Matthew 8:12

Saturday, 8 March 2025

 

But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 8:12

 

“And the sons of the kingdom, they will be ejected into the darkness, the outer. There, it will be the lamentation and the gnash of the teeth.” (CG).

 

In the previous verse, Jesus noted to those who followed Him that many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens. He next contrasts that with the fate of the people of Israel, beginning with, “And the sons of the kingdom, they will be ejected.”

 

In these words, Jesus is specifically speaking of Israel the people. They are the sons of the kingdom, and they are the people under the Law of Moses. And so, a contrast is made between justification by faith, such as Abraham, and life under law, which epitomizes Israel. It is apparent when thought through that Israel looked at that law as a means to an end. It is not, except as it is fulfilled in Jesus.

 

 Because of their lack of faith in Jesus when He came, He next says concerning them that their ejection will be, “into the darkness, the outer.”

 

Jesus uses the word exóteros, outer, it is a comparative of exó, without or outside. This word is only found three times in Matthew. Each instance is used in the same general thought, that of being ejected into outer darkness. In being so ejected, Jesus next says of them, “There, it will be the lamentation and the gnash of the teeth.”

 

The word translated as lamentation has already been seen in Matthew 2:18. However, the word translated as gnash, brugmos, is new. Because it is a noun, translating it as “gnashing” is incorrect. It is derived from the verb bruchó, to gnash. Being a noun, it signifies the state, not the act.

 

The meaning of His words could not be clearer. The woes that will come upon Israel for their rejection of Jesus will be a self-inflicted wound. While an innumerable number of Gentiles from all around the world will be invited to the good thing God is doing in Christ Jesus because of faith in Him, the people of Israel will receive eternal punishment in a darkened, tormenting place because they failed to properly check the manual.

 

Life application: The Bible is a book that gives instruction on how to be right with God. It is often misunderstood because so much of it deals with the period under the Law of Moses. But taking it as a whole, it is clear that God is using the law as a tool of instruction for man. Its purpose is to lead him to the grace of God in Christ.

 

Israel missed this and went into extended punishment for their disobedience. Israel continues to miss this point today. This is so much the case that they blame God for the mess that they got themselves into. Would the Holocaust have come upon them if they were right with God? The answer is clearly, No.

 

And yet, a glaring example of their attitude concerning the event has recently arisen. A man named Menachem Rosensaft wrote a book called Burning Psalms. It is a collection of 150 psalms which are set in opposition to the biblical Book of Psalms. The biblical book extols God, revealing his loving, protective hand against evil and evildoers.

 

On the other hand, Mr. Rosensaft’s psalms indict God for failing to act during their terrible ordeal known as the Holocaust. He blames God, shoving devotion and praise of Him right back in His face as if they deserved better treatment. But the Bible told them, in advance, all of the woes that would come upon them for what they did in rejecting His mercies through Christ.

 

Despite this, God has kept Israel, and He has promised to restore them to Himself as a nation. The Book of Joshua shows how this will happen in typology. Someday, they will be brought into the New Covenant, being baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection.

 

Until that day, many more woes lie ahead for them. We are watching the typology and prophecies of the Bible being fulfilled before our eyes. While we can pity Israel for the woes that have come upon them, we should also understand that nothing that has occurred was apart from God telling them it would happen. Today’s verse is one of many that reveals this truth.

 

Lord God, we know that You are just in all Your ways. Help us never to impute wrongdoing to You through our words or attitudes as they are expressed in Your presence. You have offered us life and restoration. May we accept it, understanding that when we turn from You, our judgment and punishment, no matter how severe, is justified. Help us to understand this truth. Amen.