SEV Biblia, Chapter 7:13
Entrad por la puerta estrecha: porque el camino que lleva a perdicin es ancho y espacioso; y los que van por l, son muchos.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Matthew 7:13
Verse 13. Enter ye in at the strait gate] Our saviour seems to allude here to the distinction between the public and private ways mentioned by the Jewish lawyers. The public roads were allowed to be sixteen cubits broad, the private ways only four. The words in the original are very emphatic: Enter in (to the kingdom of heaven) through THIS strait gate, dia thv stenhv pulhv, i.e. of doing to every one as you would he should do unto you; for this alone seems to be the strait gate which our Lord alludes to. For wide is the gate] And very broad, eurucwrov, from euruv, broad, and cwrov, a place, a spacious roomy place, that leadeth forward, apagousa, into THAT destruction, eiv thn apwleian, meaning eternal misery; intimating, that it is much more congenial, to the revengeful, covetous heart of fallen man, to take every advantage of another, and to enrich himself at his expense, rather than to walk according to the rule laid down before, by our blessed Lord, and that acting contrary to it is the way to everlasting misery. With those who say it means repentance, and forsaking sin, I can have no controversy. That is certainly a gate, and a strait one too, through which every sinner must turn to God, in order to find salvation. But the doing to every one as we would they should do unto us, is a gate extremely strait, and very difficult, to every unregenerate mind.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 13. Enter ye in at the strait gate , etc.] By the strait gate is meant Christ himself; who elsewhere calls himself the door, ( John 10:7-9) as he is into the church below, and into all the ordinances and privileges of it; as also to the Father, by whom we have access unto him, and are let into communion with him, and a participation of all the blessings of grace; yea, he is the gate of heaven, through which we have boldness to enter into the holiest of all by faith and hope now; as there will be hereafter an abundant entrance into the kingdom and glory of God, through his blood and righteousness. This is called strait; because faith in Christ, a profession of it, and a life and conversation agreeable to it, are attended with many afflictions, temptations, reproaches, and persecutions. Entering in at it is by faith, and making a profession of it: hence it follows, that faith is not the gate itself, but the grace, by which men enter in at the right door, and walk on in Christ, as they begin with him. For wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction ; so that the one may be easily known from the other. There is no difficulty in finding out, or entering in at, or walking in the way of sin, which leads to eternal ruin. The gate of carnal lusts, and worldly pleasures, stands wide open, and many there be which go in thereat ; even all men in a state of nature; the way of the ungodly is broad, smooth, easy, and every way agreeable to the flesh; it takes in a large compass of vices, and has in it abundance of company; but its end is destruction. Our Lord seems to allude to the private and public roads, whose measures are fixed by the Jewish canons; which say f477 , that a private way was four cubits broad, a way from city to city eight cubits, a public way sixteen cubits, and the way to the cities of refuge thirty two cubits.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 12-14 - Christ came to teach us, not only what we are to know and believe, but what we are to do; not only toward God, but toward men; not only towar those of our party and persuasion, but toward men in general, all with whom we have to do. We must do that to our neighbour which we ourselve acknowledge to be fit and reasonable. We must, in our dealings with men, suppose ourselves in the same case and circumstances with those we have to do with, and act accordingly. There are but two ways right an wrong, good and evil; the way to heaven and the way to hell; in the on or other of these all are walking: there is no middle place hereafter no middle way now. All the children of men are saints or sinners, godl or ungodly. See concerning the way of sin and sinners, that the gate i wide, and stands open. You may go in at this gate with all your lust about you; it gives no check to appetites or passions. It is a broa way; there are many paths in it; there is choice of sinful ways. Ther is a large company in this way. But what profit is there in being willing to go to hell with others, because they will not go to heave with us? The way to eternal life is narrow. We are not in heaven a soon as we are got through the strait gate. Self must be denied, the body kept under, and corruptions mortified. Daily temptations must be resisted; duties must be done. We must watch in all things, and wal with care; and we must go through much tribulation. And yet this wa should invite us all; it leads to life: to present comfort in the favour of God, which is the life of the soul; to eternal bliss, the hope of which at the end of our way, should make all the difficultie of the road easy to us. This plain declaration of Christ has bee disregarded by many who have taken pains to explain it away; but in all ages the real disciple of Christ has been looked on as a singular unfashionable character; and all that have sided with the greate number, have gone on in the broad road to destruction. If we woul serve God, we must be firm in our religion. Can we often hear of the strait gate and the narrow way, and how few there are that find it without being in pain for ourselves, or considering whether we ar entered on the narrow way, and what progress we are making in it?
Greek Textus Receptus
εισελθετε 1525 5628 V-2AAM-2P δια 1223 PREP της 3588 T-GSF στενης 4728 A-GSF πυλης 4439 N-GSF οτι 3754 CONJ πλατεια 4116 A-NSF η 3588 T-NSF πυλη 4439 N-NSF και 2532 CONJ ευρυχωρος 2149 A-NSF η 3588 T-NSF οδος 3598 N-NSF η 3588 T-NSF απαγουσα 520 5723 V-PAP-NSF εις 1519 PREP την 3588 T-ASF απωλειαν 684 N-ASF και 2532 CONJ πολλοι 4183 A-NPM εισιν 1526 5748 V-PXI-3P οι 3588 T-NPM εισερχομενοι 1525 5740 V-PNP-NPM δι 1223 PREP αυτης 846 P-GSF
Vincent's NT Word Studies
13. Strait gate (stenhv pulhv). Rev., narrow. A remarkable parallel to this passage occurs in the "Pinax" or "Tablet" of Cebes, a writer contemporary with Socrates. In this, human life, with its dangers and temptations, is symbolically represented as on a tablet. The passage is as follows: "Seest thou not, then, a little door, and a way before the door, which is not much crowded, but very few travel it? This is the way which leadeth into true culture."Leadeth (apagousa). Lit., leadeth away, from death, or, perhaps, from the broad road. Note that the gate is not at the end, but at the beginning of the road.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
7:13 {By the narrow gate} (dia tes stenes pules). The Authorized Version "at the strait gate" misled those who did not distinguish between "strait" and "straight." The figure of the Two Ways had a wide circulation in Jewish and Christian writings (cf. #De 30:19; Jer 21:8; Ps 1). See the _Didache_ i-vi; Barnabas xviii-xx. "The narrow gate" is repeated in verse #14 and {straitened the way} (teqlimmene he hodos) added. The way is "compressed," narrowed as in a defile between high rocks, a tight place like stenocwria in #Ro 8:35. "The way that leads to life involves straits and afflictions" (McNeile). Vincent quotes the _Pinax_ or _Tablet_ of Cebes, a contemporary of Socrates: "Seest thou not, qen, a little door, and a way before the door, which is not much crowded, but very few travel it? this is the way that leadeth unto true culture."The broad way" (euruch"ros) is in every city, town, village, with the glaring white lights that lure to destruction.
