Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD, through which the righteous shall enter.
Psalm 118:19-20
In the ancient world, real security could only be found in walled cities. Marauding raiders regularly burned villages and plundered farms, but were kept out by tall, thick walls. However, the walls were useless if the city gates were weak and undefended.
The gates were a traveler’s first indication of what kind of place they were entering. If the gates were massive, made of durable materials, had a drawbridge, and were surrounded by towers, the city was strong. Beautiful gates that were aesthetically pleasing conveyed a city’s culture or religion.
Soldiers, customs officials, and judges sat inside the gates to screen for undesirables, regulate trade, and settle problems. Historically, these gates were not open doors that allowed indiscriminate passage, but were processing centers that determined who was worthy to enter.
In Matthew 7:13-14, the Lord Jesus teaches: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
The world is like a wide-mouthed funnel that takes in everyone from all walks of life. Once inside, each is squeezed into the world’s mold, and the outcome for everyone is the same destruction.
Now, if you turn that funnel around, you have an illustration of Jesus, the narrow gate. You enter it by faith, by agreeing with Christ. You throw out all your contradictory philosophies and lifestyles and simply follow Jesus. What starts off seeming to be very narrow and restrictive suddenly opens up into great freedom and opportunity.
It’s interesting that the New Jerusalem (i.e., heaven) has twelve gates. In a very real sense, each one of those is the Savior, the Gate of the LORD, through which the righteous shall enter.
June 22
