Matthew 7:13-27 – Travelers on the Road to the Kingdom

I can look out my living room window and see the broad and basic contours of the southern edge of a small forest. But the beauty of this view cannot be seen while walking through the same woods where I can observe the individual trees, the undergrowth, the dead and dying trunks, the fresh sprigs and sprouts shooting up through the leafy blanket covering the ground. Both views are wonderful; both views bring sights the other cannot comprehend; both are required if I want to gain a better understanding of the woods.

We have been walking through the trees and shrubs of the Sermon on the Mount these past few weeks. We have seen how each section, in its own way, contributes to our understanding of the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Your kingdom come.” But today we need to step back and look through the living room window and catch a glimpse of the broad view of the woods before we step back into the underbrush.

For most of my life, I thought the Sermon on the Mount was a collection of wise sayings Jesus spoke at some point in time on an elevated surface somewhere in Palestine. But it always felt like there was something more to the sermon than what I saw; I was never able to step back far enough from the trees and shoots and shrubbery and leaves to see what I was missing. But lately, I feel as though I have caught a glimpse, however brief, of the larger outline of the forest. I realize that as I continue studying the forest and the trees each view will become clearer and, possibly, supplant the view I have today. That is one of the greatest beauties and biggest challenges of reading God’s eternal and revealed word: each new vista reveals new views and each new tree reveals new depth. We could spend our entire lives going between the forest and the trees and still feel as though we have just begun to grasp the depth and breadth and width and height of the wisdom and love of God. All that being said, it seems that the Sermon on the Mount could be broadly outlined as follows:

Matthew 5:3-16 – The people of the Kingdom of Heaven
Matthew 5:17-7:12 – The extent and fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets
Matthew 7:13-27 – The travelers on the road leading to the Kingdom of Heaven

The bulk of Jesus’s sermon fits into a single line yet, while it could be further detailed, it all seems to relate to the Law and the Prophets. To see what I mean, take a look at the first verse of that section (Matt. 5:17) and the last verse of that section (Matt. 7:12). They say,

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Matthew 5:17

So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Matthew 7:12

Jesus introduced the body of his sermon by telling his disciples that he came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. He then explained what that meant: the full extent of the law (Matt. 5:17-48), the practice of righteousness (Matt. 6:1-34), and the basis for judgment (Matt. 7:1-12). That seems to pretty much cover everything — the law, righteousness, and judgment — doesn’t it? Jesus’s final words in his primary teaching (Matt. 5:17-7:12) is to tell his disciples that the Law, righteousness, and judgment are summed up in one thing: do to others as they would have others do to them. Love is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets.

Now, with that big picture in mind, as we step into the woods for one last look at the Sermon on the Mount, we will see that he concludes his teaching by talking about the road and the sort of travelers found on the road leading to the Kingdom of Heaven. He says,

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.

Matthew 7:13-14

As refreshing as Jesus’s teaching may have been to those listening — remember, they had been listening to the Pharisees for quite some time — Jesus knows his way is not an easy one to walk. What is easy is following every desire and inclination of the heart; it takes no strength and courage to do whatever feels good at the moment. But such a path usually, if not always, ends in disaster. The hard path is the one where we learn to follow God’s ways instead of our longings. And this is not new. When Joshua spoke to the Israelites before he died he emphasized the courage it takes to “do all according to all the law the Moses my servant commanded you.” He said, “be strong and very courageous” (Joshua 1:7). The word “very” only shows up there. When Joshua told them they would inherit the land through battle and God would be with them (as a nation) everywhere they went, Joshua only said, “be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:6, 9). “Very” is no longer part of his encouragement. Joshua knew that it took more courage to do the right thing than it would take to enter into battle; raising a sword is one thing, but choosing not to lie, lust, or be angry is something altogether different. It takes no courage to follow the easy and broad path which leads to destruction. And if you doubt this, I might suggest that you look at your own choices, but since that would get a little personal, I suggest you just read the Old Testament; you will find more examples there of people who took the broad and easy way than you will find of those who traveled the hard road leading to the narrow gate.

But Jesus doesn’t just tell us about the hard road and narrow gate leading to life, he tells us that along that road we will encounter some people who wish to lead us away. He said,

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.

Matthew 7:15-20

False prophets are not just people like Hananiah who told the Israelites they were immediately going back to Israel (Jer. 28-29), or The False Prophet in the book of Revelation (Rev. 13-20) who wages war against God; false prophets are anyone who leads people away from the hard path and away from the narrow gate. False prophets can be preachers, teachers, writers of books, blog writers, social media spiritualists, and any others who offer faulty advice about and flawed insight into God’s word. False prophets “distort the gospel of Christ” (Gal. 1:6-10), deny that Jesus is the son of God (I John 4:1-3), and deny that Jesus had a body and was bodily resurrected (I John 4:15). Or, as Ron Rhodes my professor for a class on Cults, might say, false prophets preach a false gospel leading to a false salvation.

But these people are not always easy to spot. False prophets often seem like wonderful people. They may tell you uplifting things that make you feel warm and fuzzy or say things that seem like they come from the Bible, but no matter how warm and fuzzy you feel about a lie, it is still a lie. Following the warm fuzzies of false prophets merely prepares us for the heat of hell. Such is the broad way of the false prophet.

If that makes you nervous, it should. We must be ever vigilant about seeking the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And the best way to tell the two apart, in my opinion, is to spend as much time with the truth as possible. God’s Word is more trustworthy than man’s words (this post included). I would suggest that if you spend more time reading spiritual books, Christian blogs, and listening to religious podcasts than studying the Word authored by God then you are probably opening yourself up to the influence of false prophets. Again, this doesn’t mean every religious book, blog, or podcast is evil, but if our diet is filled with only those things and we don’t taste of the fruit of God’s Word, we are spiritually malnourished. Get off the computer, pull the earbuds, leave the bookstore and sit by yourself with a Bible and read. Study. Pray. There is a much greater chance that you will find your way onto the hard path and through the narrow gate by immersing yourself in the Bible through prayer than if you listen to others who pave the road to destruction with soft cushions and comfy chairs.

But, as bad as the false prophets are, we can’t take the path of Adam and Eve and blame others; we are responsible for our own choices. Jesus also said,

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. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Matthew 7:21-23

The only ones entering the Kingdom of Heaven are those treading the narrow path. People might claim they were believers, might go to church and teach and preach, they might even claim that Jesus is Lord, but if their lives don’t match up to their words, regardless of whether influenced by false prophets or not, the Lord will claim that he doesn’t know them.

When Jesus was told that his mother and brothers were waiting outside to talk to him, he responded by saying that his mother, brothers, and sisters were those who did the will of the Father (Matt. 12:46-50). He didn’t say his relatives were those genetically related to him, he didn’t say they were the ones who preached and taught about the will of the Father, he didn’t even say they were those who did miraculous works and performed exorcisms. He said the only ones related to him were those who do the will of the Father. Think back to Adam and Eve again. If they chose to follow the will of God and not give in to the influence of the liar, the serpent, the false prophet, they would still be in the garden. But they didn’t, and they aren’t, and neither are we.

But what is the will of the Father? I suppose there are all kinds of answers to this question, especially if you are in high school or college and don’t know what to do with your life and don’t know who to marry. But such questions about career and marriage avoid the true essence of finding God’s will. God’s will is to do what Jesus said when he summed up the Law and the Prophets: be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect, and do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It’s not as easy as it sounds — it actually requires quite a bit of courage — but it is good and it is the only path that leads through the narrow gate and into life.

With all said that needed to be said, Jesus concluded his teaching on the mount by contrasting two very different houses: one built on the rock and one built on sand. He said,

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.”

Matthew 7:24-27

What rock are we to build our house on? Well, if you ever went to Sunday school you know the answer to any spiritual question is always “Jesus.” Right? Well, yes, and no. The rock to which Jesus refers here is not different from what he just said. Certainly, Jesus, not Duane Johnson, is the rock, but in the context of this message, we must include Jesus’s teachings as an essential piece of the rock. Jesus is the one providing atonement and forgiveness for sins, and he provides us with a renewed relationship with the Father, but we aren’t passive partners in this. We come to the Kingdom in our brokenness and emptiness and seek his righteousness; we enter the world as salt and light; we do the will of our Father in heaven; we practice our righteousness in private; we fulfill the law and the prophets by loving others as we would have them love ourselves: this is a house built upon the rock. On the other hand, the sandy house rests upon false teachings, a false gospel, and a false Christ.

After I finish a walk through the woods, my mind is usually filled with images of specific trees, branches, shoots, leaves, rocks, snakes, turtles, and deer. But I find a sense of wholeness when I sit in the living room and look out the window over the broad scope of the forest below. The Kingdom of Heaven is filled with those poor in spirit who are salt and light and seek to follow the law and prophets in deed and thought. Those poor souls express their love toward God in the privacy of their own closets and they extend grace to others because they know how much grace has been extended to them. They do not walk an easy path, but their path leads to a strong house built upon the rock. These are the trees and rocks and leaves. But the forest view tells me something even bigger than all of this. The forest view tells me what righteousness is all about. Righteousness — being who we were meant to be in the eyes of God — is the reason for the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. For without him nothing in the Sermon on the Mount is possible. But with him, it is.

These are the things for which we pray and the people for whom we pray when we pray “Your kingdom come.”

• Click HERE to go to the page containing all the posts for this study on The Lord’s Prayer and Matthew’s Gospel