“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matt 7:13).
What makes the gate narrow?
It is narrow because the gate is a Person—Jesus. “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved” (John 10:9 NIV). Nothing else and no one else is the gate. Jesus is the only one. You can only enter through Him.
What makes the way narrow?
Because the way is a Person—Jesus. Jesus is the only way to God. There is no other way available: “by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body” (Heb 10:20 NIV).
Why do only a few find life?
Because life is a Person—Jesus. Jesus is the only life. He is the source of physical life and eternal life. “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed…” (Col 3:4). No one else can give you eternal life. Only Jesus.
Why, then, is salvation narrow?
Not because God is mean, or unjust, or indifferent, or lacks compassion for the world and for you. It is precisely because God loves the world and loves you that He offered a way of life at all. Salvation is narrow because God only offers it through Jesus. The narrow way is Christ Himself. It is narrow, but open. Anyone can enter through because anyone can believe in Jesus for eternal life.
