Jesus is affirming that there is a cost involved with submitting to him and following his commands. The details of this cost will be made clearer elsewhere in Matthew’s Gospel and the New Testament as a whole (Acts 14:22; Matthew 5:10–11, Matthew 5:44; Matthew 10:16–23, Matthew 10:35–36; Matthew 13:21; Matthew 23:34–35; Matthew 24:9–13, Matthew 24:16–21).1 In essence, there is no salvation apart from Christ and there is no faith in Christ where there is an unwillingness to deny yourself (Mark 8:34).2
14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.