Two Ways

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

SUMMARY: Both Barnabas and Clement of Alexandria linked Psalm 1:1 to the "broad way" in this passage. Some of the early Christians had a lot to say about the two ways. The two ways have also been called the way of light and the way of darkness. Barnabas, Irenaeus, and Origen use those terms. The two ways have also been called the way of life and the way of death. The Didache, Irenaeus, and Lactantius use those terms. They have also been called the angels of the Lord and the angels of Satan. Barnabas, Hermas, and Origen use those terms. They have also been called the way to heaven and the way to hell. Irenaeus, Hippolytus, and Lactantius use those terms. Or they have been called the twofold desire. Hermas uses that term. Those who believe in him are those who walk in the straight and narrow way. This way leads to life. Only a few find it. Origen says this. Editors note: a textual variant happens here. The words "the gate" may have been removed by scribes. They may have done this so the words "wide" and "broad" would describe only "the way." Or "the gate" may have been added later to complete the parallel with Matthew 7:14. Tatian does mention the wide gate. Hippolytus says broad gate. But Clement of Alexandria, Cyprian, and Hippolytus, in another place, have the variant reading. None of these readings fail to communicate the metaphor Jesus used. He used it to contrast the narrow way of practicing righteousness with the broad way of unrighteousness.

BARNABAS: but now let us move on to another kind of knowledge and teaching. There are two ways of teaching and authority. One is the way of light, and the other is the way of darkness. But there is a great difference between these two ways. Over the one are stationed the light-bringing angels of God; over the other are the angels of Satan. And he indeed, that is God, is Lord forever and ever. But he, that is Satan, is prince of the time of iniquity. The way of light, then, is as follows: If anyone wants to travel to the appointed place, he must be eager in his works. Therefore, the knowledge that is given to us so that we can walk in this way is as follows: You shall love him who created you. You shall glorify him who redeemed you from death. You shall be simple in heart and rich in spirit. You shall not join yourself to those who walk in the way of death. You shall hate doing what is displeasing to God. You shall hate all hypocrisy. You shall not abandon the commandments of the Lord. You shall not lift yourself up, but you shall have a humble mind. You shall not take glory for yourself. You shall not take evil advice against your neighbor. You shall not allow overboldness to enter your soul. You shall not commit sexual immorality. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not corrupt the young. You shall not let the word of God come from your lips with any kind of impurity. You shall not show favoritism when you correct anyone for sin. You shall be gentle. You shall be peaceable. You shall tremble at the words that you hear. You shall not hold evil in mind against your brother. You shall not be double-minded about whether something will happen or not. You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain. You shall love your neighbor more than your own soul. You shall not kill a child by getting an abortion. Nor again shall you destroy it after it is born. You shall not pull back your hand from your son or from your daughter. Instead, from their infancy, you shall teach them the fear of the Lord. You shall not desire what belongs to your neighbor, and you shall not be materialistic. You shall not be joined in soul with the proud. Instead, you shall be counted with the righteous and humble, except as good things the trials that come upon you. You shall not be double-minded or double-tongued, because a double tongue is a trap of death. You shall be subject to the Lord and to other masters as the image of God, with modesty and fear. You shall not give orders with bitterness to your female servant or your male servant, who trust in the same God. If you do, you might fail to honor that God who is above both. For he came to call people not according to their outward appearance, but according to how the Spirit had prepared them. You shall share everything with your neighbor. You shall not call things your own. For if you share together in things that cannot be ruined, how much more should you share in things that can be ruined? You shall not be quick with your tongue, because the mouth is a trap of death. As much as possible, you shall be pure in your soul. Do not be quick to stretch out your hands to take, while you pull them back when it is time to give. You shall love like the apple of your eye, everyone who speaks to you the word of the Lord. You shall remember the day of judgment, night and day. You shall seek out every day the faces of the saints. You shall do this either by talking with them, examining them by your words, going to encourage them, and thinking about how to save a soul by the word. Or you shall work with your hands for the redemption of your sins. You shall not hesitate to give, and you shall not complain when you give. Give to everyone that asks you, and you shall know who is the good one who repays the reward. You shall guard what you have received as a trust, neither adding to it nor taking from it. To the end, you shall hate the wicked one. You shall judge fairly. You shall not cause a division, but you shall calm those who argue by bringing them together. You shall confess your sins. You shall not go to prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of light, but the way of darkness is crooked and full of cursing. It is the way of eternal death with punishment. In that way, other things that destroy the soul, namely idolatry, overconfidence, the arrogance of power, hypocrisy, double-heartedness, adultery, murder, robbery, pride, law-breaking, deceit, malice, self-sufficiency, poisoning, magic, greed, and lack of the fear of God. In this way also are those who persecute the good, those who hate truth, those who love lies, those who do not know the reward of righteousness, those who do not hold tightly to what is good, those who do not give fair judgment for the widow and the orphan, those who do not stay alert in the fear of God but lean toward wickedness. Meekness and patience are far from them. These are people who love empty things, chase after a reward, do not feel pity for the needy, and do not work to help the one who is worn out from hard labor. They are quick to speak evil. They do not know him who made them. They are murderers of children and destroyers of the workmanship of God. They turn away the one who is in need. They oppress the suffering. They speak up for the rich. They judge the poor unfairly. In every way, they are law-breakers. Therefore, it is good that the one who has learned the judgments of the Lord, as many as have been written, should walk in them. For the one who keeps these will be honored in the kingdom of God. But the one who chooses other things will be destroyed along with his works.

HERMAS: listen now, he said, about faith. There are two angels with a person, one of righteousness and the other of sin. And I said to him, "How, sir, am I supposed to know the powers of these angels, since both angels live with me?" Listen, he said, and understand. The angel of righteousness is gentle and modest, humble and peaceful. So when he rises up into your heart, he immediately speaks to you about righteousness, purity, sexual self-control, contentment, and every righteous deed and glorious virtue. When all these rise up into your heart, know that the angel of righteousness is with you. These are the deeds of the angel of righteousness. So trust him and his works. Now look at the works of the angel of sin. First, he is angry, bitter, and foolish. His works are evil, and they destroy the servants of God. So when he rises up into your heart, know him by his works. And I said to him, "How, sir, will I recognize him? I do not know." Listen and understand, he said. When anger comes over you, or harshness, know that he is in you. You will also know this when you are attacked by a desire for many business deals, and the richest foods, and drunken parties, and all kinds of luxuries and improper things. You will know it when you have a craving for women, and for cheating others, and for pride, and for anything like these. When these rise up into your heart, know that the angel of sin is in you. Now that you know his works, turn away from him. Do not trust him in any way, because his deeds are evil and useless to the servants of God. So these are the actions of both angels. Understand them, and trust the angel of righteousness. But turn away from the angel of sin, because his teaching is bad in every deed. Even if a man is very faithful, if the thought of this angel rises up into his heart, that man or woman must sin. On the other hand, even if a man or woman is very bad, if the works of the angel of righteousness rise up into his or her heart, he or she must do something good. So you see that it is good to follow the angel of righteousness, but to say goodbye to the angel of sin. This commandment shows the deeds of faith, so that you may trust the works of the angel of righteousness. If you do them, you will live to God. But believe that the works of the angel of sin are hard. If you refuse to do them, you will live to God.

HERMAS: he says to me, "Get rid of every evil desire and clothe yourself with good and pure desire. When you are clothed with this desire, you will hate evil desire. You will hold yourself back in everything just as you want." For evil desire is wild, and it is hard to tame. It is terrible, and it destroys people greatly by its wildness. A servant of God is especially harmed by it if he falls into it and has no understanding. It also destroys everyone who does not have on the clothing of good desire but is tangled up and mixed in with this world. It hands these people over to death. "What then, sir," I say, "are the deeds of evil desire that hand people over to death? Tell them to me, and I will stay away from them." Listen then, to the works by which evil desire kills the servants of God. First of all is the desire for another person's wife or husband. Also the desire for extravagance and many useless fancy foods and drinks and many other foolish luxuries. For all luxury is foolish and empty in the servants of God. These then are the evil desires that kill the servants of God. For this evil desire is the daughter of the devil. You must stay away from evil desires so that by staying away you may live to God. But all who are controlled by them and do not resist them will finally perish because these desires bring death. Put on then the desire of righteousness. Arm yourself with the fear of the Lord and resist them, for the fear of the Lord lives in good desire. But if evil desire sees you armed with the fear of God and resisting it, it will run far from you. It will no longer appear to you because it fears your armor. Go then, wearing the crown you have gained for victory over it, to the desire of righteousness. Hand over to it the prize you have received and serve it just as it wants. If you serve good desire and submit to it, you will gain control over evil desire. You will make it submit to you just as you want. "I would like to know," I say, "how I should serve good desire." "Listen," he says, "you will practice righteousness and virtue, truth and the fear of the Lord, faith and gentleness, and whatever other good qualities are like these. If you practice these, you will be a servant of God who pleases him, and you will live to him. And everyone who serves good desire will live to God." You now have these commandments. Live by them and urge your listeners so that their repentance may be pure for the rest of their life. Carefully carry out this work that I now place in your care, and you will accomplish much. For you will find favor among those who are going to repent, and they will listen to your words. For I will be with you, and I will make them obey you. I say to him, "Sir, these commandments are great and good and glorious. They are able to make glad the heart of the person who can do them. But I do not know whether a person can keep these commandments because they are extremely hard." He answered and said to me, "If you decide for sure that they can be kept, then you will keep them easily, and they will not be hard. But if you start to think that a person cannot keep them, then you will not keep them. Now I say to you, if you do not keep them but neglect them, you will not be saved. Neither will your children nor your household, because you have already decided for yourself that these commandments cannot be kept by a person." He said these things to me with the deepest anger. I was shocked and very afraid of him. His appearance changed so much that a person could not stand his anger. But when he saw that I was completely upset and confused, he began to speak in a gentler way. He said, "You fool, you senseless and doubting person, do you not understand how great the glory of God is? Do you not see how strong and wonderful He is, since He created the world for the sake of man? He placed all creation under man and gave him power to rule over everything under heaven. If, then, man is master of God's creatures and rules over all, is he not able to be master of these commandments too? For," he says, "the person who has the Lord in his heart can also be master of everything and of every one of these commandments. But to those who have the Lord only on their lips, while their hearts are hardened and they are far from the Lord, the commandments are hard and difficult. Therefore, you who are empty and unstable in your faith, put the Lord in your heart. Then you will know that nothing is easier or sweeter or more workable than these commandments. Turn back, you who walk in the commandments of the devil, in hard, bitter, and wild sexual sin. You do not fear the devil, but you should not, because he has no power against you. For I will be with you, the angel of repentance, and I am master over him. The devil has fear only, but his fear has no strength. So do not fear him, and he will run from you." I say to him, "Sir, listen to me for a moment. Say what you want," he says. "Sir," I say, "people are eager to keep the commandments of God. There is no one who does not ask the Lord to give them strength for these commandments and to help them obey them. But the devil is harsh, and he rules over them. He cannot," he says, "rule over the servants of God who, with all their heart, put their hope in him. The devil can wrestle against them, but he cannot knock them down. If you resist him, he will be defeated and will run away from you in shame. Therefore, all who are empty fear the devil as if he has power. When someone has filled very good jars with good wine and a few of those jars are left empty, he comes to the jars and does not look at the full jars because he knows they are full. But he looks at the empty ones, afraid that they have turned sour. For empty jars quickly turn sour, and the goodness of the wine is gone. In the same way, the devil goes to all the servants of God to test them. So those who are full in the faith resist him strongly, and he pulls back from them because he has no way to get into them. Then he goes to the empty ones. When he finds a way to enter them, he produces in them whatever he wants, and they become his servants. But I, the angel of repentance, say to you, do not fear the devil. For I was sent," he says, "to be with you who repent with all your heart and to make you strong in faith." Trust God, then, you who because of your sins have given up hope of life and who add to your sins and weigh down your life. For if you return to the Lord with all your heart and practice righteousness for the rest of your days and serve him according to his will, he will heal your former sins. You will have power to rule over the works of the devil. But as for the devil's threats, do not fear them at all. He is as powerless as the muscles of a dead man. Listen to me, then, and fear him who has all power, both to save and to destroy. Keep his commandments, and you will live to God. I say to him, "Sir, I am now made strong in all the commands of the Lord because you are with me. I know that you will crush all the power of the devil. We will rule over him, and we will win against all his works. And I hope, sir, that I will be able to keep all these commandments you have laid on me with the Lord strengthening me." You will keep them, he says, if your heart is pure toward the Lord. And all will keep them who cleanse their hearts from the empty desires of this world, and they will live to God.

IRENAEUS: There is one way that leads upward for all who can see. It is lit with heavenly light. But the ways of those who do not see are many. They are dark and opposed to the true way. This one way leads to the kingdom of heaven. It brings people together with God. But those other ways lead down to death. They separate people from God. Therefore, it is necessary for you, and for all who care about their own salvation, to keep your path steady, firm, and sure through faith. Do not stumble. Do not be slowed down or held back by worldly desires. Do not turn aside and wander away from what is right.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: David, and Moses before David show knowledge of the three precepts in these words: "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly." This is like fish that go down into the deep places in darkness, fish that do not have scales, which Moses forbids people to touch, feed at the bottom of the sea, nor stands in the way of sinners. This is like people who seem to fear the Lord but still commit sin; they are like the sow: when it is hungry, it cries, and when it is full, it does not know its owner, nor sits in the chair of pestilences. This is like birds that are ready to hunt prey, and Moses commanded people not to eat the sow, or the eagle, or the hawk, or the raven, or any fish without scales. Up to this point is Barnabas, and I heard someone skilled in these matters say that the counsel of the ungodly meant the heathen, and that the way of sinners meant the Jewish persuasion. He explained the chair of pestilence as heresies, and another person said, more properly, that the first blessing was given to those who had not followed wicked thoughts that rebel against God. The second blessing was given to those who do not stay on the wide and broad road, whether they are people who were raised under the law or Gentiles who have repented.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: They have heard in the commandment that "the broad and wide way leads to destruction," and there are many who go in by it.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: We should not wear down and destroy the soul through idleness and through worry because of things that happen against our wishes. So, the man was miserable, whom Homer also describes as wandering alone and ate his own heart. But also, since the Gospel teaches that there are two ways, the apostles do the same, and so do all the prophets. They call one way narrow and confined. This is the way that is limited by the commandments and prohibitions. They call the opposite way, which leads to destruction, broad and roomy. It is open to pleasures and anger. And they say, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly and does not stand in the way of sinners."

TERTULLIAN: When so many reasons to do evil were attacking a person, who would want to do good? If he could reject good and get away with it, who, again, would take care about something he could lose without any danger? You read how wide the road to evil is, and how crowded it is compared with the opposite road. Would not everyone slide down that road if there were nothing in it to fear? We fear the Creator's terrible threats, and yet we hardly turn away from evil. What then if He did not threaten? Will you call God's justice an evil thing when it is completely against evil? Will you deny that it is a good thing when it is aimed toward good? What kind of being should you want God to be? Would it be right to prefer that He be the kind of God under whom sins could grow freely and the devil could make fun of him? Would you think He is a good God if He could make a person worse by letting him feel safe while sinning? Who is the source of good except the One who also demands it? In the same way, who is a stranger to evil except the One who is its enemy? And who is its enemy except the One who conquers it? Who else conquers it except the One who punishes it? So God is completely good because in everything He is on the side of good.

HIPPOLYTUS: For this, he says, is the gate of heaven, and this is a house of God, where the good deity lives alone. And into this gate, he says, no unclean person will enter, no one who is natural or carnal will enter either. Instead, it is kept for the spiritual only, and those who come near ought to receive their garments. And all of them ought to become bridegrooms, made eunuchs through the virginal spirit. For this is the virgin who carries in her womb, and conceives, and brings forth a son. He is not animal, not bodily, but blessed for evermore. Concerning these, it is said, the Savior has clearly declared that straight and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there are that enter upon it. Whereas broad and spacious is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are that pass through it.

HIPPOLYTUS: Anyone who wants to share in the water in the garden must turn away from the wide gate and enter through the tight and narrow one.

ORIGEN: The Book of the Shepherd says that each person is watched over by two angels. It says that whenever good thoughts come up in our hearts, they are suggested by the good angel. But when thoughts of the opposite kind come up, they are stirred up by the evil angel. Barnabas says the same thing in his epistle. There, he says, there are two ways: one of light and one of darkness. He also says that certain angels are placed over these ways. The angels of God are over the way of light, and the angels of Satan are over the way of darkness.

ORIGEN: Anyone who thinks about the great evils people on Earth commit every day can see this: nearly everyone is turning away, and together they have become useless. They are walking down the broad and spacious road that leads to destruction. They have ignored the narrow road that leads to life, even though God lets His sun rise every day on all of them and gives them rain. If someone also thinks about how much they speak blasphemy against God every day and how they stretch out their tongues against heaven, that person can understand the riches of God's goodness.

ORIGEN: But when our Lord and Savior came, He began to condemn their ways. He began to say, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees," and again, "Woe to you who are rich," and again, "Woe to you, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you." Also, by saying many things like this as He charged them, He began to block the roads that were leading to their destruction. For them, He became a stone that makes people stumble, and a rock that causes offense, because He did not allow them to travel the broad road that leads to death.

CYPRIAN: According to Matthew: "How broad and spacious is the way that leads to death, and many people go in by it? How straight and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few people find it?"

LACTANTIUS: There are two ways, O Emperor Constantine, that human life must go. One leads to heaven; the other sinks down to hell. Therefore, we speak better and more truly when we say that the two ways belong to heaven and hell. This is because immortality is promised to the righteous, and everlasting punishment is threatened to the unrighteous.

LACTANTIUS: There are two ways. One is on the right side: the righteous walk on it, and it leads to heaven, because they become immortal. The other is on the left side: it leads to Tartarus, because the unrighteous are sentenced to eternal tortures. Therefore, we must hold to the way of justice, which leads to life. The epitome of the divine.

ORIGEN: Now, the way of the Lord is made straight in two ways. First, it is made straight in the way of contemplation—that is, when your thinking is made clear in truth, with no mixture of falsehood. Second, it is made straight in the way of conduct. This happens after you have a sound contemplation of what ought to be done; then you produce action that matches a sound theory of conduct. And so that we may understand the words, make straight the way of the Lord, more clearly it will be good to compare them with what is said in the Proverbs: "Do not depart either to the right hand or to the left." For the person who turns aside in either direction has stopped keeping his path straight; he is no longer worthy of regard because he has left the straightness of the journey. For the Lord is righteous and loves righteousness, and His face beholds straightness. Therefore, the one who is looked on with regard and who receives the benefit that comes from this watchful care says, "The light of Your countenance was shone upon us, O Lord." Let us stand then, as Jeremiah urges, on the ways. Let us look and ask about the ancient ways of the Lord. Let us see which is the good way and walk in it. This is what the apostles did. They stood and asked for the ancient ways of the Lord. They asked the patriarchs and the prophets. They searched into their writings. And when they came to understand these writings, they saw the good way, namely, Jesus Christ, who said, "I am the way," and they walked in it. For it is a good way that leads the good man to the good Father. It leads the man who, from the good treasure of his heart, brings out good things. It leads the one who is a good and faithful servant. This way is narrow indeed. Many cannot bear to walk in it because they love their flesh. But it is also hard-pressed by those who use violence to walk in it. For it is not called afflicting, but afflicted.

ORIGEN: Now, "Those who believe in Him are those who walk on the straight and narrow way. This way leads to life, and only a few find it."

ORIGEN: "Strive to enter in by the narrow door; for many, I say to you, will seek to enter in through the narrow door and will not be able." And also what is written in the Gospel of Matthew like this: "For narrow is the gate, and straight is the way that leads to life; and few are they that find it." Now, if you pay attention to the saying, "Many, I say to you, will seek to enter in and will not be able," you will understand that this refers to those who boast that they are of the Church but live weakly and contrary to the Word.

ORIGEN: The word says that when two people agree on earth, it is the same as agreeing with Christ. For where two or three are gathered together in my name. Therefore, the two or three who are gathered together in the name of Christ are the ones who agree on earth. It is not only two, but sometimes also three. But the one who has understanding will think about whether this kind of agreement and a gathering like this where Christ is in the middle can be found among more people. This is because narrow and straightened is the way that leads to life, and few be they that find it.

ORIGEN: In afflictions, let us keep walking faithfully on the straight and narrow way, so that we may reach life. If it is necessary, let us also commend ourselves by scourgings, by imprisonments, by riots, by labors, by watchings, and by fastings. Look, the Lord is here with His reward in His hand to repay each person according to his works.