keeping them from heaven; the question they will be asking themselves in agony is this: “Why, oh why, did I not choose the narrow and difficult passage first?” Nothing worthwhile comes easy; and shortcuts only result in missing the final cut. The same can be said when trying to take a spiritual shortcut to heaven. With this thought in mind, let us take a look at verses 13-14.
The Two Gates and Two Roads
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.
This passage is where we get the well-known expression “walking the strait and narrow,” which means choosing to do better and live right. Sooner or later, we will come face to face with the cross of Jesus Christ as we stand at the crossroads; and we will be faced with the hard reality that our own way is not working. It is at this point that we must decide to either stay on the same path or choose another. Jesus tells us that there are two separate gates that lead to two separate ways. One way leads to blessing and the other way to difficulty. We often think of the path of least resistance as being the right choice; but perhaps we have got it all wrong! In Deuteronomy 30:19, the Lord says, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore, choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” So, which path, or which way, leads to life and blessing?
The Narrow Gate and Difficult Way
In this passage, Jesus speaks of entering by the “narrow gate” (v. 13); one which opens unto a “difficult way” (v. 14). So, what is He referring to? Well, to understand the meaning, it is best to look at some of the individual terms. We will begin with the descriptive term “narrow.” This comes from the root word stenos, which can also be translated as “strait”(1) (S-T-R-A-I-T). The King James Version renders it this way, saying, “Enter ye in at the strait gate.” This type of “strait” is used in reference to a situation that has a degree of trouble or difficulty, as in the expression “dire straits.” Commentator Adam Clarke says, “The strait gate signifies literally what we call a wicket; a little door in a large gate,”(2) and Matthew Henry elaborates, “This is a small gate, hard to find, and hard to get through . . . for we must stoop, or we cannot go on.”(3)
So, what might this narrow gate be? In Jerusalem, there were many large city gates. In the daytime, the doors of these large gates would be left wide open to allow the people to go in and out, travelling from their homes outside the gates and into the city, to journey to the marketplace or temple. The large gate doors would be shut and locked at night; however, the smaller wicket door would be left unlocked, as it was used for people entering the city after hours. “It was designed for security reasons, so that enemies could not simply ride into the city on their camels and attack. The gate was so small that a man would have to unload his camel of all that it was carrying and then carefully lead his camel through this small gate,” which was a slow and arduous task.(4) Thus, any enemy who entered it felt as though they were in “dire straits.”
Once through the wicket gate, it opened into “the way,” one which Jesus describes as “difficult” (v. 14). The word “way” (hodos) simply refers to a travelled path or road. Commentator A. T. Robertson says that “the way is ‘compressed,’ narrowed as in a [passage] between high rocks,” and that it is “a tight place.”(5) Strong’s Concordance says the word has the meaning of being “narrow from obstacles standing close about.”(6) So, what could this be describing? Well, in the Old City of Jerusalem, the gates were “designed and built to have an L-shaped entry instead of a straight line of entry. Taking this sharp ninety-degree turn would have slowed down an invading army in the final moments of a siege,”(7) as the guards above would have poured down boiling oil or tar on the enemy invaders.(8)
So, what does a gate represent spiritually? The term “gate” (pyle) in this passage, and among the Jews, signified the entrance or means of acquiring something.(9) Though not the same thing as a “gate,” we often pray that God will open a “door” for us, that we might gain access to an opportunity. For example, in Acts 14:27, the Apostle Paul stated that God “had opened the door (thyra) of faith to the Gentiles.” The gate (pyle) that Jesus mentioned, was the entrance to receiving or acquiring either spiritual death or spiritual life. If we desire spiritual life, then the door we must enter through is Jesus. In John 10:9, Jesus declared about Himself, “I am the door (thyra). If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”
In verse 14, Jesus said, “Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life.” The King James Version says, “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life.” Once we walk through the “strait” (stenos) gate, we find ourselves walking down the “narrow” (thlibo) way or difficult road. So, what does this difficult road represent spiritually? Well, the word “straight” (stenos) comes from a root word (estemi) which means, “to stand immovable,” and “to stand firm,” as in “one who does not hesitate” or “waiver.”(10) The word “narrow” (thlibo) means, “to press hard upon,” “to trouble, afflict” and “to distress.”(11)
Commentator Frank Stagg has pieced these meanings together. He says, “The way which leads to life is entered though a narrow gate, and the way itself is hard, afflicted, anguished, or torturous. It is a way of decision, commitment, and obedience to God. In a wicked world it is a lonely road, traveled with a few companions.”(12) The narrow road is the way to blessing and eternal life; but, as they say, “It is not an easy row to hoe.” In 1 Corinthians 16:9, Paul said, “For a great and effective door (thyra) has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” When we walk through the door of blessing and life, we will have adversaries and experience adversities. In John 15:20, Jesus said, “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” It will not be an easy road, but we must stand resolute and unshakable.
The Wide Gate and Destructive Way
Next, Jesus says, “Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction” (v. 13). We have already established the “wide gate” to be a large door on one of the city entrances that were left wide open during the daytime for travelling to the marketplace and temple. Once a traveler passed through the large gate, he or she would eventually enter the main public street through town. Granted, a person had to first pass through the narrow L-shaped passage; but they would soon emerge onto the large public road.
This large public street spiritually represented “the way that leads to destruction” (v. 13). Jesus described the way of destruction as being “broad” (eurychoros), which can also mean “spacious.”(13) This term is based on the root word chora, which is defined as, “to lie open” and “to be ready to receive.” Therefore, the way of destruction is a wide-open path that is more than ready to swallow those who tread upon it. The root word chora can also describe “land which is plowed” or “cultivated ground”(14) In other words, Jesus was saying, “Many have already travelled that wide-open road. That ground has already been worked, and that row has already been plowed. Those who have gone before will, unfortunately, not be the last.”
Adam Clarke says, “Our Savior seems to allude here to the distinction between the public and private ways mentioned by the Jewish lawyers. The public roads were allowed to be sixteen cubits broad; the private ways only four.”(15) One cubit is equal to one and one-half feet; therefore, the public roads were up to twenty-four feet wide, and the private ways around six. The wide gate, with the large door left wide open, would accommodate huge crowds of people passing through it. These crowds would find their way into the city to journey along the broad way. Now, if your town has a street called “Broadway,” you will not think of it the same way ever again!
So, what does the way of destruction mean spiritually? The word for “destruction” (apoleia) here represents “the destruction which consists in the loss of eternal life, eternal misery [and] perdition,” and it is “the [fate] of those excluded from the kingdom of God.”(16) Commentator Warren Wiersbe says that what is alluded to in this passage are the way to heaven and the way to hell.” He says, “The broad way is the easy way; it is the popular way. But we must not judge spiritual profession by statistics; the majority is not always right. The fact that ‘everybody does it’ is no proof that what they are doing is right.”(17) Walking the broad and unobstructed way is going along with the crowd, such as believing that all roads lead to heaven. It is doing whatever feels good in the moment, with no regard for the harm done unto others or the spiritual consequences.
Jesus said, “Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” So, who is it that finds life? In contrast to the broad and unobstructed way, walking the narrow and difficult way is following Jesus, who declares Himself to be the only way to heaven (John 14:6); and walking according to His commands, which means giving up our participation in the sins of this world. Those who confess Jesus as Savior and Lord, who walk in His commands and live for Him; it is they who find life; which means, they find “life eternal.” In the book of Acts, those who trust in Jesus are called followers of “the Way” (Acts 9:2, 19:9, 19:23, 22:4, 24:14, 24:22), which is the second most frequently used name for believers in the New Testament. Those who find life are those who know the One who is called “the Way;” Jesus Christ.
Jesus Predicted the Via Dolorosa
Now, let us go deeper! In these two verses, Jesus signified the literal road that He would soon walk. After He was tried and sentenced by Pilate, Jesus entered a gate and walked a difficult road to the heights of Golgotha where He was crucified. His journey began at the Lion’s Gate. “Originally, the Lion’s Gate was an L-shaped gate that required a person to enter and turn left. The back wall of the gate was removed by the British in order to allow [vehicle] traffic to enter the Old City. The original arch and remaining part of the gate can still be seen to the left inside the gate.”(18) “The Arabic name for the [the Lion’s Gate] is ‘Meshikuli,’ which in more modern terms means ‘wicket’.”(19)
So, Jesus, carrying His own cross, entered the Lion’s gate; a gate which was constructed with a door containing a wicket. After He passed through the narrow L-shaped corridor, He stepped out onto the Via Dolorosa, which means, “the way of suffering.” The width of this legendary route is only about ten feet, but the length is around 2,000 feet,(20) making it just under half a mile. It was a cobblestone path, containing many sharp turns, as it wound its way up the grueling ascent. So, Jesus literally entered by the narrow gate (v. 13), and walked the narrow and difficult way which leads to life (v. 14). You see, Jesus died so that we might live. He died on the cross for “our” sins. The penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23), but Jesus took our place, so that we could be set free from condemnation and death, and be released into life.
The Lion’s Gate is thought to be not only the place where Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, but also the location where Stephen was taken out to be stoned in the Kidron Valley, as seen in Acts chapter seven.(21) You could, therefore, say that the Lion’s Gate represents laying down one’s life. Just as Jesus laid down His life physically, we are to lay down our life spiritually. This is what it means to enter by the narrow gate (v. 13), and walk the narrow and difficult way (v. 14).
In Matthew 16:24-25, Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” In Galatians 2:20, the Apostle Paul said it like this: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” To walk the “strait and narrow” means that we have taken up our cross and have “crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24).
Time of Reflection
In John 14:6, Jesus declared, “I am the way (hodos), the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Jesus is both “the door” (John 10:9) and “the way.” He is the road to heaven. “The way to eternal life is restricted to just one avenue – Christ. In this sense, the way is narrow because it is the only way, and relatively few people will go through the narrow gate. Many more will attempt to find an alternative route to God. They will try to get there through manmade rules and regulations, through false religion, or through self-effort. These who are ‘many’ will follow the broad road that leads to eternal destruction, while the sheep hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow Him along the narrow way to eternal life (John 10:7-11).”(22)
In Luke 13:24, Jesus said, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” “The Greek word translated ‘strive’ is agonizomai, from which we get the English word ‘agonize.’ The implication here is that those who seek to enter the narrow gate must do so by struggle and strain, like a running athlete straining toward the finish line, all muscles taut and giving his all in the effort. But we must be clear here. No amount of effort saves us; salvation is by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8-9) . . . No one will ever earn heaven by striving for it. But entering the narrow gate is still difficult because of the opposition of human pride, our natural love of sin, and the opposition of Satan and the world [that is] in his control, all of which battle against us in the pursuit of eternity.”(23)
“The exhortation to ‘strive to enter’ (Luke 13:24) is a command to repent and enter the gate; and not to just stand and look at it, [or] think about it, [and] complain that it is too small, or too difficult, or unjustly narrow. We are not to ask why others are not entering; we are not to make excuses or delay. We are not to be concerned with the number who will or will not enter. We are to strive forward and enter!”(24) The way we enter is to confess Jesus as the way; and confess our belief that He died for our sins on the cross and arose again from the grave victorious over sin and death. Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved,” and so, I invite you to come and confess Jesus as your Savior and Lord today.
NOTES
(1) Blue Letter Bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g4728/kjv/tr/0-1/ (Accessed January 18, 2024).
(2) Adam Clarke, Clarke’s Commentary, vol. 5 (New York: Abingdon), p. 96.
(3) Matthew Henry, The NIV Matthew Henry Commentary in One Volume (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1992), p. 35.
(4) Marrianne Schwab, “Jerusalem: The Eye of the Needle Gate,” http://www.best-travel-deals-tips.com/jerusalem-eye-of-the-needle-gate.html (Accessed January 18, 2024).
(5) A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1930), p. 61.
(6) Blue Letter Bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g4728/kjv/tr/0-1/ (Accessed January 18, 2024).
(7) Galyn Wiemers, “The Gates of Jerusalem Today,” https://www.generationword.com/jerusalem101/5-gates-today.html (Accessed January 18, 2024).
(8) “Lion’s Gate, Jerusalem,” GPSMyCity: https://www.gpsmycity.com/attractions/lions-gate-21250.html (Accessed January 18, 2024).
(9) Clarke, p. 96.
(10) Blue Letter Bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2476/kjv/tr/0-1/ (Accessed January 19, 2024).
(11) Ibid., https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2346/kjv/tr/0-1/ (Accessed January 19, 2024).
(12) Frank Stagg, “Matthew,” The Broadman Bible Commentary, vol. 8 (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1969), p. 121.
(13) Blue Letter Bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2149/kjv/tr/0-1/ (Accessed January 18, 2024).
(14) Ibid., https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5561/kjv/tr/0-1/ (Accessed January 18, 2024).
(15) Clarke, p. 96.
(16) Blue Letter Bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g684/kjv/tr/0-1/ (Accessed January 20, 2024).
(17) Warren Wiersbe, “The Complete New Testament in One Volume,” The Wiersbe Bible Commentary (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2007), p. 26.
(18) Galyn Wiemers, “The Gates of Jerusalem Today.”
(19) “Lion’s Gate, Jerusalem,” GPSMyCity.
(20) Lisa Baker, “Is the Via Dolorosa in the Bible?” Christianity Today: https://www.christianity.com/jesus/death-and-resurrection/the-crucifixion/is-via-dolorosa-in-the-bible.html (Accessed January 18, 2024).
(21) Galyn Wiemers, “The Gates of Jerusalem Today.”
(22) “Just How Narrow Is the Narrow Gate?” Got Questions: https://www.gotquestions.org/narrow-gate.html (Accessed January 19, 2024).
(23) Ibid.
(24) Ibid.
