As I studied Matthew 7:13-20 last week, I was struck by the immediate, almost abrupt transition from Jesus to “Enter the narrow gate.” It seemed almost out of place, after His instruction in Matthew 7:7-12 about His goodness towards us and how we should treat others.
But as I backed up to see the fuller context of Matthew 7:13, I began to see a remarkable picture. “Enter the narrow gate” is not merely a warning to avoid destruction; it is first an invitation to enter into the goodness, love, and life of God.
That got me wondering about other invitations from God to His people. Take a look at these two Old Testament examples:
- The most famous one is in the prologue to the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. Notice what God said: “I am the Lord your God who brought you up out of Egypt, the land of slavery…” This is a reminder of God’s goodness, faithfulness, and care for them. It’s God’s way of saying, “I have loved you so deeply that I delivered you out of Egypt.” And the next verse is “Therefore, you shall have no other gods before me.” God reminds them of His love, faithfulness, and care for them, and then calls them to enter into His love by not having any other gods before Him. It’s like He says, “I have been this good to you and love you this much, why would you not worship Me?”
- Here’s another one in Deuteronomy 7:7-9: “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations…” Do you see how God speaks of His love for His people? Extravagant and exclusive love. Covenantal faithful love. And then look what He said in vs. 11, “You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.” Do you see? God’s invitation to follow Him and obey Him is born out of His covenantal love for us.
This is important because so often, when presenting the gospel to others or considering our lives before the Lord, we see God’s invitations coming from His impatience, anger, or frustration with us. Almost like He’s saying, “Would you figure it out and follow Me?? Good grief, what’s taking you so long? And if you don’t, I’m coming to judge you.” But the invitation to follow Jesus and obey God is born out of God’s love for us, not just to avoid disaster, but to enter into the real, genuine love.
This is why the apostle John could write, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). Or why Jesus would say in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Entry into the narrow way, by Jesus, is an invitation to enter into God’s love and life abundant.
Entering into God’s love means that we experience the gift of a reconciled relationship with Him. It means that our standing with Him is ALWAYS that of a child, not an enemy. It means that Jesus’ perfect obedience is attributed to us, and even when we fail or sin against God, He welcomes us, forgives us, and restores us. It means that God is for us, not against us (Romans 8:31). He delights in His children and even rejoices over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17). That’s stunning, isn’t it?
And life abundant means that we have promise and purpose for this life and the one to come. Often, we focus on the future, eternal life. That life will be more than we could ask or think. Every tear and sorrow, gone. All things made new and right. Every injustice dealt with in perfect justice. Seeing, knowing, and understanding in a way that isn’t sin-impaired. But the life we live now is what Jesus also means. God, through the power of the Holy Spirit in us, is making us more and more like Jesus. He’s restoring us to the way we were always meant to live. This means the life of Christ in us is causing us to live TRULY and REALLY human. Consider that for a moment: The Sermon on the Mount and the invitation to enter God’s narrow gate is the road back to our true humanity. What a glorious thought!
So, enter the narrow gate, the pathway into God’s love and the road to human flourishing and eternal life.
Looking ahead:
This Sunday, we will study Matthew 7:21-30 as we close the Sermon on the Mount series.
Now, let me whet your appetite for the rest of the summer. We will begin a new series on August 2nd called “Moments with Jesus.” In this series, we will examine eight moments when Jesus encountered the desperate, the sick, the needy, and the broken. The hope of this series is to help us see how Jesus treated people like this so we can be more effective in caring for others in our world.
Cheap Seats:
- What a fascinating tale of two endings to the World Cup. Saturday’s 3rd-place game ended 6-4. It was amazing soccer. And Sunday’s final ends 1-0 with a fight breaking out at the end. Spain dominated Argentina, even though the score didn’t indicate that. Here’s the highlight video from the England/France game, which is worth your time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1SLA0ixeWo
- I can’t tell if the American League is really this bad or if parity is just a real thing. But Seattle currently leads the AL West and is 1 game over .500. If they were in the NL West or NL Central, they would be 12 games back.
- Lots of people will talk about Terry Francona walking Dominic Canzone to load the bases with 1-out on Monday night with Cal Raleigh coming to the plate. Raleigh hit a grand slam on the next pitch. It was the worst outcome. But was it the right decision by Tito (Francona)? In my opinion, yes. He set up the double-play, and Canzone has been a better hitter this year than Raleigh against lefties. But…it didn’t work out. I loved Tito’s post-game comments about it: “I know what Raleigh’s hitting and, he still worries me,” the veteran skipper said with a laugh. “But, I thought that was our best chance to have them not score. We could play the infield double-play depth. And, the worst possible outcome happened.” As the youngsters say, “That guy knows ball.”
Christ is King!
In Christ,
Dave York
