BibleProject Guide
The Choice
About
In the 1st century, an Israelite rabbi named Jesus of Nazareth begins a movement that he says fulfills the Torah and Prophets, which are his ancient Scriptures. In a collection of teachings now referred to as the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus announces this movement to those who hunger for a world set right—the powerless, the sick, and the poor. He calls these people to radical peacemaking and generosity, and he refers to this movement as the arrival of the Kingdom of the skies. And in the closing section, Jesus presents his listeners with a choice. Will they respond to his invitation to the challenging but truly rewarding way to life? Or will they choose the easy way that leads to destruction?
In this guide, discover Jesus’ concluding words in the Sermon on the Mount, where he presents three images: two gates, two trees, and two houses. Explore related videos, podcast episodes, and more.
The Two Gates and Two Paths
By the time we get to Matthew 7:13-27, Jesus has finished teaching about what it looks like to do right by God and others in the Kingdom of the skies. In the Bible, the skies are the ultimate image of God’s realm, where life and
But there is another path that leads out of the garden and away from God’s life. A deceptive creature appears in the garden, suggesting that God can’t be trusted and the good life can be found by taking this easier way. The humans choose this path and are sent out of the garden.
While this path may appear easier, it actually leads to violence and death. So the Torah and Prophets tell the story of God choosing one family (Israel) and giving them his torah (instruction) to return to God’s presence once again. They can build homes and communities where God will come to live among them, demonstrating to the rest of the world the way back to true life in God.
But, like the first humans, Israel is deceived. Even Israel’s own prophets and leaders, who claim to speak on God’s behalf, deceive the people, leading them on the path to destruction. The prophet Ezekiel calls these leaders wolves—instead of caring for their people, they devour them.
In his teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus claims that God’s Kingdom has arrived with him. He is creating a new Israel who will take the right path, reject deceivers, and build something that lasts—that is, if they accept this calling. And so in the closing section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presents a choice.
Jesus wants to be clear: the path to life is not easy. It can feel confining at times, and we’re likely to face difficult trials. But in reality, it’s the way to true freedom.
Context
Matthew places the Sermon on the Mount within a larger narrative about Jesus that takes place in Jerusalem, Judea, Galilee, and the surrounding occupied lands of the Greco-Roman Empire between approximately 4 B.C.E. and 35 C.E. The book was likely composed sometime between 55 and 90 C.E.
Literary Styles
Matthew 7:13-27 (and the Sermon on the Mount as a whole) is written in the literary style of prose discourse.
Key Themes
- The challenging way that leads to life versus the easy way that leads to ruin
- Discerning true and false prophets based on the fruit of their lives
- Discerning true and false followers of Jesus based on their alignment to God’s will
- The wisdom of building one’s life on Jesus’ teaching versus the folly of building on anything else
- The authority of Jesus’ teaching
Structure
Matthew 7:13-27 is the fifth and final section of the sermon, where Jesus makes his concluding point with three images. The first image shows two paths with two different gates—one leads to life and the other to ruin. The second image is about discerning between two kinds of leaders who claim to represent God. The last image illustrates two types of houses you can build.
The Two Trees and Two Prophets
Jesus continues by warning that some people will try to lead us off the good path.
If illegitimate prophets are disguised, how can we recognize them as wolves? Jesus says to pay attention to how they live. Do their choices produce life and flourishing for themselves and others or not?
In this case, fruit means the outcome of someone’s decisions, or their way of life. If we are the kind of people whose actions produce diseased fruit, we won’t last in God’s new reality. However, life can often feel more complex than that. We could produce enough good fruit to fool a lot of people (or even fool ourselves). But Jesus claims that on the Day of the Lord, when he sits to judge the nations, we won’t be able to fool him. Jesus says:
(see Matt. 6:1-21). If our motives are disconnected from our actions, we will miss out on the life giving, intimate connection that Jesus offers through himself.
The Two Houses
Jesus isn’t just presenting a choice about our behavior. The choice is in how we respond to his teachings. Will we let him transform us so that we become more and more aligned with God’s ways? Jesus illustrates this choice with another image: Where are we going to build our house? On the sand or on the rock?
While this image may seem random to us, it’s rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures. “The house of God” is the most common phrase used to describe God’s temple up on the rocky hill of Jerusalem.
Jesus is explaining how God’s followers can build a community where God’s heavenly presence can reside here on earth—just like the garden of Eden. Jesus encourages us to build this kind of community because those places are the only ones that will last.
Like Jesus said at the very beginning of the sermon, “a city on a mountain cannot be hidden … let your light shine before people” (Matt. 5:14Matt. 5:16). Jesus is describing a
Videos
Watch the tenth episode of the Sermon on the Mount series and the related Visual Commentary and Insight videos.
Podcasts
Listen to these episodes from our Sermon on the Mount podcast series.
More Resources
Find BibleProject articles as well as books recommended by our scholar team.
