THE GATE AND THE GARDEN

Jesus’ choice of the image of a gate for his metaphor in this passage is not random. This would have been a familiar concept to the Jewish people going all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Gates or doors symbolized a point of decision between life and death, good and evil, prosperity and destruction and were used throughout the Old Testament:

• Genesis 3:24 - after Adam and Eve choose not to trust God by eating from the Tree of Life, God places a cherubim and a flaming sword to guard the east entrance to the Garden protecting the Tree of Life.
• Genesis 4:6-7 - Adam and Eve have been banished from the Garden and their son Cain is approached by God with a similar question to the one Jesus poses in Matthew 7. Cain chooses His own path and it leads to disaster.
• Genesis 6:13-19 - Noah is told to put a door on the ark for his family and the animals, separating them from death and ruin.
• Genesis 19:9-11 - Lot is saved by angels when they protect him behind a door, on the other side of which is a mob overcome by sin.
• Exodus 12:7 - When God spares the Israelites in Egypt from the plague of death, his angel passes over their homes when it sees the blood of a lamb over the frame of their doors.
• Exodus 40:33 - When God gives instructions to the Israelites to build the Tabernacle he tells them to include a gate (also translated curtain) to the courtyard which will mark the entrance to the place where God’s presence dwells - where they can come to be made right with Him.

Since the fall of man to sin, there has been a gate between us and God. The gate is a choice. Will we choose life? It seems like an easy answer, but we all know the path is often more difficult than we think.

Take a few moments to pray, honestly reflect, and journal on the following questions.

• What gates of decision are in front of me right now?
• In what areas of my life am I wrestling with whether to choose God’s way or my own?
• What doors do I need to shut to protect myself from a destructive path?
• What does the gate to life look like for me in this season?
• What invitation is God giving me?