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How to Interpret Matthew 7:13-14

Question:

How should I interpret Matthew 7-13-14?

Answer:

Matthew 7:13-14 gives us the words of Our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount:

 “Enter in at the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are they who go in by that way. Because narrow is the gate and narrow the way which leads into life, and few there are who find it.”

Well, it is Our Lord who calls himself the way and the gate elsewhere in the gospels. So he is the “narrow way.” He is teaching us that his way of salvation is the only true one, and this way is identical with himself. This is what is meant by “narrow.” So one does not reach Christ simply by following broad human opinion or custom but by clinging to him alone.

Consider also that the Savior’s beloved disciple St John tells us in his first epistle that God is love. So the narrow way which is Christ is the way of love. This is the way of the cross, the way of the saints who left all to follow Christ.

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