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

 "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.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."

- Matthew 7:13-21

We are reading through the Sermon on the Mount, which comprises Matthew chapters 5 - 7.  Yesterday we read that Jesus taught, "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.  Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.  Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

 "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.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."  In Judaism, the description of the two ways was widespread, my study bible notes here (see Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Proverbs 4:15-18, 12:28, 15:24; Wisdom of Sirach 15:17).  This is also a distinguishing feature of early Christian writings (Didache, Barnabas).  In Luke's version of this saying (Luke 13:24-30), the perspective is more eschatological, directly referring to the end of the age.  We wrestle against sins and human weaknesses, as swell as spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12).  Therefore to enter the Kingdom is the more difficult way. 

 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Therefore by their fruits you will know them."   My study bible says that because they can easily deceive others, those who put on a show of virtue or religion are more dangerous than those who are evil outright.  Therefore, it says, we must be all the more cautious among those who are outwardly virtuous.  Jesus has spoken out against hypocrisy several times in the Sermon on the Mount (see Monday's reading), and He continues to warn against others who practice it here.  John the Baptist also preached, "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (3:10).  Jesus furthers the analogy for our understanding.

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."   My study bible calls this a threefold testimony of the deity of Christ.  He calls Himself Lord, which refers to the divine name "Yahweh" of the Old Testament.  Jesus also speaks of the will of My Father, which He fully knows and shares.  Finally, as judge, Christ is revealed as God, for only God can execute true judgment. 

Jesus emphasizes discipleship here.  As He comes toward the closing of the Sermon on the Mount, He approaches the subject of Judgment.  But first there is a call toward the discipline He asks of His followers.  We need good judgment, discernment, awareness, and prudence.  It's not an easy task He's answering of us.  Furthermore, the "easy" task is destruction.  It doesn't require as much alertness and watchfulness, nor the same kind of discernment.  What Jesus suggests is that He's asking us for specifics in our own conduct of our lives, we need to work at this business of being aware of who we are, where we are, what choices we're making.  He doesn't want us to sleepwalk through life.  We're to be mindful and awake to ourselves and to life around us.  We don't want to go along with the crowd.  We want to make good choices, because we choose our own direction.  In this context, He warns us to beware of false prophets.   Those who make a show of good virtue can too easily be those who will lead us astray.  Again, He calls on us for discernment.  We need to be watchful, and make the most of our capacity to understand.  He not only wants us to be on guard against our own capacity for hypocrisy, but to be aware of that possibility in others who'd lead us away from His way.  He gives us a key:  "You will know them by their fruits."  Watch what they do, watch what they produce.   In this context, the element of Judgment comes up.   Such hypocrites will not fare well in the Judgment, and He is the Judge.  The lives of hypocrites and their practices and fruits are good for nothing but the fire.   Whether this manifests in this life or at the time of Judgment, one cannot say, but Jesus' (and John's) implication is clear, such behavior bears no support in the context of the life offered by Christ.  And with that understanding we read the final line of today's text:  "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."  We can call upon Christ's name, but without sincere devotion it is meaningless.  Without a heart that chooses the treasure He has in mind, it bears no fruit.  Doing the will of His Father in heaven is the fruit Christ seeks, that bears witness to a good tree.  Once again we turn to Christ's words from an earlier portion of this Sermon:  "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  Where do we put our trust?  What do we bank on?  What is it we really do with our lives?  With what do we ally ourselves?  What do we love?  These questions always remain pertinent and real.  They demand of us answers at every point in our lives.  And when we have fallen into a kind of sleep, or unawareness, they pull us right back into the alert state He wants of us:  that which we treasure and trust in will become our identity.  Let us count on His word and His love lest we be led where we don't want to go.