From the Pulpit...

Jesus consistently teaches the difficulty of following Him. The two gates in these verses represent every person's choice: following Jesus or following any other path. Only the more difficult, less-chosen gate to follow Christ leads to life. The false prophets deceive not by disguising themselves as sheep, but by impersonating true shepherds. False doctrine cannot restrain the flesh, so false prophets manifest wickedness. The faith that says but does not do is really unbelief. Jesus was not suggesting that works are meritorious for salvation, but that true faith will not fail to produce the fruit of good works. All sin is lawlessness. Only the one who built on the foundation of obedience to God's Word stands, which calls for repentance, rejection of salvation by works, and trust in God's grace to save through His merciful provision. Jesus taught not as the scribes. The scribes quoted others to establish the authority of their teachings; Jesus was His own authority. This matter of of authority was a major issue between Jesus and the Jews, who felt their authority challenged.

Our Scripture reading was found in 1 Kings 10:1-29.