Unscathed Salvation
“Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it.” Matthew 7:13
Narrow Gate – Jesus had been there before – at the narrow path; the place where there is unseen danger; where the blind have no idea what lies ahead. Ah, but if you didn’t know that narrow path (gate) is the Hebrew word mish’ol, then you would never realize that this word is found in the Torah only once, in the story of Balaam’s donkey. The Angel of the Lord (a title used in the Old Testament often considered as the pre-incarnation theophany of the Messiah) once stood in the narrow space. With a sword in hand, He opened the eyes of Balaam’s donkey to see the danger. But, not Balaam’s. Oblivious of the flaming sword, the fool beat his donkey for turning aside – until at last, he too saw the Angel of the Lord. If you are going to pass through the narrow gate, you better have your eyes wide open. No one goes through unless they see the danger and obey the command. You can read it yourself in Numbers 22.
Now Jesus instructs his followers. Did he point at the royal gate into the city? The Greek words, stenes pules, indicate that Jesus identifies a large, recognizable door, like the door to the city or to the temple. In Greek, this kind of gate is distinguished from a common entrance (thura). But ask yourself, “Does this make sense?” Why would Jesus tell His followers to enter by a clearly marked, formal gate when He has just indicated that this way in is not wide, broad and easy? If we look at the Greek, even when we restrict it to a narrow pules, we are still in the wrong world. We are in the Greek world, with its careful distinctions between the kinds of gates. But Jesus is in the Hebrew world, a world where narrow gate has only a single occurrence in all of the Scriptures, an occurrence where Jesus Himself guards the entrance to prevent the spiritually blind from entering. Now what do you think He was talking about?
No one passes through the narrow gate without seeing and obeying the sovereign Angel of the Lord. No one comes to the narrow gate unscathed. There is mortal danger here; danger to all those who blindingly think that they can push their way forward toward some human goal. Oh, it is certainly true that many will walk the wide road to destruction. They are spiritually asleep, dead to their sinful state. Just like Balaam, they are beating their possession in order to achieve something for themselves. What they don’t know is that they stand in the presence of destruction.
But if you thought entering the narrow gate was simply a matter of saying the Sinner’s Prayer or feeling sorry for your mistakes, you are worse than the donkey. At least the donkey knew that this is a matter of life and death. You aren’t getting past the flaming sword without being singed. Is that what you thought about the narrow gate? Or were you congratulating yourself that you entered into heaven so efficiently and easily?
Oh, yes, and just in case you didn’t catch His drift, few actually pass through.
