Parables Of Jesus Christ

The parable of the narrow gate or door

The parable of the narrow gate or door
Matthew 7:13-14
"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."
The Narrow Door luke 13 : 22 - 24
"He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" And he said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able"
In both matthew and luke we find the parable of the narrow gate, aka the narrow door. When i looked at this, i found this is one of my favourite parables. I cant believe how much i have learnt from studing jesus's parables. In this parable Jesus compares the narrow gate to the wide gate which leads to destruction (hell) and there will be "many". I think we can all identify with this. A wide gate is easier to go through no matter what size you are. Jesus says the "narrow gate leads to life" " those who find it are few"
So i am sure we understand that jesus is the gate/door through which all must enter eternal life. There is no other way because He alone is "the way, the truth and the life". The way to eternal life is restricted to just one avenue-Christ. The way is narrow because it is the only way, and relatively few people will go through the narrow gate. Many more will attempt to find an alternative route to God. They will try to get there through manmade rules and regulations, through false religion, or through self-effort. These who are "many" will go through the wide gate that leads to eternal destruction, "while the sheep hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow Him along the narrow way to eternal life "
While there will be relatively few who go through the narrow gate compared to the many on the wide gate, there will still be multitudes who will follow the Good Shepherd. John tell us of his vision in the book of Revelation(7:9-10)
"After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!""
Entering the narrow gate is not easy. Jesus made this clear when He instructed His followers to "strive" to do so. On research i found out the Greek word translated "strive" is agonizomai, from which we get the English word agonize. The implication here is that those who seek to enter the narrow gate must do so by struggle and strain. But we must remember, no amount of effort saves us, salvation is only by the grace of God. No one will ever earn heaven by striving for it. But entering the narrow gate is still difficult because of the opposition of human pride, our natural love of sin and of course Satan. All of which battle against us in the pursuit of eternity. The encouragement to strive to enter is the command to repent and enter the gate. Not to just stand and look at it, think about it, complain that it's too small or too difficult or unjustly narrow. We are not to ask why others are not entering, we are not to make excuses or delay. We are not to be concerned with the number who will or will not enter. We are to strive forward and enter, Then we are to encourage others to strive to enter before it's too late.