SM#44: The Road Less Travelled

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to ruin, and many enter through it. But narrow is the gate and hard-pressed is the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.  ~ JESUS (Matthew 7:13-14)

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CORE

(The heart of the message)

As Jesus begins his concluding remarks, he lays out a choice for all people: wide vs small, broad vs narrow, destruction vs life, and many vs few. From here to the end of the sermon, Jesus will be inviting us all to make a decision.

"There are two ways, one of life and one of death; but a great difference between the two ways." ~ Opening line of The Didache (Late first century)

A portion of The Didache, our earliest Christian writing after the completion of the New Testament.

CONUNDRUM

(Raising questions skeptics might be asking)

Hey Jesus.

Are you saying most people go to hell to suffer for eternity and only a few will make it into heaven? What about the majority of people throughout history who have never even heard of you?

What gives Jesus?

CONTEXT

(What’s going on before and after this passage)

It's time to talk about the "straight and narrow" - even though nothing in the text mentions the way of Jesus being "straight". The way of Jesus may be winding and adventurous and full of surprises around every turn. (The idea of a "straight" way was a favourite image of John the Baptist and comes from passages like Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4-5; John 1:23; 2 Peter 2:15. So referring to the "straight and narrow" is not wrong, just not what this passage is saying.)

Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with unqualified tenderness. Now he concludes his sermon with urgent toughness.

As mentioned in our last study, Jesus has finished the main body of the sermon, running from 5:20 to 7:12, bracketed off by the inclusio of "the Law and the Prophets" line. Now comes the beginning of the end, the start of the conclusion.

Those of us who grew up in the Church will recognize this part of the sermon.

To wind down his sermon, Jesus will give a series of warnings all designed to drive home a single point:

We are meant to make a decision in response to this teaching.

This sermon is not for information purposes only; it is a challenge to choose, to act, to move forward in faith. We don't have any other choice but to choose. In many ways, that's how life works. By 10:02 we will have decided whether or not to take the ten o'clock train. By our fiftieth birthday, we will have decided how to spend our forties. Life keeps moving forward and, for a human, to be alive is to be a choice-maker.

Nothing of significance gets done without first making a decision to do it. From getting married to taking a career path to building a shed in your backyard. The first step is a decision. Do you want to cultivate the habit of walking every day? Make the one-time decision to get a dog. The rest will take care of itself.

Like this moment that defines Neo, Jesus is calling us into the moment that will define us.

The call to make a choice would not be new to Jesus' original audience. The Hebrew Scriptures often laid out the call to follow God's way as a choice that must be made:

I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life. ~ Moses (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)

(Also see Judges 24:15; Psalm 1; Proverbs 15:19.)

The good ol' days.

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. ~ Joshua, namesake of Jesus (Joshua 24:15)

So, between now and the end of his sermon, Jesus will talk about the fork in everyone's road, the choice we all must make concerning what to do with him. Yes, how we respond to Jesus, says Jesus, will be the most important decision we ever make. Jesus will drive this point home using a vivid mix of metaphors and imagery:

• entering the wide or narrow gate

• walking the broad or constricted way

• listening to true or false prophets

• recognizing healthy or unhealthy trees

• being a genuine or performative Christian

• becoming a wise or foolish builder

Who we listen to, who we follow, who we allow to influence our thinking and living, will determine who we become. Jesus believes that he is God's Word to us and following his way will lead to us becoming the best version of ourselves.

Jesus doesn't want admirers. He wants partners he can call friends.

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. ~ JESUS (John 15:15)

For those of us who might feel overwhelmed with the myriad of religious and spiritual and philosophical options to build our lives around, Jesus makes it simple. He boils everything down to just two options: follow Jesus or don't. The hundreds or thousands of other spiritual options are really all the same path leading to the same destination. We cannot walk along two paths at the same time any more than we can serve two masters at the same time (Matthew 6:24).

"Our Lord's teachings demand a response. Sitting idly by and trying to remain neutral is not an option. Sitting on the fence will not work. Two paths, two gates, stand before us. The one you choose has massive consequences."

~ Daniel L. Akin (Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount)

Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. ~ JESUS (Luke 13:24)

Notice something else about Jesus' concluding barrage of pictorial warnings: They don't explicitly include him in the picture. Jesus doesn't say, "Follow me through the gate" or "Stay close to me and I will show you who is a false prophet" or "Let me build you a better house on a firm foundation". Jesus is talking the same way Moses talks when he says his final farewell speech to the Israelites. Throughout Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, God instructs Moses to talk to them about how to live "when you enter the land" not "when we enter the land". Moses won't be going with them, and all they will have to guide them will be the Torah, the teaching of God delivered through Moses.

There are many similarities between Moses and Jesus: leading God's people out of slavery and into freedom, into and through the waters of baptism, through the wilderness of difficulty, giving them manna from heaven and water from a rock, and eventually giving God's teaching for God's people on a mountain top (see the "YOU ARE HERE" icon on the map). And in one sense, like Moses, Jesus also knows he won't be physically present forever to lead his people. They will have to learn and live out his teaching to guide them. The Sermon on the Mount, like all of Jesus' teaching, is our Torah to guide us into the Promised Land.

Of course, the difference is that Jesus is spiritually present with us through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 18:20; 28:20; John 14:18). But no longer do his disciples say, "Jesus, teach us". Instead we say, "Jesus, help us understand and obey what you have already taught us." Jesus leads us today through his teaching.

All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. ~ JESUS (John 14:15-26)

After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. ~ The apostle John (John 2:22)

As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. ~ The apostle John (1 John 2:24)

If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. ~ JESUS (John 8:31-32)

From here on to the end of the Sermon, our response to Jesus is the theme. If you continue with this study, you will be repeatedly challenged by Jesus to make your choice. And if you are looking for a good way to discern if Jesus is the right way forward for you, he offers us a good test: apply his teaching to your life for a season of time and let the results convince you:

My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. ~ JESUS (John 7:16-17)

CONSIDER

(Observations about the passage)

Enter...

Jesus typically uses this same verb to describe entering the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:20; 7:21; 18:3; 23:13) or entering into life (18:8-9). For Jesus, entering the kingdom of Heaven and entering life seem to mean the same thing (compare 19:17 with 19:23). Here the command to enter the gate comes first, suggesting that the gate precedes the path. In fact, Jesus never tells us to walk the path; he assumes we will walk in the narrow way if we choose to enter the narrow gate. A popular interpretation has been that the gate symbolizes the gates of heaven arrived at after death. This would make Jesus' imagery here a hysteron-proteron (meaning "later-earlier"), a way of saying things in reversed order, like "thunder and lightening" or "kiss and make up" or "And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day" (Genesis 1:5). It's possible that this is what's happening here. But it would seem odd for Jesus to command entering the gates of heaven, since that is God's decision. If Jesus has the gates of post-mortem heaven in mind, we might expect him to say something like "Walk the narrow path, so that God may let you enter the narrow gate." But that is not his teaching. Entering the gate is our responsibility, and Jesus wants his listeners to do it now, not later. It is possible that the gate and the path are intended to be synonymous (a hendiadys), two or more ideas working together to form one poetic image (like "nice and warm" or "ask, seek, and knock"), but if we are looking for an order, entering the gate clearly comes first. To enter or not to enter - that is our decision, and now is the time to make that choice.

For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. ~ JESUS (Matthew 5:20)

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ~ JESUS (Matthew 7:21)

Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ~ JESUS (Matthew 18:3)

Gate / Way...

A gate, not a door; the difference is meaningful. As discussed two studies ago, a gate to a property lied at its outer boarder. A person would knock there and a servant would let them in and then accompany them along the path to the home (e.g., Acts 12:13). Or a gate could refer to the entrance to a walled city or fortress. Entering the property or city is the first step in this process of getting to and entering a particular home. Jesus has already taught that the Kingdom of the Heavens is, at least in part, available to enter here and now. Then after we enter the Kingdom and become a citizen, soldier, and ambassador in this life, we still have a journey ahead of us along the narrow way. The fact that the gateway to the kingdom is narrow, reinforces the fact that, although we live together as a family and fellow citizens in the Kingdom, each person must enter alone as a personal choice. Choice is key here. No one wanders by chance through the narrow gate. We don't drift toward the Kingdom. We must choose to enter.

"The gate is an entry point into the kingdom. One passes through it in a moment. A road or path, however, is something on which one travels for a more prolonged period of time. ... The gate thus seems to symbolize some critical moment of decision while the road symbolizes a lifestyle." ~ Charles Quarles (Sermon on the Mount)

"Matthew's Jesus is appealing both for an evangelical decision (the gate) and for an ethical endurance (the way)." ~ Leon Morris (The Gospel of Matthew)

If the gate is about making a decision of faith (justification), walking the way is about ethical endurance (sanctification). Later in Matthew's Gospel, the Greek word for road/way (hodos) is used in an ethical sense, as the "way of righteousness" and "the way of God" (Matthew 21:32: 22:16). This is the same word Jesus uses to describe himself (John 14:6) and what people called the early Jesus movement (Acts 9:2; 199, 23; 22:4; 24:14): "the Way" (ho hodos). It is sometimes translated road or path, which works too, but "way" is preferred since it is the path we walk as a way of life. Christians are to walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), walk in love (Ephesians 5:2), walk in the light (1 John 1:7), walk in truth (2 John 1:4; 3 John 1:4), and walk in obedience, which, to come full circle, means walking in love (2 John 1:6). Jesus is our way of walking, living, loving, and getting to God, that is, getting back to the garden, back to life. The Bible begins with the story of Adam and Eve and their failure to trust God. When they disobey, God bars them from the garden of Eden so they cannot eat from the Tree of Life and live forever (Genesis 3:21-24). God places an angel with a flaming sword to guard "the way that leads to [the tree] of life". This is the first time a "way" is mentioned in the Bible and it would have likely come to mind for Jesus' original audience. It would seem as though Jesus is claiming to have the power to undo the consequence of sin and to take us back to the garden.

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ~ JESUS (John 14:6)

And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. ~ The apostle John (2 John 1:6)

Narrow / Hard-pressed ...

Jesus (via Matthew) calls the small gate "narrow" or small, then he uses a different word for the road to life: a Greek verb (thlibó) that means to be pressed together, crushed, confined, compressed, constricted, restricted, squished. This word is used in other parts of the New Testament to refer to persecution or affliction (2 Corinthians 1:6; 4:8; 7:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:4; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-7; 1 Timothy 5:10; Hebrews 11:37). It's semantic range can include both physical and emotional hardship, from beatings to teasings, including the ever present peer pressure. Jesus uses the noun of the same word (thlipsis) later in Matthew 13 when he describes how the plants that grow on rocky ground wither away when "trouble" comes because they have no root. Even our English word "oppressed" includes the idea of being pressed together. The Greek text is a double entendre, since the pathway is narrow because those walking it are pressed and persecuted from all sides. This narrow way is a hard way. We shouldn't need to be told this, since we have been reading the high demands of this hard way in the Sermon on the Mount. Enemy love is hard. Turning the other cheek when struck is hard. Going the second mile after a Roman soldier has forced you to carry his gear for one mile is hard. Reconciling with a sister or brother when we would prefer to judge is hard. Living the simple life free from the pull of materialism is hard. Not worrying about the future is hard. And being persecuted for walking this countercultural way is hard. Especially when it comes from both the secular and the religious world. Yet elsewhere in Matthew Jesus says his way is "easy" or "kind" and his burden is "light" and following him will bring us rest for our souls. This is a paradox, but one that resonates with a little reflection. We all know things that are hard work, take exertion, but are enjoyable and rejuvenating. From learning an instrument to hiking a trail to raising children, sometimes the hardest things are the most rewarding, the most life-giving, the most kind to our souls.

We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. ~ Paul and Barnabas (Acts 14:22)

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ~ JESUS (Luke 9:23)

For my yoke is kind and my burden is light. ~ JESUS (Matthew 11:30)

Wide / Broad...

Jesus uses two words to describe the extreme width of both the gate and the road. One word is platus, from which we get the word plaza, or wide open space. Along this path, there is plenty of room to weave back and forth, allowing each person to decide for themselves what is right and wrong. The Bible often warns of wandering too much to the left or right - good advice in today's political climate (Deuteronomy 5:32; 17:19-20; 28:14; Joshua 1:7; 2 Kings 2:22). The road to destruction may be so broad that each person thinks they are going their own individual way, even though they are all on the same path. Think of a perfume or clothing marketing campaign that sells consumers on all wearing their brand so each person can be their unique selves. Or the Apple computers "Think different" campaign from a couple decades ago, whereby "think different" means "think the same and buy our product". Welcome to the broad way: mass-produced uniqueness. This is one of the ways the road to ruin works. (Don't bite the apple.)

Apple told us to "Think Different" - then sold us identical iPhones to do it with. Welcome to the broad way: mass-produced uniqueness.

Still, if you were to paint a picture of the "sinful" people walking along the broad way, what would you have them doing? Some conservative Christian art (maybe kitsch is a better word?) pictures people on the wide path smoking, drinking, gambling, dressed provocatively, and doing all the wild living that looks fun in pictures. But a more accurate approach would be to paint a large group of religious people on their way to church. We often retroject our own situation and culture into our Bible reading, but unlike today, most people in Jesus' day were devoutly religious. Their temptation was not wild debaucherous living, but the dangers of religious hypocrisy and merciless judgementalism toward sinners. Remember that the Sermon on the Mount has been primarily critiquing religious, hypocritical, externalized, performative piety that follows the law but misses the Spirit. Jesus has not been preaching against the sin-soaked pagans, but the scripture-quoting moralists. That’s who Jesus targets. Remember Jesus' theme in chapter 5 of going beyond the religious righteousness of the Pharisees (the conservative Bible believing group of his day) to real righteousness, followed by his warnings that keeping the religious laws of the Bible is not the way to real righteousness (the six antitheses). And his emphasis in chapter 6 of cultivating an unseen secret life with God, as opposed to the religious people who do everything for show and already have their reward. Then his warning in chapter 7 against condemnatory judgementalism, which is one of the "very particular set of skills" honed by religious folks. The road of judgementalism is wide; judging is easy. Mercy takes whole-life commitment, whereas judging only requires words shouted (or whispered) from a distance. Jesus hasn't been preaching against "sex, drugs, and rock and roll" - he has been preaching against externalized religion. So when put in the context of the full Sermon on the Mount, the broad way is primarily the performative piety and self-righteous moralism that Jesus wants to save us from.

The way of institutional religious showmanship and externalized piety teaches us the very particular set of skills of judging, condemning, excluding, and performative moral outrage.

The broad road leads to ... church. But not to Jesus. Turns out you can walk the wide way with a three-piece suit and a study Bible.

Life VS Ruin...

As mentioned above, Jesus seems to use the idea of entering life to mean the same thing as entering the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth (compare 19:17 with 19:23). Jesus is calling us onto the path that leads to full abundant life (zóé), not just length of days in our biological life (bios). This zoe life starts now; it is not just a reward we receive after we die. When we walk the path to life, we are, currently "living the life". Remember that the narrative of the Bible begins with God giving humans "the tree of life" in the garden of Eden, then when we sin, God removes us from the garden and from access to this tree. In the New Testament, the cross of Christ becomes the new "tree of life" and through Jesus God brings us home - back to life, back to reality.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly. ~ JESUS (John 10:10)

"The Sermon on the Mount is a road map that marks out the narrow path that leads to life in God's kingdom. Those who ignore the map do so to their own peril." ~ Charles Quarles (Sermon on the Mount)

The hard way back to life contrasts with the wide way that leads to ruin. Jesus commonly uses destruction or ruin as an image of those who do not allow God's will and way to hold sway in their lives. Some Christians believe this destruction refers to post-mortem judgement. That would make the imagery of the broad way about the highway to hell. It's a great song, but probably the wrong interpretation of this image here, especially given the context. Within Jesus' first-century Jewish context, he was warning his fellow Jews against the way of violence toward the Romans. History tells us that the majority of first-century Jews did not listen to Jesus, took the broad road, and rose up in violent revolt against their Roman occupiers. As Jesus had predicted, they lost terribly, eventually seeing their temple destroyed and Jews exiled from the land of Israel. The wide road of "righteous violence" chosen by the majority led to their ruin. But this warning applies to us today as well. The Greek word used here for ruin/destruction (apóleia) means to cut something or someone off from their place or purpose. The only other time Matthew uses this word is when he describes the disciples' reaction to a woman "wasting" expensive perfume on Jesus (Matthew 26:8). In essence, travelling the broad road is a waste of time, a waste of energy, a waste of life, and it leads to us not being who we were made to be. Jesus is talking about wasting our lives now by not living up to our spiritual potential (e.g., see 1 Corinthians 3:10-15). This is not a threat but it is a warning.

"Jesus never threatened people, but he did warn them. There is a big difference between a threat and a warning: we threaten people we don't like; we warn people we love." ~ Nicky Gumbel (The Jesus Lifestyle)

"There is a road to destruction along which a Christian may go. It is not the eternal destruction of the soul, but but the destruction of all that might otherwise have been the fruit of their lives." ~ Charles Price (Matthew)

Many / Few... 

Jesus interprets the broad vs narrow imagery to emphasize amounts: the majority of people will prefer not to walk in the way of Jesus. Jesus says only a few find the narrow way. Earlier he says that everyone who seeks will find (same word), so the majority of people just aren't looking. This might be frustrating for evangelistic Christians who want everyone to embrace the way of Christ, but it is also freeing, knowing that we can't, and shouldn't try to, convert everyone. Jesus predicted that his narrow way would never become the popular majority. Christ-followers have to embrace a minority movement that will always stand as an alternative to the dominant culture. [Note: this is a separate issue than the debate on what happens after we die. An interesting topic, but beyond the scope of this study.] Sadly, the minority movement of Jesus will sometimes become a "remnant" movement within the Christian Church itself (Matthew 22:14). That is, the Way of Jesus will become a minority movement within a minority movement. At various times in the history of the Western Church, the majority of Christian leaders supported everything from slavery, to wars, to witch burnings, to the torture and execution of heretics. Today in some circles, the majority of Christians seem to have lost their way again in different ways. This doesn't mean the remnant is tiny. The word "few" is relative to the "many", because elsewhere Jesus says that few are also "many" who will come into his kingdom (Matthew 8:11; 20:28). The early Christians used the symbol of a fish (the "ichthus") to represent their movement. When I think of that symbol today, I think we should envision ourselves as salmon, needing to swim against cultural and religious currents just to survive and spawn another generation of disciples.

"Ichthus" is simply the Greek word for "fish" and came to be a meaningful symbol of the early Jesus Movement.

"Jesus warns us thereby that the way of the majority in morals will not often be the way of disciples. To be a disciple is to be in the moral minority. 'Everybody does it' will not be a helpful criterion in Christian ethics." ~ Frederick Dale Bruner (The Christbook)

"The majority is almost always wrong." ~ Brian Zahnd (Pastor, Poet, Theologian)

Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”? And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. ~ The apostle Paul (Romans 11:2-6, discussing 1 Kings 19)

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. ~ JESUS (Matthew 28:20)

COMMENTARY

(Thoughts about meaning and application)

We can’t escape the singularity of the solution Jesus offers. The gate and path imagery is restrictive, even exclusive. In the words of one theologian:

"Even the beginning of this path is restrictive. Here is no funnel that progressively narrows down, but a decisive break." ~ D.A. Carson (The Expositor's Bible Commentary).

Amazingly, Jesus claims both identities - gate and path - for himself. He does not merely point to the gate or lead us along the way. According to Jesus, he is both.

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. ~ JESUS (John 10:9)

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ~ JESUS (John 14:6)

And the earliest leaders of the Church proclaimed the singularity of this way:

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. ~ The apostle Peter (Acts 4:12)

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. ~ The apostle Paul (1 Timothy 2:5-6)

Jesus and the early Church leaders never present him as one of many ways or multiple options all leading to the same place. Jesus is not "a" way but "the" way.

"My car works best when I put petrol in the tank, not coca cola, oil in the engine not syrup, thirty pounds of air pressure in the tires, not thirty pounds of bananas! To insist on petrol, oil and air may appear restrictive and rather narrow, but it is the way the car was designed and in keeping to the instructions it is free to function as intended. It is in narrowing our interests to those of Jesus Christ that we find real freedom and real life!" ~ Charles Price (Matthew)

“But wait a second,” someone may understandably protest. “Why is there only one way to God? That’s not good news! Truly good news would be the revelation that there are many ways to God, that every path leads to the mountaintop, and that it doesn’t matter what form of spirituality we choose in this life.”

Are there many paths to God?

The “many paths up the mountain” theory of religion is based on three faulty assumptions:

1. God is still up on the mountain.

2. It is our lot in life to climb up the mountain to get to God.

3. The paths and the Person are separate.

   
   

   No, no, and no.

First, the story of the incarnation, God becoming one of us, is the heartbeat of the Gospel. Jesus is "Immanuel" - God with us (Matthew 1:22-23). God is not “up there” somewhere, but right here, with us and in us. Jesus said, “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20).

Second, the gospel is the message of grace (see Ephesians 2:8-10): God has given us everything religion tries but fails to give. We don’t have to climb any path up any mountain to get to God. We are walking on a journey with God.

Salvation is a gift received, not a summit achieved.

Third, if Jesus really is God come to us, then Jesus is not just one path to get to the person of God. Instead, the Path and the Person are one. This is the context for Christ’s statement in John 14:6 that he is the only way to the Father: Jesus is the way to God because Jesus is God (see John 14:7-9).

If God himself comes to us, it makes perfect sense that he should say to us that he is the way to get to know him. Why turn to anyone or anything else as a secondary source of knowledge when the one who is Truth is right here among us?

Let’s say you are at a party and hear a number of people talking all about how cool someone named Grace is. Then you find out that Grace is also at the party. Let’s say you’ve heard enough intriguing information that you decide you want to get to know her, and all of a sudden Grace walks into the room. Clearly, the best way to get to know Grace is to go over and talk with her.

Religion is like a person at the party talking about Grace with everyone else but Grace. Sure, all paths will get you that far; you can get to know about a person from many people. But to really get to know someone and not just get to know about someone, you need to talk to the person.

You see, if Grace is just a message—a collection of facts—then you can get to know that message through anyone. Many paths lead to that knowledge. But if Grace is a person, then the only way you can really know Grace is through Grace.

So back to the party: there you are, trying to get up the courage to stop talking with everyone except Grace about Grace and instead walk right up to Grace to get to know her. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, while you were trying to muster up the courage, Grace took the initiative and came over to get to know you? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Grace told you she had been looking for you and looking forward to getting to know you all this time as well?

That’s the message of Jesus.

Jesus says he is the only way to the Father, but then he adds, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9; also 12:45). Jesus claims to be the way to God because he is God. To claim that Jesus is the only way to God isn’t arrogant, judgmental, or narrow; it’s just stating the obvious. God is the only way to God. And he has taken the initiative to come to us to love us. In the words of the apostle John, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Different religions may represent different paths up the same mountain, as the cliché goes. But God has come down from the mountain to meet us where we are. This doesn’t mean that every other religion is completely false; it means that only Jesus is completely true. We learn from all but cling to Christ. There is only one path - Jesus - and God travels that path to us!

But what do we do with "only a few" finding the way to life and avoiding ruin?

Jesus seems to reinforce this idea with statements like "Many are called but few are chosen" (Matthew 9:13; 20:16; 22:14).

If this imagery refers to eternal destinies, then yes, most people who have ever lived will go to hell. At that point the debate begins over whether "hell" should be understood as:

1. eternal conscious torment (the classic conservative view)

2. destructive, annihilating, sending people back to nonexistence like before they were born

3. purgatorial and purifying, burning away people's sins that were not atoned for by the blood of Christ and preparing them for heaven

But if Jesus is emphasizing both the rewards and wastes of this life, then we don't have to try to project eternity onto this imagery or pick sides in the eternal destiny debate. Jesus has been talking in terms of the Kingdom of Heaven coming to earth and being experienced here and now. Perhaps the way that leads to waste and ruin is pointing to something experienced in life here and now also, without commentary on our eternal destiny.

The fact remains, none of us can conclude with certainty what the broad way means for the eternal destiny of nonbelievers, and this is a good thing. We should embrace the not-knowing-ness of this topic with gratitude, since that kind of knowledge could increase both our anxiety and our arrogance. It is a good thing to leave eternal judgement and what it entails in God's hands.

What we can say with certainty is that Jesus offers us the way to the abundant life, life to the fullest (John 10:10), and no other way comes close. We should want this for ourselves and for everyone we know.

CONFESSION

(Personal reflection)

I confess that, at times in my life, I have tried to combine the two options: entering the narrow gate of Christ and then walking the wide way of selfishness. And the result? I have watched the ruin happen before my eyes as my wood, hay, and stubble have gone up in flames.

If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. ~ The apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 3:12-15)

I have never worried about my eternal salvation - God's grace is bigger than my failure. But what I have feared has indeed come to pass: so much of my life's work and witness has been burned up. My one encouragement is that these flames of ruin are the Refiner's fire (Malachi 3:2), and I am here for it.

Believing that we don't have to wait until after we die to experience either the blessings of the Kingdom or the fires of destruction is not to say that we will always see the results of God's judgement in the lives of everyone. Both experiences are more internal and experiential than external and observable.

About the kingdom of heaven on earth Jesus says:

“The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” ~ JESUS (Luke 17:20-21)

And perhaps this is also true of the fires of God's judgement in this life.

We don't want to fall into the trap of "the law of attraction" or the hyper-faith movement that measures blessing and hardship in this life as things we bring on ourselves through our faith or lack thereof. A person who is walking the broad and self-indulgent way to ruin will shrivel their soul, whether or not anyone sees evidence of it in this life. And a person walking the hard-pressed path of a humble spirit and agape love toward others may not always appear blessed in any observable way.

For instance, when I was caught in a cycle of significant sin, I was ruining my life and shriveling my soul whether or not my sin was ever exposed. I didn't ruin my life by being exposed in my sin, I walked the path to ruin every day I kept my sin a secret. Shame whispered that secrecy would protect me. But grace in the face of my failure is what healed me. The rewards of zoe life and the consequences of ruination happen in this life, but at deeper levels than surface judgements will ever identify.

The eyes of the world and the religious, look at the surface. But the real reward and punishment of God happens at a deeper level.

Do not judge by the outward appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. ~ JESUS (John 7:24)

I'm still left wondering: Can I - can any of us - really follow this narrow, difficult road? I have wrestled with this since my teenage years, when my youth pastor had a few of us on his leadership team read through Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship. Bonhoeffer asked the same question - what are our chances at actually staying on this path to life? His answer was and still is encouraging:

"As long as I recognize this road as the one I am commanded to walk, and try to walk it in fear of myself, it is truly impossible. But if I see Jesus Christ walking ahead of me, step by step, if I look only at him and follow him, step by step, then I will be protected on this path." ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer (The Cost of Discipleship)

Bonhoeffer is encouraging, but also challenging. He cautions against what he calls "cheap grace" - that is, people wanting to enter the narrow gate and then walking the broad road; trusting Christ to save us (the narrow gate) and then continuing to live ungrateful and selfish lives (the broad road).

Been there. Done that. Jesus was right - it leads to ruin.

But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are ruined, but to those who have faith and are saved. (Hebrews 10:39)

CONCLUSION

(One last thought)

The narrow gate and constricted road are not easy, but they are the way to experience grace, mercy, and peace. And none of us has to walk this way by ourselves.

The Didache, that original discipleship manual of the early Church says this:

"Every day, be sure to seek out the faces of the saints, in order that you may rest upon their words." ~ The Didache (4:2)

What a beautiful vision of having a daily conversation with at least one other Christian and letting their words become our rest. Today we might counsel a believer to have a daily time of personal devotions, by which we mean a time of prayer and Bible reading. But daily Bible reading was not an option for most Christians throughout church history. So how did they hear God's Word every day? Through the words of sisters and brothers in the faith.

Perhaps we need this corrective from our spiritual ancestors. The earliest Christians knew it was important to study the Bible when they could, and hear their leaders teach it as often as possible (the immediately preceding verse tells believers to honour those who teach them the Scriptures). But their daily spiritual rest and encouragement came from their connection to one another more than a book, even an inspired book. They understood God's word was found in a body more than a book.

If you need help finding spiritual connection, please be in touch. We have small churches meeting in person and online. And if one of our small churches is not right for you, we would be happy to help you find another good church in your area.

In the meantime, consider the choice ahead of you:

"Have you gone through the gate? Are you on the road? You cannot get on to the road until you have gone through the turnstiles. And they are not roomy. No room for baggage, for pride, for irresolution. Enter!" ~ Michael Green (Matthew)

CONTEMPLATE

(Scripture passages that relate to and deepen our understanding of this topic)

Psalm 1; Proverbs 1:10-16; 4; Luke 13:22-30; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15; James 1:22-25

CONVERSATION

(Talk together, learn together, grow together)

1. What is God revealing to you about himself through this passage?

2. What is God showing you about yourself through this passage?

3. What is tempting you most these days toward the broad way? Any peer pressure that might be squeezing you off the narrow way?

4. What is one thing you can think, believe, or do differently in light of what you are learning?

5. What questions are you still processing about this topic?

CALL TO ACTION

(Ideas for turning talk into walk)

1. Embrace Jesus over all other options. Jesus wants more than fans, he wants friends. He calls us to exclusive loyalty, like a marriage. The early church thought of itself as the bride of Christ and "the wife of the Lamb" (Ephesians 5:31-32; Revelation 21:9). Jesus wants to be more than our teacher or ethical guide or life coach. May each of us choose to say along with the apostle Thomas: "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28).

2. Embrace reconciliation over retaliation. Reject the popular path of public shaming, outrage culture, and political polarization. Forgive, listen to, and humanize enemies. Pursue righteousness over justice (that is, restorative justice over punitive judgement). Revenge is easy. Reconciliation is Jesus.

3. Embrace simplicity over consumerism. The popular path is the endless pursuit of more. More stuff, more security, more status, more sex appeal. The narrow way means finding contentment with less, practicing generosity with what we do have. The narrow way looks like downward mobility, while it fuels Kingdom ministry. Consider increasing your charitable giving or volunteering.

4. Embrace Christ's Kingdom over earthly nationalism. Find your identity in the transnational, multi-ethnic, family of God and make that Kingdom of Heaven on Earth your primary allegiance. Live like a resident alien in every earthly empire. (The implications of this one reframing are manifold.)