“Inside The Narrow Gate”

Sermon Title: Inside The Narrow Gate

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-14 ESV

Introduction

Today’s passage comes from what is famously known as the Sermon on the Mount in Gospel of Matthew 5–7. If you are anything like me, you may have read these chapters almost like an instruction book on how God’s people should live. That is usually how we read things in our context. We move from A to B to C, from introduction to conclusion.

But Jewish thinking often works a little differently. It circles back. It repeats. It layers the same truth again and again. Instead of simply moving forward, it keeps returning to one central point. That is why sometimes reading Paul can feel confusing. And we find the same thing here in the Sermon on the Mount. It is almost as if God is saying, “This is important, so I’m going to say it again and again.”

So Matthew 5–7 must be read as one message. Jesus is not giving random teachings. He is pressing one central question into our hearts.

Outside the Gate

When you read the Gospels, you will notice that Jesus never lets you stay neutral. His teaching always forces you to respond. In Matthew 6 He says you cannot serve two masters. You will love one and hate the other. So the question becomes: who will you choose?

In the same way, Matthew 7:13–14 puts another choice before us. Two gates. Two paths. The wide or the narrow.

For the people listening, this language was very familiar. The idea of two ways shows up all over the Old Testament. Jer. 21:8 speaks of the way of life and the way of death. Psalm 1 contrasts the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked. Proverbs speaks constantly of wisdom and foolishness. Life is pictured as a path.

And what do you do when there is a path before you? You walk. This is halakh—the way you live your life with God.

But here is the problem. When we look at the two gates, everything in us wants the wide one. The wide gate looks comfortable. Spacious. Easy. It looks like green pastures and smooth roads. It looks like the kind of life we naturally want.

Then we look at the narrow gate. It is small. Hard to see. And the path behind it looks tight, uncomfortable, even painful. It does not look like life. It almost looks like death.

Yet Jesus says the wide path leads to destruction, and the narrow one—the one that looks hardest—leads to life.

Why? Because the gate is not about effort or morality. The gate is Christ Himself. He says in John 10:9 that He is the gate, and in John 14:6 that He is the way. Entering the narrow gate is choosing Him. It is saying, “I belong to Christ.”

Ultimately, this is about salvation through Christ alone.

But many of us know that accepting Christ is just the beginning. The real questions start after we pass through the gate.

What happens inside?

Inside the Gate

Once you step through the narrow gate, you find a road that is still narrow and hard. The word Jesus uses describes something constricted, pressured, squeezed in. It is not an easy road.

Honestly, if you were trying to advertise this path, this is a PR nightmare. There are no illusions. No sugarcoating. No promises of wealth, health, or prosperity. Jesus is completely transparent. This road will be difficult.

And if you have walked with the Lord for any length of time, you have probably asked the same question I have: “Lord, why is nothing ever easy? Why does this road feel so hard?”

We look around and compare ourselves to others. It seems like everything comes easily to them. Meanwhile we face troubles, failures, loss, grief, and pain. And on top of that, Jesus calls us to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us, turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, and be perfect as our Father is perfect.

Sometimes we wonder, “Lord, is there another way?”

But Scripture shows us that God allows us to walk this path to draw us closer to Him. We are not naturally righteous. We do not instinctively know how to live as God’s people. Our natural response is rebellion and self-centeredness. So the Lord trains us. He disciples us.

Hebrews 12:11 reminds us that discipline feels painful, but later it produces the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Romans 5:3–5 tells us that suffering produces endurance, character, and hope. God is not wasting our suffering. He is forming us through it.

And then 2 Cor. 4:8–10 reminds us that we are afflicted but not crushed, persecuted but not forsaken. Why? Because Christ was crushed for us. He walked this road first. He carried the cross. He was struck down and destroyed so that we would never be.

That means this road we walk is holy ground. It is the very path Christ walked before us.

And it is on this road that we learn who God really is.

It is here that we discover He is our comfort.

It is here that we learn we are never alone.

It is here that His strength carries us.

It is here that He fills our cup with His grace and power.

Slowly, something changes in us.

Loving enemies is no longer just a command.

Turning the other cheek is no longer just a rule.

These become the overflow of a transformed heart.

The Sermon on the Mount is not simply a list of things to do. It is a picture of the kind of people God is shaping us to be. This is what the overflow of God’s grace looks like when your life belongs to Christ.

Conclusion

Brothers and sisters, walking the narrow and hard path will not be easy, and it will not be popular. We walk against the world, against our flesh, against the enemy, and even against who we used to be. But as we walk, the Lord is breaking down everything that steals our worship and our shalom with Him.

So if you feel tired or discouraged, remember this: Christ has walked this path for you, and He is walking it with you right now.

The road is not difficult because God’s grace has failed you.

The road is difficult because His grace is working.

So keep walking. Trust Him. Rejoice. For though the gate is narrow and the way is hard, it leads to life.

Reflection

Brothers and sisters, as you reflect on today’s message, remember that the Lord disciplines the ones He loves - you are treasured by the Most High God!

• have you been feeling tired, exhausted, hurt, as you’ve been walking this path? Have you been aware of the Lord’s presence in your life in the midst of your suffering? How has the Lord sustained you?

• perhaps you’ve had certain expectations since accepting Christ and walking through the narrow gate, and they have led to disappointment. What does that tell us about our relationship with God and His lordship over our lives?