The Small Gate & the Narrow Road
"Enter through the small gate. For large is the gate, and wide is the road that leads through to ruin, and many are those who travel along it. For small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and few are they who discover it." - Matay (Matthew) 7:13-14
There are many religious paths, some larger than others. The speaker above is Rabbi Yeshua Natzraya and his religion is Judaism. But he was referring to an even narrower slice of Judaism, his own sect of the Nazarenes – the Keepers of the true faith. At the time he only had a handful of disciples. He started with 12 which grew to at least 5000 when he he fed them all from a single serving of bread and fish. But then most of those turned away. Then great crowds of supports swell upon his last visit to Jerusalem and then many turned away upon his death. History shows that the numbers have grown and fallen between seasons of persecution and spoilage.
Today Judaism has about 7 million adherents or 1/10th of 1% of the world population. That's still very small. Judaism is further divided into denominations or sects. But the sect of the Nazarenes only comprises of about 300 persons. That would make the Nazarenes virtually the smallest gate and narrowest path in the world at this time. But don't let the small number of Nazarenes in the world discourage you from following the Nazarene way.
"For you are a select people unto YHWH your God. YHWH your God has chosen you to be a special people for Himself, above all people who are upon the face of the earth. YHWH did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because you were greater in number than any other people, for you were the fewest of all people:" - Debarim (Deuteronomy) 7:7
It may seem strange how billions of people have read or heard the bible which describes the Nazarene way. So how does it remain yet undiscovered and unfulfilled? How can so many people hear about it and not embrace it?
"Anyone who hears the concept of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away the concept, that was planted in his heart. This is that seed which was planted along the side of the road. Now that seed, which was planted upon the rocks, is he who hears the concept, and within the hour gladly accepts it. Now he has no root in him but for a season. And when hardship or persecution comes, because of this concept, he quickly weakens. Now he who was planted among the thorns, is he who hears the concept, and the concerns of this world, and the deception of wealth choke the concept, and he becomes unfruitful. Now he who was planted in the good area is he who hears my concept, and understands, and gives fruit, and some produce a hundredfold, and some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold." - Matay (Matthew) 13:19-23
So it is being presented to plenty of people but they are a little hard of hearing or the message just doesn't reach the heart. But this doesn't stop them from convincing themselves that they are followers when really they are just fans.
"Not everyone who says to me, My master, my master, will enter into the kingdom of heaven, except those who do the will of my Father, Who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, My master, my master, in your name we have prophesied, and in your name we have exorcised demons, and in your name we have performed many powerful things. And then I will inform them, I have never known you. GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU WORKERS OF EVIL!" - Matay (Matthew) 7:21-23
God has done some amazing things with small numbers. For example Gideon assembled an army of 32,000 men, but upon testing found only 300 were qualified. With God's blessing Gideon led those 300 to victory over the Midianite enemy camp without having lost a single man or even having to fight.
Likewise today, there are some 30,000+ posing to be Nazarenes (of the Torah observant variety), but upon testing we find that only 300 could properly be called such. There is also a 1,000,000 member modern Christian denomination (The Church of the Nazarene) colloquially called “Nazarenes” that have no aspirations to be Torah observant. Another 7 million Nazarenes in the orient who are descendents of the faithful but who compromised and corrupted their faith centuries ago. None of these should be counted.
"Enter through the small gate. For large is the gate, and wide is the road that leads through to ruin, and many are those who travel along it. For small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and few are they who discover it." - Matay (Matthew) 7:13-14
There are many religious paths, some larger than others. The speaker above is Rabbi Yeshua Natzraya and his religion is Judaism. But he was referring to an even narrower slice of Judaism, his own sect of the Nazarenes – the Keepers of the true faith. At the time he only had a handful of disciples. He started with 12 which grew to at least 5000 when he he fed them all from a single serving of bread and fish. But then most of those turned away. Then great crowds of supports swell upon his last visit to Jerusalem and then many turned away upon his death. History shows that the numbers have grown and fallen between seasons of persecution and spoilage.
Today Judaism has about 7 million adherents or 1/10th of 1% of the world population. That's still very small. Judaism is further divided into denominations or sects. But the sect of the Nazarenes only comprises of about 300 persons. That would make the Nazarenes virtually the smallest gate and narrowest path in the world at this time. But don't let the small number of Nazarenes in the world discourage you from following the Nazarene way.
"For you are a select people unto YHWH your God. YHWH your God has chosen you to be a special people for Himself, above all people who are upon the face of the earth. YHWH did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because you were greater in number than any other people, for you were the fewest of all people:" - Debarim (Deuteronomy) 7:7
It may seem strange how billions of people have read or heard the bible which describes the Nazarene way. So how does it remain yet undiscovered and unfulfilled? How can so many people hear about it and not embrace it?
"Anyone who hears the concept of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away the concept, that was planted in his heart. This is that seed which was planted along the side of the road. Now that seed, which was planted upon the rocks, is he who hears the concept, and within the hour gladly accepts it. Now he has no root in him but for a season. And when hardship or persecution comes, because of this concept, he quickly weakens. Now he who was planted among the thorns, is he who hears the concept, and the concerns of this world, and the deception of wealth choke the concept, and he becomes unfruitful. Now he who was planted in the good area is he who hears my concept, and understands, and gives fruit, and some produce a hundredfold, and some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold." - Matay (Matthew) 13:19-23
So it is being presented to plenty of people but they are a little hard of hearing or the message just doesn't reach the heart. But this doesn't stop them from convincing themselves that they are followers when really they are just fans.
"Not everyone who says to me, My master, my master, will enter into the kingdom of heaven, except those who do the will of my Father, Who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, My master, my master, in your name we have prophesied, and in your name we have exorcised demons, and in your name we have performed many powerful things. And then I will inform them, I have never known you. GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU WORKERS OF EVIL!" - Matay (Matthew) 7:21-23
God has done some amazing things with small numbers. For example Gideon assembled an army of 32,000 men, but upon testing found only 300 were qualified. With God's blessing Gideon led those 300 to victory over the Midianite enemy camp without having lost a single man or even having to fight.
Likewise today, there are some 30,000+ posing to be Nazarenes (of the Torah observant variety), but upon testing we find that only 300 could properly be called such. There is also a 1,000,000 member modern Christian denomination (The Church of the Nazarene) colloquially called “Nazarenes” that have no aspirations to be Torah observant. Another 7 million Nazarenes in the orient who are descendents of the faithful but who compromised and corrupted their faith centuries ago. None of these should be counted.
Now if we take a closer look at the thin slice of Judaism and its main sects, we see that Natzari Judaism is just a narrow slice of the already small pie – less than 1%. Certainly this path is one that few will discover.
Now Nazarenes are not small because we are new like some religions. There have been many factors throughout history working to suppress the growth of this sect. Unlike other religions, Nazarenes have rarely enjoyed the support of national governments and empires.
Yeshua's metaphor of the mustard seed describes the incredible potential for the Nazarene family to grow. However upon reaching a significant size the mustard shrub attracts birds and this is where the trouble begins. Farmers do not welcome the presence of birds because they tend to destroy crops and gardens (Matay/Matthew 13:4). The mustard herb if left unchecked could become a serious nuisance as a pervasive weed. For this reason the Nazarenes are attacked and diminished, but regrow quickly again when conditions are favourable.
Are we allowed to be anything more than the smallest? The answer is yes! There are no arbitrary limitations. We have the potential to be much larger, but with that exponential growth may increase persecution (Marqos 10:30). Even so, we should not let those challenges hold back our efforts to increase our presence in the world, which is the kingdom.
Although Christians all identify with the narrow gate spoken of in the gospels Christianity represents the widest path and largest gate of all time. Many discover it and come to spiritual ruin.
We know that size isn't everything. The right path must also be the righteous path. So more importantly, is Christianity the path that the messiah walked? How can he walk the Christian path if he was not a Christian? How can a Christian walking a different path, be following the messiah?
"He who says, I am in him, ought to walk just as he walked.” - Yuhanan 1 (1 John) 2:6
His walk is well documented. The messiah was clearly a Jew, a respected Rabbi, his faith is Judaism. He is called Yeshua Natzraya or more commonly Jesus the Nazarene. He is a Nazarene and his disciples are Nazarenes. They were never known as “Christians” in their lifetime. Christians took a different path and later they inserted their name into their version of the new testament.
Yeshua the messiah is the small gate, the real messiah and not some misrepresentation of which there are many. And the narrow road is the Nazarene way of life, our faith.
"Yëshuå answered and said to them, Be careful to not let any man deceive you. For many will come in my name and will say, I am the anointed one, and they will deceive many.” - Matthew 24:4-5
“For if he who came to you had presented to you another Yeshua whom we did not present or you had received another spirit that you had not received for another message that you had not accepted, you would have been persuaded as much.” - 2 Qorintaya (Corinthians) 11:4
If you are reading this page, then you have found the small gate and the narrow road. Congratulations!
Now Nazarenes are not small because we are new like some religions. There have been many factors throughout history working to suppress the growth of this sect. Unlike other religions, Nazarenes have rarely enjoyed the support of national governments and empires.
Yeshua's metaphor of the mustard seed describes the incredible potential for the Nazarene family to grow. However upon reaching a significant size the mustard shrub attracts birds and this is where the trouble begins. Farmers do not welcome the presence of birds because they tend to destroy crops and gardens (Matay/Matthew 13:4). The mustard herb if left unchecked could become a serious nuisance as a pervasive weed. For this reason the Nazarenes are attacked and diminished, but regrow quickly again when conditions are favourable.
Are we allowed to be anything more than the smallest? The answer is yes! There are no arbitrary limitations. We have the potential to be much larger, but with that exponential growth may increase persecution (Marqos 10:30). Even so, we should not let those challenges hold back our efforts to increase our presence in the world, which is the kingdom.
Although Christians all identify with the narrow gate spoken of in the gospels Christianity represents the widest path and largest gate of all time. Many discover it and come to spiritual ruin.
We know that size isn't everything. The right path must also be the righteous path. So more importantly, is Christianity the path that the messiah walked? How can he walk the Christian path if he was not a Christian? How can a Christian walking a different path, be following the messiah?
"He who says, I am in him, ought to walk just as he walked.” - Yuhanan 1 (1 John) 2:6
His walk is well documented. The messiah was clearly a Jew, a respected Rabbi, his faith is Judaism. He is called Yeshua Natzraya or more commonly Jesus the Nazarene. He is a Nazarene and his disciples are Nazarenes. They were never known as “Christians” in their lifetime. Christians took a different path and later they inserted their name into their version of the new testament.
Yeshua the messiah is the small gate, the real messiah and not some misrepresentation of which there are many. And the narrow road is the Nazarene way of life, our faith.
"Yëshuå answered and said to them, Be careful to not let any man deceive you. For many will come in my name and will say, I am the anointed one, and they will deceive many.” - Matthew 24:4-5
“For if he who came to you had presented to you another Yeshua whom we did not present or you had received another spirit that you had not received for another message that you had not accepted, you would have been persuaded as much.” - 2 Qorintaya (Corinthians) 11:4
If you are reading this page, then you have found the small gate and the narrow road. Congratulations!