Walking the Wide Road of Misuse of Matthew 7:13–14 and Luke 13:22–25
Many homilists and other Catholic and Christian preachers greatly misuse the Parable of the Narrow and Wide Road leading to the respective sized gates (Matthew 7: 13–14) or doors (Luke 13:22–25).
Near the end of the Sermon of the Mount in Matthew, Jesus exhorts his listeners to walk the narrow road leading to the narrow gate for wide is the road that leads to perdition. The obvious point of the road is that it is less used.
Unfortunately, many preachers use it in the context of sin. So, the sinful person will walk the wide road to the respective gate and be one of an overwhelming multitude proverbially traveling it. If you study this passage carefully, you will see little having to do with this common interpretation. In fact, in Matthew, the phrase follows Jesus' admonition to live the Golden Rule — treating others as we would want to be treated. This is the key to entering the narrow gate. In Luke, it is the rich who cannot enter through the narrow door.
Luke places the phrase in the answer to the question will many be saved. Jesus says to strive to enter through the narrow door without defining what that means. This scenario follows a passage of healing a crippled woman on the Sabbath where the pharisees condemn him. So, to enter through the narrow gate, we must treat others…
