The Narrow Gate and Strong Foundations (Matthew 7:13–28)
As Jesus drew his Sermon on the Mount to a close, he spoke very directly and clearly about who would inherit the kingdom of God and who would not. His teaching in this area — while it was filled with love and compassion — made it very clear that not everyone would be going to heaven, only those who entered by what he called “the narrow gate” in Matthew 7:13–14: “You can enter God';s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”
The Bible presents a message of salvation to all and tells us repeatedly that there is only one way to see the kingdom of heaven and that is through the “narrow gate” of Jesus Christ, who said, “No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Jesus was teaching those in attendance that day that it was necessary for them to be freed from their sins if they wanted salvation and that they would have to be careful not to listen to those who would come after Jesus with messages to lead them astray: “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit” (Matthew 7:15–17).
Jesus intended for his teaching that day — and every day after — to be taken by his followers as the foundational truths by which they would live their lives and by which they would inherit salvation and eternal life in heaven. That is why he said, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock” (Matthew 7:24).
He pointed out that a house built on rock won';t collapse even in the worst of storms but that one built on sand is a catastrophe waiting to happen. Those who hear and obey his teaching, she said, were like those who built their houses on the solid rock. The ones who don';t were building the houses of their lives on sand (Matthew 7:25–27).
Jesus had just preached the greatest sermon ever heard. And when he finished, the people who heard him that day were amazed both at what he had said and at how he had said it: with authority unlike anything the religious teachers of that time could muster (Matthew 7:28–29).
Study Questions
How does Jesus';s teaching that the gate to heaven is narrow and the highway to hell wide affect your approach to telling others about your faith in Christ?
What do you think are some of the “good fruits” you can readily see in those who claim to know the truth about God and the way to get to him?
