10 · Words of Jesus

The Narrow Way

Matthew 7:13–14

Läs på svenska
A broad road crowded with people is contrasted with a narrow gate and a constricted, demanding path through a biblical landscape.

Jesus contrasts two ways.

What makes the way to life narrow?

Choose a perspective

There is no score – choose the perspective you find closest and discuss why.

Discuss: How can we tell if we follow Jesus rather than the easiest path?

After your discussion: compare with our assessment

Our assessment

We consider options A and C together to be closest to the main sense of the passage. A takes seriously Jesus' contrast between “many” and “few.” A majority is not, by itself, evidence that a way leads in the right direction. C captures the fact that Jesus begins with a command: “Enter through the narrow gate.” The hearer is confronted with a choice, and the surrounding conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount emphasizes putting Jesus' teaching into practice. Together, A and C express both the warning against letting the crowd determine direction and the call to deliberate discipleship.

10 · Matthew 7:13–14

Go deeper

Text & context

Full translation

13 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter through it. 14 For narrow is the gate and constricted is the road that leads to life, and few are those who find it.

Translated from the Greek text – SBLGNT

What is happening here?
Matthew 7:13–14 stands near the end of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus moves from teaching into a series of sharp contrasts that press the hearer toward a response. Here two gates and two ways stand against one another. One gate is wide and its road broad, with many traveling it. The other gate is narrow and its road constricted, with few finding it. The ways also lead in opposite directions: one to destruction and the other to life. The following context contains warnings about false prophets, people who say “Lord, Lord” without doing the Father's will, and finally the image of hearing Jesus' words and doing them. This makes it natural to read the two ways in relation to how people actually respond to Jesus' teaching.
Notice this

Jesus does not explicitly say: “The narrow way is Christianity and the broad way is all other religions.” Later theological applications may use the image in that way, but those words are not found in Matthew 7:13–14. The passage comes at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus is speaking to people who are already hearing his teaching. Immediately afterward come warnings about false prophets and people who call him “Lord” but do not do the Father's will. This makes the question more personal: the point is not merely to identify who “the others” on the broad road are. Also notice that Jesus begins with an imperative: “Enter.” The passage is a call to the hearer, not merely a description of two groups.

Language & translation

From the Greek

στενῆς – stenēs

narrow / constricted The form describes the gate as narrow or constricted, directly contrasting it with the wide gate.

εὐρύχωρος – eurychōros

broad / spacious The word describes the other road as broad or spacious. Many are traveling it.

ἀπώλειαν – apōleian

destruction / ruin Apōleia can convey destruction, ruin, or loss. Here it stands opposite “life.”

τεθλιμμένη – tethlimmenē

constricted / pressed The form comes from thlibō, which can mean to press, crowd, or afflict. The familiar “narrow is the way” captures the image, but the Greek carries a stronger sense of something pressed or constricted.

ζωήν – zōēn

life The way through the narrow gate leads to zōē, life, in direct contrast with destruction.

εὑρίσκοντες – heuriskontes

those who find Jesus does not merely say that few walk the road, but that few “find” it. This strengthens the image of a way that is not simply followed automatically.

Translation note

Independent English translation from the Greek text, using SBLGNT as the primary Greek edition.

Compare for yourself

Read Matthew 7:13–14 in another Bible translation. Pay particular attention to how these expressions are rendered:

  • stenēs
  • eurychōros
  • apōleia
  • tethlimmenē
  • zōē
  • heuriskontes

Compare especially how tethlimmenē is translated. Is the road “narrow,” “constricted,” “hard,” or described another way? How does that affect your understanding of Jesus' image?

Continue the conversation

Discuss further
  1. Is a way more likely to be true simply because many people choose it?
  2. What aspects of Jesus' teaching might make discipleship “narrow” or demanding?
  3. Can someone assume they are on the narrow way simply because they belong to a particular group?
  4. How does the image change when read together with Matthew 7:21–27?
Parallel passages
  • Luke 13:23–24
  • Matthew 7:15–23
  • Matthew 7:24–27
Sources
  • The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition (SBLGNT), Matthew 7:13–14
  • Matthew 7:15–27
  • Luke 13:23–24
  • Standard Greek lexical resources for stenos, eurychōros, apōleia, thlibō, zōē, and heuriskō