Two Paths, One Choice

Matthew 7:13-21,24-27

Context: Matthew 7:1-29

Memory Verse: John 14:6

Main Idea: Every person faces an important choice regarding his or her eternal destiny.

FIRST THOUGHTS

     The reality of choices is a fact of life. A couple eating out must choose between chicken or fish for their entrée, not to mention whether to opt for a dessert. The teenage daughter dressing for an important date must decide between everyday casual or evening wear. People taking prescription medicines sometimes have to decide between generics or name brands. A family programming a GPS for a vacation trip must decide between the shortest route and the scenic route. Of course, many daily alternatives may not matter greatly, since the consequences are not serious or long-lasting either way. However, some choices matter greatly.

What was one of the most challenging and consequential choices you had to make in the past few weeks between two or more alternatives?

     Jesus set forth several serious choices toward the end of His Sermon on the Mount. He presented the choice between two roads with different entrances and destinations. He followed with another alternative between two kinds of fruit that serve as indicators of the quality of the trees that produced them. He ended with a choice between foundations on which to build a house. Each of these sets of choices carry crucial consequences for our lives.

I. UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT

Matthew 7:1-29

     By the time we get to the concluding section of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew has prepared his readers for the demand to follow Jesus the King. The miraculous nature of Mary’s conception in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies (Matt. 1:18-25) and the worship of Jesus by the wise men (2:1-12) authenticated the arrival of the King.

     The ministry of John the Baptist prepared the way for the coming of King Jesus who was all-powerful and superior in every way (3:1-12). Jesus’ public ministry began with calling the disciples and then taking them up on a mountain to convey to them the King’s expectations for life in the kingdom. This manifesto is called the Sermon on the Mount.

     The Sermon on the Mount began with blessings, often called the Beatitudes, that belong to those who follow Jesus (5:3-12). This is followed by the responsibility of Jesus’ disciples to be engaged in the world as salt and light (5:13-16). As salt, we should slow the rotting process of a world that is rushing towards destruction as well as add seasoning characterized by a zest for life. As light, we are to serve as a beacon that draws those in the darkness to the truth. Jesus then described the true intent of the Mosaic Law and the nature of true righteousness in six statements beginning with “You have heard that it was said …. But I say to you” (5:21-48). In each instance, whether concerning murder, divorce, or retaliation, Jesus showed His kingly authority as the final interpreter of the law. In each case, Jesus got to the heart and motivation of human sinfulness.

     Jesus carried this forward in Matthew 6:1-18 as He called for proper motives in our acts of devotion for God. Whether we are giving charitably, praying, or fasting, our motivation must be the applause of God and not men. After a discussion of how His disciples should think about money (6:19-34) and how we should relate to others and to God (7:1-12), Jesus reached the conclusion of the sermon. In contrast to the blessings at the beginning, Jesus concluded with warnings for those who would build their lives on anything other than King Jesus and His teachings.

II. EXPLORE THE TEXT

A. Narrow versus wide? (Matt. 7:13-14)

¹³ “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. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

     The final section of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is built on the contrasts between two paths, two trees, and two houses. These contrasts lead the audience back to the fundamental truth that trusting in Jesus is the only path to true life. These contrasts also indicate the catastrophic consequence of a wrong response.

VERSE 13

     Jesus began this section with the imperative to enter by the narrow gate. The narrow gate corresponds to the narrow path. The contrast is with the wide gate, which corresponds to the easy path. The broad path leads to destruction, and many, even the vast majority, travel this path. The majority find themselves on the broad path almost naturally. Fallen people in a fallen world drift stubbornly down through the wide gate and travel the broad road. The broad path may seem more pleasant and without risk. However, things are not always as they seem: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Prov. 14:12).

VERSE 14

     The contrast to the wide gate and easy path is the narrow gate and the hard road. While the broad road represents the majority’s pathway, appearing to offer little resistance or danger, the truth is that it leads to destruction. The narrow gate, on the other hand, appears less attractive. It is lined with hardship. While admission onto the broad path requires no decision, admittance onto the narrow path requires a decision, namely, to follow Jesus. As a result, only a small percentage of the population will ever travel this road.

     The stakes here are not whether a person will have a reward in heaven. The contrast is between the saved and the lost. A person’s decision to enter the narrow gate and journey on the narrow path has eternal implications. The truth is that the way of salvation has never been the easy path, devoid of persecution, suffering, and hardship. Nor has it ever been the popular road traveled by the majority. It is, however, the only path that leads to life.

     In setting up this contrast, Jesus echoed the Jewish tradition of two ways between which a person must choose. The prophet Jeremiah declared God’s coming judgment on Israel because of the nation’s sin. The Babylonians would be the instrument of God’s judgment. But even in the midst of that judgment, God desired to forgive those who would repent. Thus, Jeremiah declared: “And to this people you shall say: ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death” (Jer. 21:8). Those who obeyed God would live; those who did not would die. Deuteronomy 11:26-28 provides another example: “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known.”

     Jesus’ teaching in these verses runs contrary to our contemporary ideas about which path the majority travels. A 2007 survey by the Pew Research Center on religion and public life interviewed 35,000 Americans 18 and older. The survey indicated that 78 percent self-identified as Christian, with 51 percent of the overall population claiming to be Protestant. These findings are typical of similar surveys. And yet, the numbers run contrary to Jesus’ teaching. According to Jesus, genuine Christianity will never be a majority movement, regardless of what the surveys say.

     Perhaps our desire for our friends, neighbors, and loved ones to be right with God has resulted in our willingness to believe that the majority has decided for Christ. Perhaps it is our yearning that they are traveling the narrow path to life regardless of the lack of evidence of Christ in their lives. The teaching of Jesus, however, would indicate that even our church membership lists are full of people who have been baptized and attend church but have not made a genuine commitment to follow Jesus. Only the narrow gate leads to life.

How might Jesus’ words impact the way we view our family members, friends, and coworkers? Is there a qualitative difference between the way we live our lives and the way they live their lives?

B. Good versus bad? (Matt. 7:15-21)

¹⁵ Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. ²¹ Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

     While the initial contrast in Matthew 7:13-14 focused on whether a person was saved or lost, verses 15-21 contrast a true and false prophet. Jesus warned His hearers about those who claim to speak and work for God but whose lives produce no genuine fruit. He also issued a warning against the false prophets themselves.

VERSE 15

     Jesus issued a strong warning to His disciples to beware of false prophets. While He provided no details as to their identity, the context would indicate that they came preaching cheap grace, presenting an easy path to life that neglected following the narrow path with all its difficulties. They are pretenders who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. The hostility between wolves and lambs was widely recognized, as it is today. Later, in His Olivet Discourse, Jesus returned to the warning against false prophets who would appear in the last days and deceive many people through signs and wonders (Matt. 24:11,24).

     These false prophets were particularly dangerous for three reasons. First, they were disguised as harmless leaders (sheep) but in reality were predators who used sheep’s clothing to deceive and move easily among the flock. Second, they were dangerous because they claimed to speak for God. The designation prophets would have given them elevated status and intrinsic authority. Third, they presented a greater danger because they were viewed as insiders.

     The greatest challenges to the community of God’s people do not come from outside the church. The church is typically strengthened and unified in response to persecution or attempts by outside forces to compel Christians to act contrary to their faith. As the early church father Tertullian observed in A.D. 197, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” The gravest danger is always from within. While Jesus did not identity the wolves, the language and context indicate they would be considered followers of Jesus rather than scribes, Pharisees, or Sadducees.

VERSES 16-20

     Jesus provided His disciples a basis for recognizing the genuineness of a prophet. The entire section is held together by the repetition of the line You will recognize them by their fruits at the beginning of verse 16 and the end of verse 20. Fruit in the New Testament is a metaphor for good works rooted in a life devoted to God.

     Behavior is the best test of inner spiritual health. The validity of inspecting the fruit as a way to test the genuineness of a prophet or spiritual leader rests in the reality that trees produce fruit in keeping with their species. The fruit, whether good or bad, reveals the nature of the tree. Just as thornbushes cannot produce grapes and thistles cannot bear figs, so a false prophet cannot bear good fruit.

     Just as the contrast between the two ways resulted in a warning for those entering the broad way, so Jesus also issued a warning in verse 19 for trees that fail to produce good fruit: they are to be cut down and thrown into the fire. Jesus consistently spoke harsh words against the non-fruit-bearing entities in the kingdom. As Jesus cursed the fig tree, so did He also curse the temple because it was not producing the fruit God intended—namely, to be a house of prayer for all nations (Matt. 21:12-13,18-19; Mark 11:12-17). Jesus also declared that the branches that are non-fruit-bearing would be cut off, gathered up, and thrown into the fire (John 15:1-6). We will recognize whether prophets or religious leaders are genuine by the fruit they produce. Jesus’ followers should choose carefully whose teaching and preaching they allow to shape their lives. We must test the authenticity of those who claim to speak for God not only by their words but also by their lives.

VERSE 21

     Jesus concluded the section on false prophets with one important qualification. The production of fruit, while critical, can itself be deceiving because of the possibility of fraudulent fruit. A person can say the right words, such as ‘Lord, Lord,’ and even appear to produce good fruit, but it can be a sham. It could be an intentional deception, like a wolf hiding under sheep’s clothing, or it could be good works produced by improper motives, such as trying to earn God’s grace or gain glory for oneself.

     We produce the good fruit that Jesus spoke of naturally and organically because we are connected to the vine. The good works do not save us or merit God’s grace. Rather, God’s grace shapes us and motivates us into fruit-bearing people. Jesus challenged His hearers to consider the fruit, or results, of those they chose to follow. Rest assured that the pretenders will ultimately be exposed for their lack of genuine fruit. One of the dangers in our day of social media is the devotion to pastors and teachers we know only from a distance, whether on TV or the internet. Are we able from 1,000 miles away to inspect their fruit adequately? Perhaps we should find our spiritual guidance and exhortation from our local church leadership.

When it comes to discerning false teachers, which would you deem most valuable as your safeguard: (1) Studying false religions in order to become well-acquainted with their teachings, or (2) Studying the words of Jesus to know what He says in order to judge what others say against His words?

C. rock versus sand? (Matt. 7:24-27)

²⁴ Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

     In concluding His sermon, Jesus compared the choice facing His hearers to the building of a house on sand and on rock. He warned them about building one’s life on anything other than Him.

VERSES 24-25

     Jesus equated hearing and doing His words with a wise man who built his house on the rock. These words reflected everyday life for Jesus’ audience. Most first-century Jews lived in houses made of mud bricks and thatch roofs. These dwellings were particularly vulnerable to heavy rains and the resulting flash floods. Only a fool would build on anything other than solid rock. In the same way, only hearing and doing Jesus’ teachings provides a firm foundation. The only sensible response to Jesus’ words is obedience. Jesus promised such builders that when the storms of life blow in, they would not be swept away.

VERSES 26-27

     Jesus equated refusal to do His words with a foolish man who built his house on the sand. These mud and thatch dwellings could not withstand the driving winds and rain. In the same way, a life built on anything but Jesus and His teachings will end in total collapse.

     Is this a warning to disciples that if they do not obey Jesus’ teachings they will revert to a lost condition? It is important to note that verse 28 indicates Jesus was speaking to the great crowds as well as His disciples. Perhaps this final contrast returns to the image of the two roads, a contrast between saved and lost. True disciples who have experienced God’s life-changing grace walk the narrow path and build their lives on the rock. To do anything else is to go off into destruction and ruin. Our security is not in our deeds but in Him. It is our security in Him that motivates us to obedience.

How do the images used by Jesus help you grasp His message? What do the images of an unfruitful tree and a destroyed house communicate? What do the images of a fruitful tree and a surviving house communicate?

How does Jesus’ teaching, even when offered as a strong warning, give security to the believer?

KEY DOCTRINE

Judgment

     According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness.

BIBLE SKILL

Use other Scripture passages to help understand a Bible passage.

     In Matthew 7:16-20 Jesus provided the basis by which a believer can discern a true and false prophet: Does the prophet bear good fruit? Several Old Testament texts provide further explanation. Read Jeremiah 23:13 and Deuteronomy 18:21-22. What additional insights do these passages contribute to our understanding of how to discern true and false prophets?