“Enter by the narrow gate, “ Jesus encourages us. “For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

In other words, this is going to be tough. But it will be worth it.

Jesus knew what He was talking about. Constantly slandered, reviled, rejected, hated without cause and attacked, Jesus knew very well that His way was not for the fainthearted. This narrow path business is like a magnet for haters. Haters who are choosing the easy, well-trodden route in the wrong direction.

It was an important message Jesus gave His disciples then, and it’s important for us now: How do we live in a world that hates us?

What “narrow” means in Hebrew thought

If you read the Psalms you’ll notice a theme about broad places or spacious places being desirable, a blessing, whereas narrow places are the opposite. In Hebrew thought the very word “narrow” is connected with suffering—as we might say “a tight spot” in English. The root word is צַר (tzar) from which we get the word metzarim (מְּצָרִים) which means straits, as in dire straits, and Mitzraim (מִצְרָיִם), which means Egypt—the land of the Hebrews’ suffering and oppression.  There’s even a three-week period every summer in the Jewish calendar known as “bein ha Metzarim” (ימי בין המצרים) or “between the straits” based on the difficulties mentioned in Lamentations 1:3, with this same idea. Caught in a narrow place with danger on each side. So Jesus telling us to choose the narrow way seems very counter-intuitive. We prefer space! Freedom! But no. His Kingdom ways are contrary to the world’s ways. We have to be willing to suffer if we want to truly follow Jesus. The least will be the greatest, the first will be the last, and it’s the narrow gate that ultimately leads to the greatest blessing.

Unpopular opinion

If we’re to believe what the Bible says, the yardstick of truth and morality is in His hands and no one else’s. He sovereignly calls the shots and sets the rules. His way may not be popular, but it is true and right. If He says that there is no other God other than the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, then that’s the final word on the matter. If He made an unconditional covenant with Abraham, that He chose Israel to be His people, and that Israel is blessed, then there’s no point fighting against it. If He says marriage is between one man and one woman, then it is. People will rage against God, against His Law, and against His people Israel, who are a continual, physical representation of both those things. Similarly Palestinian Christians often feel like an embattled minority in their environment—vastly outnumbered, forgotten, and misunderstood. And yes, hated. The way is narrow, and many will balk at it.

The first believers called themselves “Followers of The Way”. Jesus once said that He embodied the Way, proclaiming Himself “the Way the Truth and the Life” in John 14:6.

No one can get to the Father except through Jesus. This sort of talk does not go down well in the diversity, equity and inclusion camps. It doesn’t go down well in lots of places actually.

On the one hand He welcomes absolutely everyone, but on the other, that wide open invitation is to go through the narrow gate. Anyone can come through Him, but there’s no other way to access the Father. This leaves those who do want to follow Jesus with a dilemma. How do we relate to those going the opposite direction?

We can’t be people pleasers and follow Jesus. It cannot be done. Paul asks the believers in Galatia if they are trying to please man or God, making it clear that if you’re trying to please man you cannot be a servant of the Messiah (Galatians 1:10). We cannot serve two masters so if we are not aiming to please God first and foremost, if He is not our master and we are not His servant, that would make us a servant of man. We can become enslaved in our desire to appease, and shackled in our decision making. We start to capitulate to the demands of the world and end up looking very much like it. But only when we are walking in step with the Spirit on His narrow path can we offer the powerful goodness of the Kingdom of God.

Who influences whom?

There’s a principle in the Torah that goes like this: Uncleanness is contagious, but it doesn’t work the other way around. Leviticus lays down the law comprehensively on the matter—whether you’ve got mould in your house or leprosy on your skin, whether you touched a dead animal or have sinned against God, there are things that must be done to rectify the situation and to make sure the uncleanness doesn’t spread. Before Jesus came, it was impossible to impute cleanness from one person to another.

 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Ask the priests about the law: ‘If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?’” The priests answered and said, “No.” Then Haggai said, “If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?” The priests answered and said, “It does become unclean.” (Haggai 2:11-13)

However we see in the pages of the New Testament something remarkable starts to happen. The troubles that plagued the “unclean” were overcome by One whose holiness was so powerful that instead of being negatively affected by uncleanness, He rendered them healed and whole. This had never happened before. Jesus touched lepers and made them clean. He healed the blind, the lame, the woman with the issue of blood. The powerful goodness (Godness) that Jesus carries was so powerful that it overcame everything.

The Leper Messiah

And Jesus gave us the authority to do the same in His name. His Holy Spirit lives in us and can work through us. This is incredible. But we have to remember that it is only God who can do this, not us. God in and through us. God is the Savior, not us. When we leave His path, when we go the wrong way, we are no longer living the Spirit-filled life of a follower of the Way and can no longer expect to see Jesus-style results. We have to stick to the narrow path. And that’s going to annoy a lot of people.

Hated without cause

Jesus is often thought of as a kind and peaceful hippy-type character, but sometimes we forget that He was hated with a passion, so we should not be surprised when we find ourselves hated also.

 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” (John 15:18)

In John chapter 15 Jesus is speaking to His disciples on the night of the last supper. It was an important conversation. In verse 20 He reminds them of some earlier teaching from years ago, right at the beginning of His ministry.

“Remember the word that I said to you,” He urged: “‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” (15:20)

He said to His disciples, remember I told you this before… The time He first said that is recorded in Matthew 10. The Pharisees had been muttering that Jesus was able to perform miracles and drive out demons because He was doing it by the power of Beelzebub. They thought Jesus was in cahoots with Satan which was exactly the opposite of the truth.

Later in the chapter we see being hated and falsely accused is just a family trait.

“Whoever hates me hates my Father also”, said Jesus. “But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’” (John 15:23, 25)

Being hated for no just cause goes with the territory for God’s people.

There are a few times that this issue of being hated without cause comes up in the Scriptures¹, but the passage Jesus is referring to here seems to be from Psalm 69:

In Jewish tradition, it is said that the second temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred.  The temple was indeed destroyed in 70 AD, just as Jesus said. Hatred is so destructive. But love is more powerful than hate. As they crucified Him, Jesus cried out,

“Forgive them Father, they know not what they do”. (Luke 23:34)

He understood what was happening and why they were crucifying Him, even though they didn’t.

He knew He was deeply loved by His Father in heaven, that He was indestructible, destined for glory, and that they were the ones who were really in trouble, not Him.

Instead of seeing them as a threat, He felt sorry for His torturers even as He was in agony on the cross. He had compassion on them and prayed for them. You might think that’s not humanly possible, and you might be right, but with the Spirit of Jesus living in us all things are possible.

A Messianic Jewish pastor from Romania named Richard Wurmbrand learned the cost of the narrow path when he chose to break the law and follow Jesus when his country fell under Communist rule. Tortured daily in prison, he and his friends came to love and pray for their torturers, some of whom were utterly broken by the power of such supernatural love. The courageous love of Jesus has broken the matrix of sin and death. He gives us the only way, the only path out of here. He shows us the way to deal with baseless hatred: courageous love that comes from knowing where their broad path will lead in the end… and where the narrow path will ultimately take you.

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12)

Photo by Kalen Emsley on Unsplash