“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
My Notes
What Does Matthew 7:14 Mean?
Jesus describes two paths: the wide gate with the broad way that leads to destruction (many find it) and the strait gate with the narrow way that leads to life (few find it). The contrast is between ease and difficulty, popularity and rarity, destruction and life.
The word "strait" (stenos) means narrow, constricted, requiring effort to pass through. It's not just a door — it's a tight fit. The narrow way isn't an alternative highway; it's a trail that demands attention, effort, and sustained commitment. You can't wander onto it accidentally.
The "few" who find it doesn't mean God restricts access — the gate is available to anyone. The fewness is about the number who choose it. Most people default to the wide gate because it requires less effort, accommodates more baggage, and is surrounded by company. The narrow gate requires leaving things behind, and most people won't.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What 'baggage' would you need to leave behind to fit through the narrow gate?
- 2.Why do you think most people default to the wide gate — and where do you see yourself?
- 3.How does the narrowness of the way challenge the assumption that genuine faith should be easy?
- 4.What has the narrow way cost you — and what has it given you in return?
Devotional
The narrow gate. The strait way. Few find it. Not because it's hidden — because it's hard. Because you can't fit through it carrying everything you're carrying. Because the crowd is going the other direction.
Jesus doesn't hide the difficulty. He names it upfront: the way that leads to life is narrow, and few find it. This isn't a marketing pitch — it's full disclosure. If you're looking for the path with the most company, the easiest entrance, and the widest margins for error, that path leads to destruction. The comfortable road doesn't go where you think.
The narrowness isn't cruelty — it's precision. A narrow gate requires you to come through intentionally, not accidentally. You can't drift through the narrow gate. You can't wander in while distracted. You can't arrive surrounded by a crowd that carries you along. The narrow gate requires a deliberate, individual, fully-engaged entrance.
The baggage issue is implied: a narrow opening means you can't bring everything. Some things don't fit through the strait gate. The habits, the relationships, the patterns of living that work on the wide road don't compress to narrow-gate dimensions. To enter, you leave things at the door. And that's why few do it.
The promise at the end makes it worth the cost: life. Not just survival — life. The narrow way leads to the thing the wide road only promises. The few who find it discover that what they left at the gate was worth losing for what they found on the other side.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Beware of false prophets,.... Or false teachers; for not such who pretended to foretell things to come, but such who set…
Enter ye in at the strait gate - Christ here compares the way to life to an entrance through a gate. The words…
Our Lord Jesus here presses upon us that righteousness towards men which is an essential branch of true religion, and…
because To be taken after "enter ye" as in preceding verse, or it gives a reason why many go in at the wide gate.
narrow…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture