The gate is strait to our weak, unwilling nature, however gloriously open and free in itself. It is too low for pride, which will not come down from its high horse to enter on foot like a beggar, or like a little child. It is too narrow for philosophy, for
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the wisdom of this world ; it is too definite, exclusive, and dog- matic. It is too strait for earthliness and greed. The rich man cannot bring his gear and his gains in with him, and so from the very threshold he turns away sorrowful, for he has great possessions.
TJ There was a man — a lean, cold, spectral man — never sunny, genial, poetical, for a day in his life ; skin and bone — skin and bone. And they called him a Pharisee. He stood in all his erect leanness, and said how often he fasted, what tithes he paid, and what an excellent man he was. Jesus Christ said, "Well, you cannot go in at this gate. You will have to lay down and trample under foot all that fasting and tithe-paying, all that excellent virtue, for * strait is the gate ' ! " A man has to lay down a great deal before he can get through this gate. He has to take a great many idols out of his pockets and throw them away ; then to go through the chambers of his mind and take out theory after theory, by the hundred, and blow them away. Except ye be con- verted and become as little children — simple-minded, gentle, pure, loving, trustful children — ye cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Great, tall men, who believe in themselves — who are afraid they will knock their heads against the stars if they stand right up — cannot, cannot get in. The gate truly is strait and the way narrow ! ^
(1) The way is called narrow in opposition to the wide gate, and the wide gate is not so hard to understand. A wide gate is one through which you can pass easily, carrying what you please, and no questions are asked. That, Jesus tells us, is the kind of gate which opens on the way that leads to destruction. You can go in with your money, your pride, your sloth, your appetites, your vices, whatever you please. Nothing is excluded, and there is no toll. The consequence is that many do go in. The wide gate is always busy ; the broad way thronged with travellers. You can drift in with the stream, you can have the pleasant sense of being well supported ; you can maintain a certain self-respect by point- ing to the large numbers of people, of all possible capacities, tastes, and characters, who have taken that way. Nevertheless, it leads to destruction.
^ Moshesh, the Basuto chief, played fast and loose with the missionaries, giving himself up to the devices of the magicians,
* Joseph Parker.
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and in particular to those of a prophetess called Mantsupha. This witch declared she worshipped the same God as the mis- sionaries, but that, as she had herself been up to Heaven, her information was first-hand, whereas theirs was only second-hand from a book. This information was, first, that polygamy was lawful ; secondly, that the way to heaven was not a narrow way, as the missionaries maintained, but a very broad way, for as God was the Supreme Chief, many people must always be coming and going from this place, and consequently the road had to be very wide indeed.
It was about four months before his death, five years later, that Moshesh gave tokens of a real spiritual change. The missionaries had almost ceased to hope for this. One day towards the close of 1869, M. Jousse came to see him, and he begged him to read the Bible. The passage chosen was the 14th of John. It had always been a favourite with the old chief, who when he came to the sixth verse repeated it after him : " No man cometh unto the Father, but by me." " Son of Mokachane," said M. Jousse, " a throne is prepared for you in heaven ; believe in Jesus the Saviour of the world, and you will be there."
It was just as if he heard the message of salvation for the first time. A heaven opened to the sinner, and a Saviour who presents it to us — these were the two ideas he grasped. After the missionary left he had this passage read to him again, and re- proached the Christians round him with having concealed the Way of Salvation from him, though he had heard it hundreds of times. In the middle of the same night he sent some of them to M. Jousse to say, "Moshesh declares himself a Christian." M. Jousse at once came, and the next day sent to four other missionaries, who all visited Moshesh and were astounded at the reality of the change they witnessed. He summoned each of his sons to his bedside to hear his testimony. He also sent for the prophetess Mantsupha, the same who had declared the road to heaven was a broad road and who since then had herself become a Christian. Taking both her hands he said, "My sister, my sister, we both come from very far off, but now we must both walk in the narrow way." ^