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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat_7:13-14
13"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter through it. 14For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."
Mat_7:13 Does this verse imply (1) entering a gate and then walking on a path; or (2) walking on a path which leads to a gate; or (3) is it an example of Hebrew parallelism? The fact that the gate appears first and then a way implies that this is referring to one's coming to know God in a personal way through Jesus' teachings and then living a new kingdom life. Some of the confusion here can be attributed to the threefold aspect of biblical salvation: (1) initial faith and repentance; (2) lifestyle Christlikeness; and (3) eschatological culmination. This parable is paralleled in Luk_13:23-27. See Special Topic: Use of "Door" in the NT at Mat_6:6.
▣ "the narrow gate" This type of proverbial truth has traditionally been known as "the two ways" (cf. Deu_30:15; Deu_30:19; Psalms 1; Pro_4:10-19; Isa_1:19-20 and Jer_21:8). It is hard to identify to whom Jesus was speaking: (1) to disciples, (2) to Pharisees, or (3) to the crowd. The general context would imply that the verse relates to Mat_5:20 and Mat_5:48. If so, then this would imply that the restricted nature of the gate was not rules, like Pharisaic legalism, but lifestyle love flowing out of a relationship with Christ. Christ does have rules (cf. Mat_11:29-30), but they flow from a changed heart! If we place this verse in relation to a Jewish-Gentile context (cf. Mat_6:7; Mat_6:32), then it relates to belief in Jesus as Savior (gate) and Lord (way).
Starting with Mat_7:13-27 there is a series of contrasts related to religious people.
1. the two ways of performing religious duties (Mat_7:13-14)
2. the two types of religious leaders (Mat_7:15-23)
3. the two foundations of a religious life (Mat_7:24-27)
The question is not to which group of religious people Jesus referred, but to how religious people respond to their understanding of God's will. Some use religion as a guise to gain immediate praise and rewards from men. It is a " me" and "now" focused lifestyle (cf. Isa_29:13; Col_2:16-23). True disciples order their lives in light of Jesus' words about the present and coming Kingdom of God.
▣ "for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction" "Way" can be (1) a metaphor for lifestyle and (2) the earliest title of the church (cf. Act_9:2; Act_19:9; Act_19:23; Act_22:4; Act_24:14; Act_24:22; Act_18:25-26). This verse implies that salvation is not an easy decision which fits in with the mainstream of culture, but a decisive change of life which issues in obedience to the principles of God. The fact that one way leads to destruction shows the ultimate outcome of those who live lives independent of God. Often they seem very religious (cf. Isa_29:13; Mat_7:21-23; Col_2:23)!
This phrase has a typical Greek manuscript variable. In the first of the verse it says, "enter by the narrow gate," but in the second half "the gate" is omitted in the uncial manuscript à *, some old Latin manuscripts, some Vulgate manuscripts, the Diatessaron, and the Greek texts used by Clement and Eusebius. It is present in the uncials à cf8 i1, B, C, L, W, and some old Latin, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic manuscripts. So the question is, "Was it inserted for balance" or "fell out by accident?" The UBS4 gives the longer text (i.e., its inclusion) a "B" rating (almost certain). However, its inclusion or exclusion does not change the meaning of the text. This is true of the vast majority of the NT variations in the 5,300 Greek New Testaments in existence today! See Bruce Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, p. 19.
Mat_7:14 In a day of "easy-believeism" this is a needed balance! This is not saying that Christianity is dependent on human effort, but rather that the life of faith will be filled with persecution. "Narrow" in this verse shares the same root word as "tribulation" or "persecution" in other NT passages. This emphasis is the exact opposite of Mat_11:29-30. These two verses could be characterized as the "gate" and the "way." We come to God through Jesus as a free gift of God (cf. Rom_3:24; Rom_5:15-17; Rom_6:23; Eph_2:8-9), but once we know Him, it is the pearl of great price for which we sell all that we have to follow Him. Salvation is absolutely free, but it costs everything that we are and have.
The phrase "few they are that find it" should be compared with Mat_7:13 and Luk_13:23-24. The question is "are more going to be lost than saved?" Is the verse teaching this numerical distinction?