“Enter through the narrow gate”
Matthew 7:13–14
Figure of speechSettledJesus
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. (Matthew 7:13–14 BSB)
What it sounds like today
A vague image of difficulty.
The cultural key
Walled cities had broad main gates handling crowds, animals, and cargo, and small side doors admitting one person at a time, on foot, carrying little. Behind the image stands Israel's classic 'two ways' teaching: 'I have set before you life and death… choose life' (Deuteronomy 30:19; Psalm 1; Jeremiah 21:8).
Recovered meaning
The crowd's route is easy precisely because it's the default. Life's entrance takes deliberate choice, travels light, and must be found rather than drifted into: 'few there be that find it.'
Parallels: Luke 13:24