Strive to enter through the narrow gate…
—Luke 13:24

There are many interpretations of the narrow gate and of how hard we must try to get along the narrow way. Many have probably seen pictures of a few saved people trudging along a tiny cross over the abyss of hell. The confusion comes, as one brother put it, from the fact that “we try to squeeze ourselves” into all sorts of places in Scripture. Clarity comes when Jesus is there instead of us, for the Scriptures reveal Him. Peace and grace come through revelations of Jesus, not of ourselves. So what is this narrow gate?

“And Samson lay low till midnight; then he arose at midnight, took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two gateposts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.” [Jdg.16:3] Here a wonderful picture is revealed of how Jesus put the cross on His shoulders and carried it to Calvary. Then why “narrow”? Because Jesus was nailed to it. This is how He prayed on the cross: “The pangs of death surrounded me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.” [Ps.18:4-6] What cry? “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” [Mat.27:46]

When the rich young man asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life, Jesus advised him to sell everything, give to the poor and follow Him. When he became very sorrowful, the Lord said: “For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Isn’t the eye of a needle a narrow gate for a camel? To which they asked Jesus: “Who then can be saved?” [Luk.18:24-26] It is exactly this question that the Lord answered when He said “Strive to enter through the narrow gate.” [Luk.13:23-24] And how did He answer in Luke 18? “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God“. [Luk.18:27] Yes, it is impossible for man, as for a camel through the eye of a needle, to enter the kingdom of God.

But with God all things are possible! Jesus went through the narrow gate for us when He took the cross upon Himself and was sentenced to death there. Now the way of salvation is wide and simple, because for Him it was narrow and difficult. Interestingly, the Greek word for “strive” is agonizomai, from which the word “agony” comes. It truly was agony for Him to go through the narrow gate and the narrow way, to make a way for us of which the prophet Isaiah writes: “Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray“. [Isa.35:8] The entrance into the kingdom of God is free, the doors are wide open, and everyone is invited to the feast.