Jesus mentions that the way to life is narrow with a small gate. There is a profound spiritual significance of this command. I thought a long time about this command and found how I might apply it to everyday life.  

Please share your thoughts, your own application or questions in the comments at the end.

COMMAND 45: “Enter through the narrow gate;”

Mt 7:13;  also Lk 13:24 in different context

RECIPIENT:   To the disciples in the hearing of the crowds on the mountain 

Mt 5:1-2 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.  ²He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying…

CONTEXT:  My notes  about the context of this command

Mt 7:7-12 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  ⁸For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  ⁹Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?  ¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? ¹¹If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”  
¹²“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

COMMAND FULL TEXT:

Mt 7:13a “Enter through the narrow gate;”

RESULT:  

Mt 7:13b-14 “…for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction and there are many who enter through it.  ¹⁴For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

After Jesus concluded the sermon

Mt 7:28-29; 8:1 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; ²⁹for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
¹When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him.

DEFINITIONS:  Key Greek Words – Removes ambiguity of the Bible text

word: Strong’s #    Greek   pronunciation   — definition

enter:  G1525 εἰσεìρχομαι ice-er’-khom-ahee — to enter

narrow: G4728 στενοìς sten-os’ — narrow

gate:  G4439 πυìλη poo’-lay — a gate, that is, the leaf or wing of a folding entrance

COMMENT:  My comments  and notes

I thought a long time about this command and how I might apply it to everyday life.  I noticed in the context that Jesus mentions knocking as on a door. He mentions that the way to destruction is broad with a wide gate.  I picture that wide gate as wide open. To me the broad path with the wide open gate is living my life without a clear purpose and thus not having stated goals that are important to me.  In this scenario I am bounced around in life reacting only from necessity or perhaps reacting to influences that the crowd thinks is important with emotion as my guide. With deliberate planning I’m likely to accomplish much more in my lifetime than I would without planning.

Then Jesus mentions that the way to life is narrow with a small gate.  I presume I am to exert the effort to knock at the narrow gate. Perhaps it’s a stretch of my own imagination but I see that success in life is the narrow way of clarifying my life with written goals and stated purpose.  Achieving goals is a narrow road of consistently practicing focused disciplines.   

See also in Luke 13 a similar command in the context of Jesus teaching in a village near Jerusalem.  I think that Jesus has indicated in this version of the command that there is a window of opportunity to enter the narrow door.  I believe that for each individual person the window of opportunity is their own lifetime.

Lk 13:24-25 “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.  ²⁵Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’”

Elsewhere, Jesus describes Himself as the door or a gateway.

Jn 10:9 “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”

Jn 14:6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Ac 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Salvation  

The verses in the COMMENTS above have secular application but most naturally lead directly to the Christian concept of Salvation.  Salvation is finding favor with God and thus gaining eternal life after physical death. Christian teaching is that  there is only one means of finding favor with God. That means is through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. That faith is a life altering belief in Jesus’ death and resurrection with an appropriation of His Spirit and a commitment to righteous living. These terms are what I call “Christianese” and are confusing without explanation. Therefore if you are interested in the explanations, I have provided descriptions of salvation, the Trinity, and faith:

What Does it Mean to Be “Saved”? by Bodie Hodge and Answers in Genesis
People might tell you that you need to be saved. But do you feel like you’re only getting half the story?
Are you like me? I get tired of sitting down in the middle of something like a story, show, etc. and wondering what’s going on. I think most people feel like this when they hear about Jesus for the first time. In my past, I would hear things like: “Good news! Good news! Here’s how to get saved: Believe in Jesus!!”
I was thinking, “Saved from what? Jesus who?” Obviously, there was something missing in the approach that these well meaning Christians used with me…

https://answersingenesis.org/gospel/salvation/what-does-it-mean-to-be-saved/

The Trinity: Christians talk about God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  In the comments of Blog 41, 42 and 43, I explained the Christian concept of the triune nature of God with a natural analogy of matter that consist of mass and space in time.  Answers in Genesis has a more full explanation:   

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/aid/v3/n1/the-trinity

Faith:  Faith is belief in action.  For instance, when I get up to turn on a light switch I am demonstrating faith in electricity. Answers in Genesis has a more full explanation:

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v5/n4/faith-reason

PERSONAL APPLICATION:  

Because I am already a Christian the time is now to think about, and record my purpose, with written goals and to practiced the disciplines I need to achieve them.  This is the narrow road to success in life.

Please share a comment, question or perhaps another application for this command of Jesus.

© 2018 Christopher Carlson

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB