The next two verses deserve a little explanation.
The path to destruction and the path to life both have a gate and a way. The gate represents the entrance onto the path; which, in reality, is the decision each one of us makes about what direction our life will take. The way is our course of conduct. Once we decide which direction we’re going, we continue making decisions that will keep us on that course.
On the path to destruction Jesus describes the gate as wide and the way as broad. This is the way well traveled; most people go this way (“many there be that go in thereat”). This way is the way of popular opinion (Proverbs 14:12). The very reason we have so many Christian groups and denominations today is because people have always crafted their religion to fit their own needs and desires. They want serving God to be easy, enjoyable and profitable. But, when we examine the lives of Christ and others in the early church, we see that serving God was difficult, full of adversity and far from profitable in a material sense.
In this verse Jesus is describing a gate that is wide enough to accommodate the majority of people who choose to go their own direction; and a way that was spacious or unrestricting, allowing them to travel in relative comfort. Most of the Jews in Jesus’ day rejected him and stayed on the course they had chosen with their own religious system (Hebrews 3:10). In Christianity the same is true today.
On the path to life the gate is strait and the way is narrow. These terms suggest that the path to life is strenuous; both terms are specific. The word “strait” (stenos) means “difficult due to obstacles in the way”, a picture of opposition; “narrow” (thlibo) means “narrow due to pressure”, a picture of adversity. In other words, the gate to life is full of opposition and the way to life is full of adversity.
Therefore, entering the gate to life requires the courage necessary to break away from the masses, who have chosen the way of least resistance; and traveling the way to life demands the sacrifice and self-denial necessary to enter a life of suffering (Romans 8:16,17; II Timothy 3:12; I Peter 2:21-23; 4:1,2).
In these next verses Jesus warns against the false motives of religious leaders. You only have to turn to religious TV channels to see these guys at work.
The term “false prophet” (pseudoprophetes) is literally “one who pretends to hear from God, but deceives with lies”. Jesus identifies these false prophets as those who come in sheep’s clothing, meaning they are a part of the community of believers or members of the flock. However, “sheep’s clothing” is only a description of their outward appearance. They look like Christians. But their sincerity is certainly in question; because, he says, “inwardly they are ravening wolves”.
It is this inward description that reveals the true nature of the false prophet. The word “ravening” (harpax) is translated “extortioner” in I Corinthians 5:10,11; where there are strict instructions by Paul for those in the church to avoid all contact with such. An extortioner is someone who gets something from someone else through the use of force, deception or manipulation. Here Jesus is describing the false prophet as a fierce predator, who comes into the flock looking like one of the sheep; but their intention is to take advantage of their appearance to deceive the sheep and ultimately satisfy their own selfish instincts.
Their goal is not to be a part of the community, working in mutual cooperation with others to benefit that community. Their purpose is not to minister to the needs of others. Their motives are purely personal. What they say and what they do is all calculated to gain something for themselves, whether it is material profit, influence or control (usually all three). These are people who pretend to hear from God, but their message is self-serving.
In these verses Jesus treats the whole question of false prophets as a character issue. Good fruit only comes from good trees; likewise, evil fruit only comes from corrupt trees. The word “good” (kalos) means “constitutionally good”. In other words, it is the constitution or make-up of the tree that determines what kind of fruit it will produce. In this instance, it is the character of the person that determines what kind of prophecy he or she is going to give. If the person is good on the inside, what they say and the result of what they say will be good. Kalos is also used to describe something that is in harmony, a picture of someone who is in partnership with the Holy Spirit and submitted to his leadership.
The word “evil” (poneros) illustrates two aspects of a person’s inward make-up and both are pertinent to this discussion: 1. it is evil in a moral sense (malicious, condemning and selfish); and 2. it is evil in a spiritual sense (reprobate, espousing error; and iniquitous, promoting sin). Here is a comprehensive, destructive force. Those in the church who look and act like true believers, but in reality are destroying the sheep with their deception and error.
Paul gives a warning against false prophets in Ephesians 5:6, where he says that those who deceive with “vain” words will experience the wrath of God reserved for those who practice such disobedience. In this verse the word “vain” means “without the Holy Spirit”, and is sometimes simply translated “evil”. We will look more closely at this when we examine verses 21-23 in the next lesson where Jesus speaks specifically about judgment.
What is the function of a true prophet?