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Matthew 7:13-14
As Jesus is preparing His disciples to put their trust/faith in Him as He has come to save the world from sin (John 3:16-17) in His fulfilling of the Law and the Prophets when He will die on the cross and then be raised from the dead to eternal life and victory over sin, death, and Satan, He also knows that few will truly follow Him. In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus gives the example of entering by the wide or narrow gates. The wide gate (Matthew 7:13) is the way that leads to destruction. Jesus teaches that many people go through this wide gate. But Jesus also declares that few people enter through the narrow gate which leads to life (Matthew 7:14). This is a representation of the many people who refuse to believe in the saving power of Jesus and go through the wide gate which leads to eternal condemnation. The narrow gate represents the more difficult way of the few that find eternal life in Christ Jesus.
This is a promise that in putting God first in one’s life and loving our neighbor as ourselves is a difficult road to travel, but for those who go through this gate which leads to salvation in Christ Jesus is a reward of eternal life.
Jesus tells His disciples in John 15:20 (HCSB), “Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will also keep yours.” I have heard it said that if you feel that Satan is not tempting you, it is because he already has you trapped in his grasp, but if you have opened your heart to Jesus and sincerely seek God’s will for your life, Satan is throwing temptations at you all the time because his grasp on your life has been broken and you have been set free from him by the power of salvation in Christ Jesus. Even though the gate one must go through to receive eternal life in Christ Jesus is a more difficult road to travel, we must keep in mind that Jesus was preparing His disciples for what was to come through His crucifixion and resurrection that we now know through the Bible is our way to salvation and eternal life in Christ Jesus. Satan is not concerned with tempting those in which he already has tightly in his grasp, but those who have had his grasp on their lives broken by the saving power of Christ Jesus as He is more powerful than sin, death, and Satan. Put your faith and trust in Jesus today and let Him break the chains of Satan on your life, and you too will receive eternal life as the gift from Almighty God for going through the narrow gate to life.
Dear LORD,
Please help us to see that the tougher gate to go through leads to eternal life in Christ Jesus but that He is able to help us and give us the strength and guidance in this life to be assured of eternal life for believing in Him. In Jesus name I pray, amen.