INTRODUCTION
Jesus’ final exhortations anticipate the eschatological discourse of chapters 24-25. Jesus is warning Israel that the only way her house – i.e., the temple – can survive is by hearing and keeping His words. By the time we get to chapter 24, it’s too late. Israel is doomed.

THE TEXT
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it . . . .” (Matthew 7:13-29).

BROAD AND NARROW GATES
The Old Testament had said there were two paths in life. Deuteronomy described the two paths as paths of life and death, and Proverbs described the paths as the paths of wisdom and folly. Jesus redefines those paths: He is the Wisdom of God, and Life incarnate, so He (and His words) form the “way” that we follow to find life. His path is narrow and small (not “hard”), and hence easy to miss. But it is the path that leads to life. The wide and crowded path is the path of hatred, lust, false vows, retaliation, idolatry of mammon, hypocritical judgment. It is destructive both in this life and the next.

FALSE PROPHETS
In the Old Testament, false prophets appear in abundance when Israel is under threat, and Jesus later warns that the same will happen after His departure to the Father (cf. Matthew 24:11, 14). Jesus warns His disciples to be prepared for false teaching, which could mislead them from the narrow gate to the broad gate of destruction. False prophets may try to demonstrate their credentials by miracles, but this doesn’t prove anything (vv. 21-23; cf. Deuteronomy 13). The test is not miraculous powers but fruit. John has already threatened that fruitless trees will be cut down and burned (Matthew 3:10), and Jesus reiterates that threat (v. 19).

The fruits that demonstrate that someone is a true prophet are the fruits of a life according to the words of Jesus. If they don’t live as Jesus commands, they know nothing about the “law and the prophets” (7:12). Israel is compared to a vine and a fig tree, and Jesus is telling His disciples how to distinguish the true Israel from the false. A tree that bears no fruit is nothing more than a thistle, which springs up because of God’s curse on the ground (cf. Genesis 3:18).

TWO HOUSES
In the context of Jesus’ ministry, the “house” that he talks about in verses 24-27 must be the temple and/or the house of Israel. Jesus is giving Israel a way of survival rather than destruction. If Israel continues to pursue her traditional patterns of life, she will end up surrounded by Roman armies; Rome is the “flood” that comes crashing against the house built on sand and destroys it.

But Jesus words have rightly been taken more broadly. The temple can serve as a trope for our life, our families, our churches, our businesses, our schools, and so on. The only way to erect something enduring is to set it on the rock of Jesus’ words.