Reflections from Matthew 7:13–14

Over recent weeks at Village Church Devonport, we have been journeying through a series called Deep Calls to Deep — an invitation to move beyond comfortable Christianity and into a deeper life of surrender, obedience and genuine discipleship.

This past Sunday, I had the opportunity to share from Matthew 7:13–14, reflecting on Jesus’ words about the narrow road and the uncomfortable, but necessary, challenge of asking ourselves whether we are truly living as followers of Christ according to His Word.

At its heart, this series has been an invitation to move beyond surface-level faith and into something deeper with God. Deeper trust. Deeper surrender. Deeper obedience. A deeper walk with Jesus that moves beyond simply believing the right things and begins shaping every part of how we live.

Yet perhaps one of the most confronting realities of the Christian life is this: going deeper with God has never simply been about what we know. It has always been about how willing we are to surrender more of ourselves to Him.

As I reflected on Jesus’ words in Matthew 7, I found myself wrestling with a deeply uncomfortable thought.

I sometimes wonder whether one of the greatest dangers facing the modern church is not that people reject Jesus altogether. It may actually be that many people have learned how to live around Jesus… without truly following Him.

We know how to attend church.

We know how to sing worship songs.

We know Christian language.

We know how to build lives that externally look Christian.

And yet beneath all of that sits a question I believe Jesus continues to ask every generation of believers:

Are you actually following Me?

In Matthew 7:13–14, Jesus presents a confronting picture of discipleship. He describes two roads — one broad, easy and crowded, the other narrow, difficult and far less travelled.

Too often these verses are read simply as a statement about eternity — heaven and hell — and while eternity certainly matters, the deeper context tells us something far more immediate.

These words come at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus spends three chapters describing what life in the Kingdom of God actually looks like.

Love your enemies.
Forgive those who hurt you.
Seek first the Kingdom.
Reject hypocrisy.
Pray with sincerity.
Treat others the way you would want to be treated.

And after teaching all of this, Jesus brings His listeners to a moment of decision.

Not theological agreement.

Not religious activity.

Not admiration of His teaching.

But a choice.

Will you actually live this way?

At the centre of all of this sits one foundational truth.

When asked what mattered most, Jesus pointed to two commands: love God completely, and love your neighbour as yourself.

The narrow road begins there.

Not religion.

Not performance.

But love.

Wholehearted surrender toward God, and a life increasingly shaped by love for others.

During the message, I reflected on walking the Western Arthurs here in Tasmania, particularly arriving at the breathtaking view of Lake Oberon. From the photos alone, it looks extraordinary — peaceful, beautiful, almost effortless.

But anyone who has experienced that walk knows the reality is very different.

Getting there is brutal — steep ridgelines, heavy packs, endless mud, exhaustion, and moments where every part of you wants to turn back.

And perhaps that is exactly the point.

Places of extraordinary beauty are rarely reached by accident.

They sit on the other side of difficulty.

You choose the hard road to get there.

And yet when you finally arrive, standing there taking in the beauty of that place, you realise the journey was worth every difficult step.

Perhaps Jesus is saying something similar about discipleship.

The broad road is comfortable.

It asks very little.

But the narrow road costs us something.

So what does walking the narrow road actually look like?

1. Live for Others

Matthew 25

Following Jesus fundamentally changes how we respond to people around us.

One of the striking realities of Jesus’ life is who He consistently moved toward — the poor, the broken, the vulnerable, the forgotten, and the outsider.

In Matthew 25, Jesus says that when we feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, and care for those who are suffering, we are doing it unto Him.

That should deeply challenge us.

The broad road naturally turns inward.

The narrow road pushes us outward.

Toward compassion.

Toward sacrifice.

Toward people who may never be able to give anything back.

Authentic discipleship cannot remain indifferent to suffering.

2. Die to Self

Luke 9:23

The broad road asks very little of us.

It allows us to preserve comfort, avoid sacrifice, and follow Jesus only when it is convenient.

But Jesus says clearly in Luke 9:23:

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

Following Jesus has never been about convenience.

It is surrender.

It is dying to self repeatedly.

Perhaps one of the great misconceptions of modern Christianity is believing we can genuinely follow Jesus without it costing us something.

The narrow road has always been costly.

3. Become Like Christ

Galatians 2:20

Perhaps one of the greatest challenges facing the church today is that Christianity has become information, while discipleship is transformation.

Somewhere along the way, many of us have confused knowing about Jesus with actually becoming like Jesus.

Paul writes in Galatians 2:20:

“It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”

The deepest question of discipleship is not whether we carry Christian beliefs.

It is not whether we attend church.

It is not whether we know theology.

The deeper question is whether our lives increasingly reflect Christ Himself.

The narrow road is not one big decision.

It is a thousand daily decisions.

Will I trust Him today?

Will I surrender today?

Will I choose humility today?

Will I love people well today?

Will I become more like Christ today?

Jesus said narrow is the road and few find it — not because the invitation is exclusive, but because surrender is costly.

So perhaps the question we all need to wrestle with is this:

If following Jesus has never required anything of us… are we walking the road He actually called us to?

Jesus did not ask for admiration.

He asked for surrender.

He did not ask for agreement.

He asked for obedience.

He did not ask for religious activity.

He asked for discipleship.

So the question remains:

What road are we walking?

Because the broad road is easy.

But Jesus says life is found somewhere else.

And that road…

Is narrow.