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Matthew 8:5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum,
a centurion came
to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies
at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.”
7 Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.”
8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under
my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself
am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and
he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do
this,’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I
tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.
11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take
their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
By “the subjects of the kingdom” Jesus was referring directly
to the Jews who would refuse to put their faith in him. In contrast,
the gentile Roman centurion had great faith in Jesus to heal his servant.
As a consequence of the rejection of the gospel by the Jews, it would
later be taken to the gentiles through the ministry of the apostle
Paul. Approximately two thousand years have since elapsed since Jesus
spoke these words. Do they have any relevance for God’s people
today?
Could it be that in the 21st century “the subjects of the kingdom” refer
to people who call themselves “Christians,” and that today
the “gentiles” refer to those many non-Christian pagan
peoples who are outside the kingdom of God---that is, outside of Christendom?
Is there any possibility that some who call themselves “Christians” will
be thrown outside where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth
as happened to the Jews in New Testament times? Let’s examine
this question.
The Parable of the Weeds
Matthew 13:36 Then he left the crowd and went into
the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to
us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of
Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons
of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the
enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age,
and the harvesters are angels.
40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it
will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his
angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that
causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
It is highly significant that in verse 41 Christ’s angels “will
weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.” This
obviously means that in his kingdom there are in fact weeds---sons
of the evil one sowed by the devil---to be weeded out. These weeds
are certain “Christians” in the Church. There are roughly
one billion or more people in the world today who might identify themselves
as “Christians.” But many of these are in fact sons of
the evil one who cause sin and do evil. The angels will throw these
particular “subjects of the kingdom” into the fiery furnace.
The Parable of the Net
Matthew 13:47 “Once again, the kingdom of heaven
is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught
all kinds of fish. 48 When
it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat
down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.
49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come
and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the
fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
This parable, taught in the same chapter and breath
as the parable of the weeds above, should be interpreted in the same
way. The net
obviously does not catch all the fish in the lake, but only a fraction
of them. These caught in the net are “the subjects of the kingdom”---those
in the Church. But in the net there are both good fish and bad fish.
The angels will separate them. The wicked in the kingdom of heaven
will be thrown into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
Matthew 22:1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables,
saying: 2 “The
kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for
his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the
banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those
who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened
cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding
banquet.’
5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field,
another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated
them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and
destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is
ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 Go to the street
corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the
servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they
could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with
guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a
man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 ‘Friend,’ he
asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The
man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and
foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
In this parable “those who had been invited to the banquet” likely
refer to the Jews who as a nation rejected Jesus as the Messiah and
had him crucified. (However, there were and are today blessed Jewish
brethren who do acknowledge Jesus.) Therefore the gospel was taken
to the “street corners” to invite the gentiles into the
kingdom of heaven. Many gentile guests, both good and bad, came to
fill the wedding hall. This is indicative of the millions upon millions
of mostly gentile Christians who fill churches around the world every
Sunday or Sabbath Day.
But not all Christians are wearing “wedding clothes.” Not
all Christians have clothed themselves with Jesus Christ and living
holy lives and producing good fruit for him. Those Christians who have
not done this will be tied up and thrown outside into the darkness.
The parable above tells us that many people were invited to the wedding
banquet of the king’s son and many in fact took the time to show
up. Many people, in the same way, show up at Christian meetings and
attend church. But Jesus teaches us that few of these are actually
chosen.
The wicked servant
Luke 12:42 The Lord answered, “Who then is the
faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his
servants to give
them their food allowance at the proper time? 43 It will be good for
that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. 44 I tell
you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
45 But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking
a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the
menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk. 46 The master
of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and
at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign
him a place with the unbelievers. (Matthew 24:51 He will cut him to
pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth.)
Those who are given a trust to lead and teach God’s
people will be similarly judged, but perhaps even more strictly.
Some are wise
and fear God, obeying what the Lord commands them to do. But others
are wicked. They beat other servants and eat and drink with drunkards.
They rule over other servants and mistreat them as people in authority
on earth often do. They love their lives in the world and do the things
that unbelievers in the world do. Figuratively, they are eating and
drinking and getting drunk. They will be cut to pieces and assigned
a place with unbelievers and hypocrites where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
Luke 12:47 “That servant who knows his master’s
will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants
will be beaten
with many blows. 48 But the one who does not know and does things deserving
punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been
given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted
with much, much more will be asked.
Much higher standards and expectations will placed
on those who have been entrusted with stewardship over God’s people and God’s
work. Obedient and faithful ones will be rewarded. But the disobedient
will not only lose their reward, they will be punished with blows.
Below are more sobering Scriptures about what is expected of leaders.
The Parable of the Talents
Matthew 25:24 “Then the man who had received the one talent
came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard
man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have
not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid
your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you
knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not
scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit
with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it
back with interest.
… 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
There were actually three servants to whom the master had entrusted
talents, each according to his ability. According to this parable,
the first two servants were faithful and fruitful and received rewards
from their master. But the third servant was afraid of taking any risks
with what the master had entrusted to him and so did nothing with it.
It is not mentioned that this servant was engaged in eating and drinking
and getting drunk like the servant in the preceding parable. He was
not necessarily engaged in worldly or sinful behavior. He simply failed
to produce profit for his master; he was fruitless. But he was judged
to be worthless and was thrown outside into the darkness where there
would be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Those who consider themselves “servants” should
take heed to these sobering warnings. God is just. He loves and rewards
those
who are faithful and fruitful. But to those who are disobedient and
fruitless, His disapproval and wrath are revealed.
“Are only a few people going to be saved?”
Luke 13:22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages,
teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord,
are only a few people going to be saved?”
He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow
door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will
not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you
will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door
for us.’
“
But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come
from.’
26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you,
and you taught in our streets.’
27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where
you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’
28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when
you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom
of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east
and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast
in the kingdom of God.
Again, the immediate context has Jesus warning the
Jews that many of them would try but fail to enter through the narrow
door. Instead,
gentiles “from east and west and north and south” would
come and “take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.” But
does this warning also apply to the multitudes of “Christians” in
the Church today, many of whom will try to enter through the narrow
door who is Jesus Christ? Based on the Scriptures we have already examined
in this article, the answer is in the affirmative.
These Christians in the above Scriptures believe that
they should be allowed inside the door. That is why they stand outside
knocking
on the door and explaining to the Lord that he should open the door
for them---they knew him and ate and drank with him in his presence.
They tell the Lord that they often heard his word taught, perhaps on
Sundays in church. But apparently they were never taught that Jesus
also said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will
enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father
who is in heaven. (Matthew 7:21)
Luke 6:46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and
do not do what I say? 47 I will show you what he is like who comes
to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48 He is like
a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on
rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not
shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words
and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house
on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent
struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
Conclusion
We conclude that many “Christians” and “subjects
of the kingdom” and even “servants” will be thrown
outside into the darkness and fiery furnace where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth. They have not obeyed the Lord’s words
and put them into practice.
1 Peter 4:17 For it is time for judgment to begin with
the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome
be for those
who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And, “If it is hard for
the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the
sinner?”
We can of course find Scriptures which speak of God’s
love and grace and which appear to paint a rosier picture for Christians.
But
the Scriptures cited here cannot be denied. Balance must be restored
between the teaching on the love of God on the one hand, and on the
fear of God on the other.