The Great Divorce Text: Matthew 7:13-14
Introduction: The Scandal of the Excluded Middle
We live in an age that is allergic to sharp edges. Our culture is dedicated to the proposition that all distinctions are forms of bigotry, all boundaries are oppressive, and all choices between A and not A are fundamentally unfair. The modern mind wants to have its cake and eat it too, and then have your cake as well, and then declare that the very concept of "cake" is a social construct designed to oppress the cakeless. We want a God, if we must have one, who is an infinitely indulgent grandfather, a celestial therapist whose only job is to affirm our choices, whatever they may be. We want a gospel of "yes, and," not a gospel of "either/or."
Into this gelatinous, sentimental slop, the words of Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount land with the force of a battering ram. He concludes the greatest sermon ever preached not with a group hug, but with a series of stark, unavoidable, binary choices. There are two ways, two gates, two destinations, two kinds of trees, two kinds of fruit, two kinds of prophets, two kinds of disciples, and two foundations. There is no third way. There is no middle ground. There is no demilitarized zone. You are on one path or the other.
This is the great scandal of biblical Christianity, the thing that truly offends the modern sensibility. It is not the miracles, not the prophecies, not even the resurrection that causes the most outrage. It is the exclusivity. It is the claim that there is a narrow way that leads to life and a broad way that leads to destruction, and that you cannot walk on both. This is not a suggestion; it is a command. "Enter." Jesus is not presenting us with a philosophical conundrum to be debated in a seminar room. He is issuing a battlefield order. A choice must be made, and not to choose is to have already chosen the broad way.
Our text today is the great divorce. It is the ultimate fork in the road of human history and individual destiny. And we must understand that this is not a call to some kind of grim, white knuckled asceticism. The narrow way is the way of life, which means it is the way of true joy, true freedom, and true humanity. The broad way is the way of destruction, which means it is the way of ultimate slavery, futility, and ruin. The choice is not between a party and a funeral. The choice is between a wedding feast and the city dump.
The Text
"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it."
(Matthew 7:13-14 LSB)
The Default Setting of Humanity (v. 13)
We begin with the popular choice, the path of least resistance.
"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it." (Matthew 7:13 LSB)
The first thing to notice is that the broad way is the default. It is the path you are on if you are not consciously and deliberately on the other one. No one has to make a decision to get on the road to destruction. You are born on it. It is the natural inclination of the fallen human heart. The gate is "wide," which means it is accommodating. It has no restrictions, no doctrinal turnstiles, no moral guardrails. It welcomes every kind of worldview, every kind of lifestyle, every kind of self-deception. You can be a religious pagan, a secular humanist, a carnal Christian, a devout atheist, it does not matter. The wide gate says, "Come as you are, and stay as you are."
The way is "broad." This means it is easy. It is the path of self-will. It is the way of the crowd, the current of the age. You can drift along this road without any effort. It is a superhighway with no exits. It allows for all your baggage, all your sins, all your idols. You can do whatever is right in your own eyes. This way is popular, we are told, "and there are many who enter through it." This is a direct assault on our democratic and consumerist instincts. We are conditioned to believe that the majority is right, that the most popular product is the best. Jesus tells us the exact opposite. When it comes to ultimate realities, the majority is always wrong. If you find yourself walking in step with the crowd, you are walking toward a cliff.
And let us be clear about the destination. This broad, easy, popular road "leads to destruction." The word is apoleia. It means utter ruin, perdition, damnation. It is not annihilation; it is a state of ongoing, conscious ruin. This is not a scare tactic; it is a road sign. It is a loving warning from the one who knows the map. To ignore the sign is not a mark of sophistication; it is the height of folly.
The Way of Life (v. 14)
In stark contrast, Jesus presents the alternative. It is not an easy alternative, but it is the only one that leads to life.
"For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matthew 7:14 LSB)
The gate is "narrow." How narrow? It is as narrow as a person. Jesus Christ Himself says, "I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved" (John 10:9). And again, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). The gate is narrow because it requires you to leave your baggage behind. You cannot come through this gate carrying your self-righteousness, your pride, your idols, or your love of sin. You must stoop. You must repent. You must come on His terms, not your own. The gate is exclusive. It excludes all other ways, all other saviors, and all other gospels.
Once through the gate, the way is "constricted." The Greek word here is thlibo, from which we get our word "tribulation." It means pressed, afflicted, hemmed in. This is the path of discipline, of discipleship. This is the way of the cross. It means your life is no longer your own. You are constrained by the Word of God, by the law of God, by the love of Christ. This does not mean the Christian life is miserable. Jesus says His yoke is easy and His burden is light. But it is a yoke, and it is a burden. It is the easy yoke of submission to a loving Master, which is true freedom, contrasted with the heavy burden of being your own god, which is true slavery.
The destination is "life." This is not just biological existence. This is zoe, eternal life, life as God intended it to be, life in fellowship with Him. It is abundant life, overflowing life, true life. This is what every human heart is actually longing for, whether they know it or not.
But there is a solemn warning attached. There are "few who find it." This is not because God is hiding it. The gospel is proclaimed to all. It is because few are willing to look for it, and fewer still are willing to enter it on God's terms. Men love the darkness rather than the light because their deeds are evil. They love the broad road because it allows them to captain their own damned souls. The gate is not found by accident. It is not stumbled upon. It must be sought. "Seek and you will find," Jesus said just a few verses earlier. The tragedy is not that the gate is hard to find, but that so few are actually looking.
Conclusion: A Deliberate Choice
So the command stands: "Enter." This is a call for a decision. You are standing at the crossroads, and you must choose. To drift is to choose the broad way. To delay is to choose the broad way. To try and straddle the fence is to be on the broad way with one leg caught in the barbed wire.
The choice before us is not between restriction and freedom. It is a choice between two freedoms: the false freedom of the broad road that allows you to do anything you want on the way to the prison of Hell, and the true freedom of the narrow way that restricts your sinful impulses in order to liberate you for joyful obedience on the way to the glorious liberty of the children of God.
This is not a message of despair, as though salvation were a lottery with very few winning tickets. It is a message of glorious opportunity. The gate is narrow, but it is open. The way is constricted, but it leads to life. And the one who is the Gate is the one who invites us to enter. He does not stand there with a checklist and a scowl. He stands there with open, nail-scarred hands. The choice is stark, but the invitation is gracious. The majority is going the wrong way. Do not follow them. The popular path is a trap. Do not walk in it. The gate to life is narrow, but it is the only gate there is. Enter it.