The end of the Sermon on the Mount mirrors the beginning. Like the Beatitudes, it focuses on the characteristics of the citizens of the kingdom.¹ But here, Jesus described the actions of those on the road to eternal life and contrasted them with the actions of four groups heading in the wrong direction.²

The first group makes no pretense about following Jesus. They’re simply unbelievers traveling through life on the easiest road possible. The wide gate allows them to enter with as much baggage as they want. The broad road allows many to travel together comfortably, creating a false sense of security. But it’s the wrong gate and the wrong road, and at the end, they lead to destruction.

In contrast, those who take Jesus’s words seriously enter through the narrow gate of repentance. To fit through the gate, they must remove and leave behind all baggage of sin and worldly desires. Then they walk a road described as “compressed” or “constricted.” The Greek word comes from the verb meaning “to persecute.” The compressed road is the road of oppression and hardship, where every step is treacherous. Yet the road that few would choose is the road that leads to life.