Sermon 16 – Narrowness
Today we come to a fairly small, but pivotal section of the Sermon on the Mount. I’ll include the concluding statement from last time as well (the so-called ‘Golden Rule’), and add to it this next short passage. The reason is the various interpretations of this passage often depend on how it is considered in relation to the one that comes before. Is it the introduction of his final remarks, distinct from the material he just concluded, or is Jesus directly connecting the two?
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” [Matthew 7:12-14]
Interpretation #1: The “narrow gate” is acting according to the Golden Rule, thus following the Law and the Prophets. It is also the hard way, as it is extremely difficult to follow. The other gate would then be any other way of life that you choose. This has the advantage of being directly in sync with a key passage of the Law, “You shall therefore keep my statues and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.” [Leviticus 18:5]. The Apostle Paul references this in two of his letters: Romans 10:5 and Galatians 3:12.
Interpretation #2: Jesus has concluded his discourse on the Law and the Prophets, beginning by saying he will fulfill them, and ending with boiling them down to a single command. When he speaks of the narrow and wide gates, his reference is to himself as the narrow gate and following him as hard way, and all other conceivable gates and paths as the wide gate and the easy way. This has the advantage of fitting in with one of Jesus’ great “I am” statements from the gospel of John:
“So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his his life for the sheep.” [John 10:7-11]
Note that the next comparison he draws in the Sermon on the Mount is about sheep. So in this interpretation, we find the way to life through Christ.
interpretation #3 – My Take: Jesus has gone at such great depth to expound on the Law and Prophets in the Sermon that it would be unwise (especially when he gives direct commands to do and teach these things) to ignore them in the mindset of “Jesus fulfilled them, so I don’t need to worry about them.”
On the other hand, we must be greatly in error to think that we can fulfill the Law and the Prophets ourselves. In fact, we cannot. We’ve already failed. The Law, as made evidently clear by Jesus’ exposition requires perfection: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Yet even in this statement, Jesus gives a glimpse of his divinity – he has already said that he has come to fulfill the Law and Prophets – he has come to be perfect as God is perfect. We have already failed to fulfill the Law – we are constantly embroiled in anger, lust and complaint, to say nothing of greater grievances against God. How can we claim to be perfect? Even if our previous misdeeds were erased, how long could stay perfect? Could we even make it one conscious thought or action before being dragged down by our own undead muck? I wouldn’t be so bold as to claim that. Perhaps sometimes I could make it a little ways. But upon failing, all of the curses of the Law (and there are many) are upon my shoulders. Jesus was right in saying that anger puts you in danger of judgment, lust in danger of hellfire.
If we take the Law and the Prophets as the narrow door and the hard way, the only conclusion that I can reach is that the way is too narrow to fit through and too hard to travel. It is impossible. Now some might respond by saying, “everything is possible with God”, and yes, perhaps there is a certain superhero of the faith who might attain to that perfection in this life, but I doubt it. Jesus came out openly and said he has come to fulfill the Law, or that his Disciples are on equal footing to the Prophets of God; in contrast, the greatest “Saints” only learned how great their sin was and were perpetually humbled by it. This is not one of those catch-22 moments where they are so humble they have reached perfect. Jesus was at perfection, and at that point, his perfect humility said “I AM”. There was no option of him calling himself “the greatest of sinners” as Paul did. He had never sinned, nor would he.
Additionally, in both of Paul’s letters where he references the Law in terms of the passage from Leviticus (on those who follow it living by means of it), he was dealing with the problem of legalism within the church and the believers trying to follow the Judaic Law. He response was quite harsh. In a nutshell – living by the Law is death, not life. You cannot fulfill it through self-effort; you are not to follow the Law, you are to follow Christ.
But I still haven’t addressed the problem of perfection. Jesus desires us to reach perfection, to act according to Love, to forgive others even as we ask God for forgiveness. We will be perfect – as Paul says, we will become like Jesus. But that perfection is yet to come. Remember that Jesus was addressing the outcasts, the diseased, hungry, poor, those considered unclean, the poor in spirit, the persecuted. He was not addressing the spiritual giants – he was speaking to the ragamuffins. Yet he was embracing them, healing them, and encouraging them with the hope of the kingdom of heaven, which he was ushering in. They had come to him, he pronounced them blessed – not because of their observance of the Law and the Prophets, but because they had come to him.
I read this passage this way, then: the way of the Law and the Prophets is life, but we are unable to fulfill it and find life. But Jesus has come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, and in this way he has life in himself. He says elsewhere, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by me.” To say that Jesus is the narrow gate and following him is the hard way does not negate the Law and the Prophets. Rather, they point to Jesus, and find their fulfillment in him. Formerly, the way of life was too hard, and too narrow. We simply could not fulfill the Law. But Jesus has enabled even the most feeble among us to enjoy abundant life and travel through the narrow gate and the hard way. For while the gate is narrow – life is only possible through Jesus, and the way is hard – there will be persecution for those who follow him, our own sin to wrestle against, and constant temptations – Jesus tells us to take his “yoke” upon him and learn from him (i.e. be his disciple), for his “yoke is easy and his burden is light”. So while the way will be hard, we have a constant companion who will take our burdens and walk alongside us. And he will lead us to life.
