The narrow gate, also called the narrow door, is referred to by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 7:13-14 and Luke 13:23-24. Jesus compares the narrow gate to the “broad road” which leads to destruction (hell) and says that “many” will be on that road. By contrast, Jesus says that “small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” What exactly is meant by this? Just how many are the “many” and how few are the “few”?
First, we need to understand that Jesus is the Door through which all must enter eternal life. There is no other way because He alone is “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). The way to eternal life is restricted to just one avenue—Christ. In this sense, the way is narrow because it is the only way, and relatively few people will go through the narrow gate. Many more will attempt to find an alternative route to God. They will try to get there through manmade rules and regulations, through false religion, or through self-effort. These who are “many” will follow the broad road that leads to eternal destruction, while the sheep hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow Him along the narrow way to eternal life (John 10:7-11).
While there will be relatively few who go through the narrow gate compared to the many on the broad road, there will still be multitudes who will follow the Good Shepherd. The apostle John saw this multitude in his vision in the book of Revelation: “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:9-10).
Entering the narrow gate is not easy. Jesus made this clear when He instructed His followers to “strive” to do so. The Greek word translated “strive” is agonizomai, from which we get the English word agonize. The implication here is that those who seek to enter the narrow gate must do so by struggle and strain, like a running athlete straining toward the finish line, all muscles taut and giving his all in the effort. But we must be clear here. No amount of effort saves us; salvation is by the grace of God through the gift of faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). No one will ever earn heaven by striving for it. But entering the narrow gate is still difficult because of the opposition of human pride, our natural love of sin, and the opposition of Satan and the world in his control, all of which battle against us in the pursuit of eternity.
The exhortation to strive to enter is a command to repent and enter the gate and not to just stand and look at it, think about it, complain that it’s too small or too difficult or unjustly narrow. We are not to ask why others are not entering; we are not to make excuses or delay. We are not to be concerned with the number who will or will not enter. We are to strive forward and enter! Then we are to exhort others to strive to enter before it’s too late.
这扇窄门究竟有多窄？
窄门，也称窄门，在马太福音7:13-14和路加福音13:23-24中，主耶稣都提到过。耶稣将窄门比作通往灭亡（地狱）的“宽路”，并说“许多人”会走这条路。与之相反，耶稣说：“引到永生，那门是窄的，路是小的，找着的人也少。” 这究竟是什么意思？“许多人”指的是多少人，“找着的人”指的是多少人？
首先，我们需要明白，耶稣是所有人进入永生的必经之门。别无他路，因为唯有祂是“道路、真理、生命”（约翰福音14:6）。通往永生的道路只有一条——基督。从这个意义上说，这条路是窄的，因为它是唯一的路，只有相对较少的人会走这条窄门。更多的人会试图寻找通往神的其他途径。 他们会试图通过人为的规章制度、虚假的宗教或自身的努力来达到目的。这些人“众多”，会走上通往永恒毁灭的宽路，而羊群则会聆听好牧人的声音，跟随他走上通往永生的窄路（约翰福音 10:7-11）。
虽然与走宽路的众多人相比，走窄门的人相对较少，但跟随好牧人的人仍然会很多。使徒约翰在启示录的异象中看到了这群人：“此后，我观看，见有许多人，没有人能数得过来，是从各国、各族、各民、各方来的，站在宝座和羔羊面前，身穿白衣，手拿棕树枝，大声喊着说：‘愿救恩归于坐在宝座上我们的神，也归于羔羊！’”（启示录 7:9-10）。
进入窄门并非易事。耶稣曾教导门徒要“竭力”进入窄门，这清楚地表明了这一点。译为“竭力”的希腊词是agonizomai，英语单词agonize（痛苦）就源于此。其含义是，那些寻求进入窄门的人必须像奔跑的运动员冲向终点线那样，拼尽全力，竭尽所能，努力奋斗。但我们必须明白，任何努力都无法拯救我们；救恩是出于神的恩典，藉着信心的恩赐（以弗所书2:8-9）。没有人能靠努力赢得天堂。然而，进入窄门仍然困难重重，因为有人的骄傲、我们天生对罪的喜爱，以及撒旦和他所掌控的世界的阻挠，所有这些都与我们争夺永生。
劝勉我们努力进入，就是命令我们悔改并进入那扇门，而不是仅仅站在那里看着它，思考它，抱怨它太小、太难或太窄。我们不应该问为什么别人不进去；我们不应该找借口或拖延。我们不应该在意有多少人会进去或不会进去。我们应当努力向前，进入！然后，我们也要劝勉别人，趁着还来得及，努力进入。
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