Reading With the People of God #12 - the Good Life预览

The Narrow and Wide Gates

Happy Good Friday! Today’s reading begins with 2 Kings 1, where the prophet Elijah denounces King Ahaziah of Israel. The prophet has nothing good to say about him. Ahaziah continues to allow both Jeroboam’s religion and Baalism to flourish. He dies seeking a prophetic word from “Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron.” He is no better than his mother and father, the people who remain the major influences in Israel. Idolatry continues to have a detrimental effect on the nation. When will we listen - there can be only One True God. Elijah called for a choice at Mt. Carmel - Yahweh or Baal. We must choose, too. God will not share worship with another.

In the reading of Matthew 7:13-14, we need to decide if Jesus is talking to the crowd or just His disciples. Is the narrow gate the path of salvation and the wide gate the path of lostness? Or are both gates for Kingdom citizens, meaning the narrow is the disciplined and dedicated life, with the wide meaning the undisciplined, worldly life? The word “enter” in v.13 is an imperative and carries the force of a command. The word for “narrow” is stenes, which simply means “pressed together, cramped.” In v. 14, the word for “narrow” is tethlimmene, which is normally translated as “afflicted” since it is a Greek word closely associated with persecution and/or opposition.

Does Jesus mean “life” in v. 14 is salvation or abundant Kingdom living? If the “wide gate” is directed to lost persons, then destruction is hell. But the word does not mean annihilation! If Jesus is speaking to believers, however, it means the destruction of their blessings and rewards. Either way, let’s all choose life! It’s narrow, but it’s right!

* Primer contributed by Brian Mott, Ministering Elder.

A Good Friday Prayer

Thank you, loving God, for sending to us your Son, Jesus,

for his redeeming death that we commemorate today,

that we might stand forgiven at the cross.

Thank you, loving God, for sending to us your Son, Jesus,

to whom we belong--body and soul, in life and in death--

and who bore our infirmities, carried our sorrows.

Thank you, loving God, for sending to us your Son, Jesus,

who became sin for us and suffered the punishment due to us,

that we might stand forgiven at the cross. Amen. *

* The Worship Sourcebook, Second Edition