Matthew 7:13
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Context
Toward the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presents the first of several contrasts between two ways, two trees, and two builders, calling for decisive commitment.
What Does Matthew 7:13 Mean?
Jesus calls us to choose the narrow gate, because the easy, crowded road leads to ruin while the harder path leads to life. The word "strait" here means narrow or constricted, not "straight" -- a gate so small that one must be intentional to pass through it. Against it stands a wide gate and broad way, spacious and popular, requiring no decision and welcoming the crowd that drifts along it. Jesus is honest that the majority travel the easy road; popularity is no proof of being right. The narrow gate demands a deliberate choice, a turning, a willingness to follow Christ even when few walk alongside. This is a command, not merely an observation: "Enter ye in." The image confronts the comfortable assumption that we will end well simply by going with the flow. Two roads diverge, and they end in opposite destinations -- destruction or life. The verse presses each hearer to count the cost and choose the way of Christ deliberately, rather than be carried by the momentum of the many.
In the Original Language
The Greek stenos means "narrow" or "constricted," which the older English "strait" preserves; it describes a tight, demanding entrance.
Cross References
“Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.”
- Luke 13:24
“I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:”
- Deuteronomy 30:19
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
- Proverbs 14:12
Application
Choose the way of Christ deliberately, even when it is unpopular, rather than drifting along the easier path most people take.