Answer
Jesus Christ used a metaphor of two roads to illustrate the choice between living a godly life and a worldly life: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13–14). Jesus calls godly living that leads to life a narrow road for two reasons. There is only one way to heaven—through Jesus (John 14:6; Acts 4:12)—and the ethical demands of God’s kingdom are explicit and uncompromising. Jesus refers to worldly living that leads to destruction as a broad road because godlessness and unrighteousness have countless manifestations.
The context of Jesus’ teaching about the broad road that leads to destruction is the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in Matthew 5—7. In this sermon Jesus describes what righteous living entails for those in the kingdom of God (Matthew 4:17, 23). After teaching about internal virtue (Matthew 6:1–18), He provides instruction on external virtue. For example, followers of Jesus are to treat others as they want to be treated (Matthew 7:12–14). Jesus then encourages His followers to commit to this way of life even though it’s more demanding than the unrighteous worldly alternative.
Encouraging people to live for God instead of the world is an important biblical theme rooted in the Old Testament. Although Deuteronomy 30:19 doesn’t use the imagery of roads, it clearly presents two choices: “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.” Psalm 1:6 makes a similar point using the imagery of two paths: “For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction” (also see Proverbs 28:6 and Jeremiah 21:8). Describing an individual’s choice as between living for God and living for the world highlights that there is no third option.
In His use of the metaphor, Jesus added that the road of godly living is narrow, while the road of worldly living is broad (Matthew 7:14). To understand the broad road, it’s helpful to understand the narrow road. The godly way is narrow, not only because there is only one way to heaven, but because its ethical demands are harder. For example, Jesus not only affirmed that adultery is sin but added that looking at another person with lust is just as wrong (Matthew 5:27–30). Similarly, murdering someone is sin, but so is harboring improper anger (Matthew 5:21–22). Moreover, the narrow road is smaller because it contains fewer travelers. As Jesus said, many are invited, but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14; Luke 13:23–24).
Meanwhile, the worldly road that leads to destruction is broad because unrighteousness has innumerable expressions. When people reject Jesus and the ethics of His kingdom, they replace His morals with their own self-made virtues. The implication of Jesus saying “only a few find” the narrow road is that most people choose the broad road of worldliness that is marked by self-righteous living. The result of this choice is stated in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”
The righteous living that Jesus calls His followers to often means choosing what is difficult over what is easy, thus living contrary to the norms of a world permeated by sin (Mark 10:30; John 16:33). Paul emphasized this principle on his first missionary journey when he was stoned and left for dead for preaching the gospel in Lystra. After his miraculous healing, with great transparency, Paul encouraged the converts to remain faithful: “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). The cost of choosing the narrow road and rejecting the broad one is worthwhile, for the narrow road is the only one that leads to eternal life with God (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).
