Enter by the narrow gate

 

 "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 currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  In yesterday's reading, 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 dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in 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."  My study Bible explains that the description of the two ways was widespread in Judaism (Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Proverbs 4:18-19, 12:28, 15:21; Wisdom of Sirach 15:17).  It is also found in early Christian writings (Didache, Barnabas).  Luke's version is more eschatological (Luke 13:24-30), as it refers to the end of the age.  Because we wrestle against sins and human weakness as well as spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12), entering 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."  Because others can easily be deceived by such behavior, those who put on a show of virtue or religion are more dangerous than those who are evil outright, my study Bible explains.  Therefore, we must be all the more cautious among people who are outwardly virtuous.   Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire:  John the Baptist made the same statement in Matthew 3:10.

 

 "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."  Here in this context, Jesus begins speaking of Himself as Lord; this refers to the divine name "Yahweh" of the Old Testament.  He also speaks of the will of My Father, which He fully knows and shares.  Continuing in tomorrow's reading, the following verse will emphasize Christ's judgment.  My study Bible points out that taken together, this forms a three-fold testimony of the deity of Christ.

 

Jesus finishes His preaching in today's reading with a reminder of judgment.  After all that He has taught in the Sermon on the Mount (beginning in chapter 5; see this reading), He is finally revealing His deity  and the judgment to come.  As my study Bible points out, His words echo those of St. John the Baptist, who preached them in the context of repentance in preparation for the Lord.  Here Jesus openly refers to Himself as Lord, sealing His words and teaching in the Sermon on the Mount with that authority.  Let us note that He begins with an encouragement to find the narrow way; this is an emphasis on the uniqueness and particularity of this path He preaches.  Why is it narrow?  Because its counterpart or opposite, the road to destruction, is wide and broad and there are all kinds of ways to go down that road, and many who take it.  He doesn't say that everyone will take His narrow road (we should remember that He's speaking to disciples), but that it's difficult, and so, therefore, few find it.  His next teaching is a warning, against false prophets. He's warning His disciples -- and those to come -- about bad leaders who will take them astray.  We're told that we must be alert and discriminating ourselves.  We, His sheep, might be led astray by ravenous wolves in sheep's clothing.  What a description!  Christ's teaching is vivid and to the point and therefore holds the test of time, for ravenous wolves are greedy only for what they can get, hungry for what they can take from others. But He gives us a way of discernment:  by their fruits you shall know them.  We are all expected to be on a learning curve as we seek to follow Him.  In this context, His theme then turns to hypocrisy and to judgment, which will continue in tomorrow's reading.  As He has emphasized so often in the Sermon on the Mount, He goes back to the heart.  Do we love God?  Do we return God's love for us?  Do we simply mouth the words?  Do our leaders?  The proof is in the pudding, so to speak, as an old adage says.  We will be known by our fruits, and the fruit is the doing of the will of His Father in heaven.  How do we live?  By what do we live?  This is the narrow road He asks us to follow.

 

 

 

 

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

 

 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the  way that leads into destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, 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 currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount.  In yesterday's reading, 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 in 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 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 into destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, there are few who find it."  This description of the "two ways" was widespread in Judaism (Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Proverbs 4:17-18, 12:28, 15:21; Wisdom of Sirach 15:17), and also in early Christian writings (Didache, Barnabas).  My study Bible adds that Luke's version (found at Luke 13:24-30) is more eschatological, as it refers to the end of the age.  It says that because we wrestle against sins and human weaknesses, as well as spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12), entering 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 comments here 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, we need to be all the more cautious among those who are outwardly virtuous.  How will we know these false prophets and wolves in sheep's clothing?  By the "fruits" they produce.  John the Baptist made the same statement, that every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire, in Matthew 3:10.

"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 notes that Jesus makes a testimony regarding His own deity here:  He calls Himself Lord, which refers to the divine name "Yahweh" of the Old Testment; He speaks of the will of My Father, which He fully knows and shares; and finally, as judge, He reveals Himself as God, for only God can execute true judgment.  

What is judgement?  How can we understand it?  The ultimate judgment, of course, comes from Christ, as is indicated in today's reading, which my study Bible points out to us in these last verses.  In this sense, judgment is a discernment about who may enter the kingdom of heaven.  According to what Christ says in the final verses of today's reading, those who may enter are the ones who do "the will of My Father in heaven."   Here we must note that when Jesus gave us His model prayer earlier in the Sermon on the Mount (see this reading), it was a prayer to "Our Father," and included the pleas, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  Therefore, through this prayer, we plea for participation in our Father's will also; we ask that God's kingdom be manifest here, and that God's will be done here.  It is a way in which we may also reinforce the idea that this is what we want to serve in our lives, just as Jesus serves the Father's will as divine Son and as human being.  So, we might ask, what is this divine will?  How does this work that we may participate in God's kingdom here, and that our Father's will can be done on earth as it is in heaven?  Jesus tells us in today's reading that the gate to this kingdom of life is narrow, while the way to destruction is broad and its gate is wide.  This is a specific instruction, making a specific claim of one way to find the life in abundance He wishes to offer, this kingdom of life.  It enforces that our job in the world as disciples is to seek our Father's will and to do it.  This is the basic requirement, so to speak, of a follower of Christ.  This is not an abstract statement about principles.  It is a specific direction that is given, a direction towards participation in a deep relationship, one that permeates all things, both in heaven and on earth, one that comes before all things.  And this is a personal relationship.  That is, our Father in heaven may not be a person who is exactly like our earthly father, or anyone else we know.  But God the Father is, nevertheless, a Person, and One with whom we are not simply capable of having an intimate and personal relationship, but One with whom Christ says we must do so in order to enter the Kingdom of which He preaches.  This intimate and personal relationship is not a mere set of belief statements, of value judgments, of rules, but rather a relationship of the same type we understand as personal in the world with those whom we love:  it is a way of coming to know Someone, of dwelling in a give and take of love with that Person, a way of growth in relationship, something intimate down to our core, because this Person also is present deep within ourselves.  This we know from Christ's teaching regarding St. Peter's confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, which will come in chapter 16:  "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (see Matthew 16:15-17).  What Jesus implies is that God the Father may reveal within us the realities of this Kingdom, from a dwelling space we can't perceive but which nevertheless is within us so deeply that we're unaware of exactly how and from whence this comes.  Jesus also teaches that "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you"  (Luke 17:20-21).  In the Greek, this language can mean both "within you" and "among you" but that makes little difference in terms of the implication of the presence of God and God's kingdom to us.  What is not necessarily seen nor observed is nevertheless here with us, within us and among us and in our midst, and it is this presence to which Jesus directs us, and which plays a role in the judgment about how we enter that kingdom of life.  So when we pray, let us think about an intimate communion that asks us for our attention, that is that "narrow gate" among all the rest of the things that vie for our attention and for our loyalty.  Let us understand that there is more to this Kingdom than simply rules or prerogatives, but that the word of God comes to us in person -- in the person of Jesus Christ, fully human yet fully divine, and as such our invitation to participate is personal.  We are invited in to grow and to learn, so that we may dwell with God.  St. Paul asks the Corinthians, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16).  At the Last Supper, Jesus assures us of this relationship and its basis in love:  "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him" (John 14:23).   Like a truly loving relationship between human persons, this relationship transforms us -- but in the process of helping us to find who we truly are, in ways only God can reveal to us.   For today, let us consider what it means to be in a deep and loving relationship, one from which we constantly learn, within which we change and which will transform us, a relatedness that gives life, a blessed home -- a narrow gate through which Jesus Christ invites us to be with our Father.

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

Lamb of God, Euphrasian Basilica, 6th century, Poreč, Croatia

 "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 currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 -7).  In yesterday's reading, 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 in 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."  My study bible tells us that the description of the two ways was widespread in Judaism (Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Proverbs 4:17-18, 12:28, 15:21; Sirach 15:17), and also found in early Christian writings such as the Didache and Barnabas.  Luke's version (Luke 13:24-30) has a more eschatological focus, which refers to the end of the age.  My study bible says that because we wrestle against both sins and human weaknesses as well as spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12), to enter the Kingdom is the more difficult way.  One could say that what Jesus describes in the way of taking up one's cross daily.

"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."  As it is easy to deceive others, my study bible says, those who put on a show of virtue or religion are more dangerous than those who are openly evil.  Therefore, we must be that much more cautious among those who are outwardly virtuous.  But Christ says that we should watch instead, not the outward behavior, but for the fruits produced; that is, the outcomes or actions.  This is a frequent theme, as Christ has taught before about the effects of what is truly in the heart.  He calls us to discernment and watchfulness.  Verse 19:  John the Baptist made the identical statement in 3:10.

"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."  Here, Christ affirms that His way must be chosen although it is the more narrow or difficult.  It is also a statement of His divinity, as He both calls Himself Lord, and the Son of His Father in heaven.  It is this will of God the Father that Christ knows and shares as Son.

With this final statement, Jesus is teaching us that an outward declaration of worship or honor to Himself as Lord isn't enough.  Rather, His real disciples are those who do the will of God the Father in heaven.  There our deepest loyalty must lie.  How do we do this?  How do we know God's will?  In this context, I think we mustn't forget the statements in yesterday's reading, so affirmative and emphatic in their direction to us:  "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."  In the sense of the Greek verbs, this is a command to keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking.  My study bible says that we ask through prayer, we seek by learning God's truth, and we knock by pursuing God's will.  In other words, there is an implied effort at continual discipleship through sincere faith practices.  We must keep it in our hearts that what we really pursue is the knowledge of the will of our Father in heaven, and the capacity to do it, to live it.  This implies both a sincere desire and an effort, and would include a capacity for repentance when there is something we need to walk back, to turn away from, to "change our minds" about.  This is an integral and holistic process, starting from deep within ourselves, in the place that in the language of the Gospels is called "the heart," our very center which unifies us as who we are.  It's there that Christ begins with the concept that the fruit of the tree is borne according to the state of its heart.  But it would be a mistake to think that Christ speaks as if what we are is written in stone.  Instead, He's asking us to follow His narrow and difficult way -- that the focus on the heart, the inside, is the way for those who would follow Him.  This He contrasts with hypocrisy, pointing out that there are false prophets who hide behind a mask of piety.  His active way for us is to "make the tree good," so that we will bear good fruit.   He calls us to this "narrow way" through which we are willing to actively face honestly our own flaws, find true discernment, to find the true life of the Kingdom.  This comes in small steps, through time, when we often feel as if there is indeed a very "narrow way" through which to proceed, even a difficult choice -- when it be so much easier to follow the crowd.   It is easy to be fooled by appearances, by "false prophets."   Jesus gives us a continual way to develop our own purity of heart, our capacity to discern our own flaws, so that we may in turn be able the better to discern those who might lead us astray.   As His sheep, we seek to enter the Kingdom His way, through His narrow gate.  He is the true Lamb of God whom we seek to follow, rather than the wolves in sheep's clothing.  Let us focus on the narrow and difficult path, the way of the Cross, so that we may be the followers He asks us to be.