Matthew 7:13-14 – Choose Life

The ‘would you rather’ game. Silly choices where you have to pick one – would you rather have four legs and no arms, or four arms and no legs? Would you rather eat live frogs or live bats? Would you rather go a year without your phone or a year without your friends? You get the idea!

Choices where you have to pick one.

That’s the kind of choice Jesus is talking about here.

Matthew 7:13–14 NIVUK

‘Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Except this isn’t a silly choice; this is deadly serious...

Jesus says that there are two ways to live – it’s a choice that everyone must make. It’s a choice between life and death, safety and destruction, heaven and hell.

So there is a clear choice to be made, and everyone must make it: life or death. Sounds like a no-brainer!

But what are we really choosing?

It’s not a choice to try harder, nor a choice to get stronger, neither a choice to be better.

It’s a choice to follow Jesus along the road that he himself travelled, and to avoid another way that would lead us to disaster.

Two simple instructions…

Stay off the road to death

Matthew 7:13 NIVUK

‘Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

The journey on this road seems attractive but it leads to nowhere.

Picture a brand new extra-wide motorway, perfectly laid with the finest asphalt; straight, flat and lined with service stations for regular comfort stops along the way. No speed limit!

It promises so much: an easy journey, plenty of space for everyone, no hassle, no fuss. And whatever is at the end of this road is surely worth getting to!

That’s the image Jesus wants us to have in our minds as we consider the wide gate and the broad road.

These words suggest loads of space, room and comfort. Some bible translations call it the ‘easy’ road, because that’s what it is: this is the easy road to take.

Of all the options this is the easiest. And that’s why so many are inclined to take it. It seems like the best option – a no brainer.

Of course, the road and the gate are metaphors for the journey of life. The easy road therefore represents the easy, most comfortable, pain-free way of living life.

For the vast majority of people it’s the journey along life’s road where I get to do as I please. I live for me, free from the constraints of having to answer to anyone else, least of all God.

It’s the path where I have freedom and space as I travel, to choose my own way, make my own life in a way that pleases me and brings me happiness and peace.

Maybe that sounds really appealing?

The only problem with this road and this gate is where it leads: wide is the gate and broad the road that leads to destruction.

Where it promised comfort, this road brings pain; where it promised wholeness, this road brings waste; where it promised life, this road brings death.

Ultimately, this is the road without God, with a gate that leads away from God.

The road travelled without God leads to life without God – both in this life and in eternity.

That’s what makes this road so attractive to so many. It appears to offer freedom from God. It’s the path where instead of submitting to the Creator as my God, I get to be my god submitting to no one.

And that, today, is to many people the definition of freedom: living totally free from the constraints of others telling me what to do, who to be, how to live. But Jesus is saying that the road without God is the road to slavery leading to destruction.

All of us start out life on the wide road. It always seems like the best way to go. It’s only when our eyes are opened to the truth and we see the destruction that awaits and the rescue that is available through Jesus do we turn off that road and go a different way.

Perhaps you’re still on the broad road. Maybe for you this way of freedom from God has seemed like the best option, bringing you most joy and happiness. And maybe you still need to have your eyes opened to the devastation that lies at the end of that road, at the end of life without God.

The word ‘destruction’ here has the sense of ruin or waste. You can travel down that road all the while thinking that you’ve made it, but in the end you will come to see that you’ve lived without God and so now you’re ruined forever.

Or you travel along thinking that you’re making the most of life, but in the end you will come to see that you have wasted your life as you’ve lived without God.

That’s the sense of Jesus’ warning here. Don’t blindly go along with the masses whose voices and arguments against God sound very clever and appealing; avoid the road that leads to death.

Adam and Phoebe, and all Christians are warned here as well. Although in Christ you are safe in your salvation, with the hope of heaven ahead of you, you too can still waste your life.

Because that wide road does still seem attractive to us. Our feet still want to carry us in that direction, because there are things we want to do for ourselves, little pleasures that seem so good and if only I could taste a little more…

The big danger is that we end up wasting our lives on worldly pleasures and pursuits instead of spending our lives for Christ.

We need to stay off the road to death, and instead…

Get on the road to life

Matthew 7:13–14 NIVUK

‘Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

This journey is hard, painful and fraught with danger. But it’s the road that leads to ultimate joy and eternal pleasures in the glory of God.

Picture now a single-file dirt track that weaves endlessly through overgrown thorn bushes, tight cliff faces, over rocky hills and into dangerous valleys. It’s the kind of path you would take one look at and decide against; it appears impassable, like there’s nothing at the end of this path that it worth fighting through for.

That’s the image Jesus wants us to have in our minds as we think about the small gate and narrow road.

The words here, small and narrow, suggest tiny dimensions and constricted spaces, tightly packed in making it nearly impossible to get through.

That’s why the majority of people barely even consider taking this path or squeezing through this gate, because doing so will undoubtedly lead to pain, discomfort and the sense of being oppressed and afflicted.

In terms of ‘would you rather’ it’s a no brainer! No I would not, thank you very much!!

This gate and this path are metaphors for life as it is lived believing in Jesus and following him as Lord.

The path therefore represents a way of life that embraces the hard work that comes from believing the gospel of Jesus, and often the opposition that comes from a world that doesn’t like Jesus.

The path is hard because obedience to the gospel is hard.

It means owning up to our sin, recognising that we have nothing that earns us heaven.

It means embracing a saviour who suffered a criminal’s death.

It means trusting in the resurrection of the dead while the world laughs at the very idea.

Then comes the life of trying to live for this Saviour, giving ourselves to him, offering our lives and bodies to serve him, when all the time our lives and bodies are crying out for the wide road.

But although this path is perilous and painful, it is nevertheless the only path to life.

That word refers directly to the life of the new heavens and new earth, the age of eternal life and joy in the presence of God. The path that leads to that heavenly freedom is the painful path of faith in Christ in this world.

And so the command here: enter through the narrow gate. Choose the narrow path. Seek it out; endure it to the end; don’t get side-lined down different routes that promise much but deliver little; stay on the road to life.

And how is this possible? How can we possibly stay on this path when it is so difficult; how can we endure to the end without straying or wandering when it is impossible for us to do so?

Because we do not suffer alone. We walk every step of the narrow path strengthened and upheld by the one who suffered for us and endured the end. He lifts us up when we fall, he restores us when we fail, he guides, equips, teaches and rebukes along the way.

We need the Spirit of Christ to keep us going down the path of suffering, enduring to the end, seeking and finding the life of heaven, and that is what we have!

You might ask, is it worth it?

Is it worth forfeiting worldly pleasures and enjoyments and comforts now? The answer is seen in the Lord Jesus himself. He gave up the pleasure and enjoyment and comfort of heaven; he came to suffer, but having paid the price for sin by his death on the cross he received such glory from the Father that he has been given the name that is above every name! His suffering preceded his glory!

And that is the pattern and hope of everyone who embraces the scorn and ridicule of naming the name of Christ in this world. We may suffer for a time, but we will enjoy glory forever!

That’s what Adam & Phoebe have done. They’ve chosen life in Jesus, following him on the narrow road, knowing that through faith in him they have an eternal future that is worth every step.

What about you?

Will you consider following Jesus today? As you listened to Adam & Phoebe’s stories, as you witness them get baptised soon, can you picture yourself doing the same?

Is the pull of the wide road too strong?! You want to follow Jesus but it seems too hard? Don’t worry - he gives us all we need to follow him.

Or are you still unsure? That’s ok - but find out more. Ask Adam & Phoebe what helped them decide to follow Jesus, or someone else. Read books available. We run a course - ask us about the next one!

Whatever you do, don’t keep blindly walking down the wide road without considering Jesus.

Or maybe you’re ready to choose life in Jesus right now. Great! Join me in praying.