I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Matthew 7-9.

    I mentioned yesterday that there were so many messages in the passage that I had trouble writing this blog because I did not have time to cover everything. Today’s passage is similar. Unlike many other passages in the Bible, most of the teachings in the Sermon on the Mount are clear and easy to understand. In addition, they are largely foundational ideas upon which the rest of an understanding of what it means to be Christ-like can be built. In light of this I want to start by focusing on a passage which was much emphasized among Mennonites when I was very young: Matthew 7:13 & 14

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell[a] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

The importance of this passage is hard to overstate. First, it indicates that those who truly follow Christ are always in the minority. Along with that it tells us that we cannot take the easy course through life. With this statement, Jesus is unequivocally rejecting the idea of Universalism, the idea that everyone will “get into Heaven”. Universalists hold that being good is easy for people and with just a little bit of teaching everyone will be good. Jesus, on the other hand, says that being good is essentially impossible for anyone other than God. A few verses later, He revisits this idea when He tells us that not everyone who acts in His name will find themselves allowed into Heaven. It is not enough to act in God’s name, you must also do His will.

    This passage informs our understanding of other things Jesus says, both here and elsewhere in the Gospels. It gives us an understanding of His teachings about us as salt, yeast, and being a light to those around us which is different than it might be otherwise. When Jesus talks about building on a firm foundation He is expanding on what He said here. Despite Jesus declaring that few would find and follow the path to life, He tells us that the potential harvest is great and that we should pray for God to send workers. Of course, when He says this Jesus once again points out that the numbers are few (“the workers are few”). So, let us pray that God sends more workers, and if we are those workers whom God wishes to send, let us go.