The Many AND the Few
October 16, 2018
There must be some cultural phenomenon where men who watch football also drink beer, because if you watch football, you can’t help but notice the new Bud Light commercials. The magnanimous king enters the draft house and says, “Barkeep, Bud Light for everyone.” One outcast subject sitting alone at a table says, “I prefer a mead.” The slightly frustrated king sighs and says, “Barkeep, Bud Light for everyone, and a mead.” The subject then asks if the mead is “autumnal.” This is too much for the king. His patience at an end, he has the subject put outside in the stocks, returns to the draft house and orders the barkeep to cancel that mead. Then comes the slogan, “Bud Light, for the many, not the few.” Anheuser Busch produces 125 million barrels of beer annually. The company spent $154B on advertising in 2017. Their target audience is clearly not the craft beer consumer. Their beer is mass produced for the multitudes. It is for the many, not the few.
Jesus used those same words to describe who would enter into the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus said “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” When Jesus walked the earth, He preached the gospel to the many. In fact He preached to everyone. He spoke truth about who He was. He said God was His Father and that He and His Father are one. He said He came from heaven to do His Father’s will. He backed up His words with miracles. He invited everyone to be part of His Father’s Kingdom. Sadly, most people rejected His invitation. He said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” The gospel is for the many, but will only be received by the few.
What did Jesus mean by the “narrow gate” and the “wide gate.” The narrow gate represents the gospel that saves. It is simply this: Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead. Those who believe that and have trusted in Jesus for their salvation enter into the kingdom of heaven. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Why is that gate narrow? Out of necessity. Most don’t have a doorway in their homes that are wider than 36” because that’s as wide as it needs to be. The narrow gate is narrow because only few will find it.
The wide gate represents every other attempted means to get to heaven. It is also wide out of necessity because so many will use it. Some people think they can get to heaven by being “good.” They write their own definition of “good” and try to follow it. They believe their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds, and think they have earned a place in heaven, as if God owes it them. Or they compare themselves to others as if God grades on a curve, and think they have earned a place in heaven by being “better” by comparison. But the Bible says, “No one is good. Not one.” Others believe in a God of love who will allow everyone into heaven. Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is given to men once to die, and then the judgment.” Jesus said that when He comes again, He will separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep enter the kingdom because they have received Jesus as their savior. The goats do not enter, because they did not receive Jesus as their savior. Others have been deceived. They have followed after false gods or cult leaders believing that salvation is found there. Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Branch Dividians and many others fall into this category.
The sad thing is that many of these people believe that they are pleasing God. Jesus said in Matthew 7:21: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” What is the will of the Father? That they believe in His Son Jesus. We see now why the road that leads to destruction is so wide. So many people are pushing and shoving trying to enter through it that it has to be wide. It doesn’t have to be that way. The Bible says, “God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son that whoever shall believe in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” It’s so simple to find the narrow gate. “Believe in Him.” That’s it. As Christians, it is our duty to help people find the narrow gate. Who can you help find the narrow gate today? The gospel is for the many and the few. DILLY DILLY!
