A Roman centurion approaches Jesus and begs for him to heal his servant, and Jesus is amazed at his faith. In fact, Jesus remarks that he had not encountered a faith like this man’s in all of Israel.
“I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 8:21-22
Jesus announces to the Jews, who have witnessed the interaction with this Roman, that people from the nations will enter into the kingdom to dine with the patriarchs of Israel, but the sons of the kingdom, the Jews, will be thrown out. Pretty clear. Sounds final, doesn’t it?
However, later in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus chides some Jewish religious leaders, saying, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.” (Matthew 21:31). The leaders will themselves enter the kingdom, but they won’t be the first.
This later statement seems to contradict the first. If the sons of the kingdom are going to be thrown into the outer darkness, which has been often taken as a euphemism for eternal damnation, how are Jewish “sinners” entering, and then the religious leaders afterward?
We start to wonder if Jesus even knows who is going to be in his kingdom. Is there a way of reading these statements of Jesus which resolves the tension?
One approach is to assume Jesus only means some of the sons of the kingdom will be permanently banished from it. So it is then possible that some of the tax collectors and prostitutes will enter, and some of the religious leaders after them. Some will be exiled permanently, and others will be allowed in the kingdom.
However, as a matter of principle, I believe that we should assume that all God’s actions are beneficent, that is to say, an expression of grace and generous goodness. We must look for how everything God does is merciful, loving, and for our good.
Starting from this foundation, we ask why the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. What do we do when we are in darkness? We look for light. Sometimes we don’t look for light until we recognize that we need it.
If we don’t assume that the outer darkness is a permanent state to which one is assigned without hope of restoration, then we can imagine that the children of the kingdom are cast out so that they might see the light and return to the kingdom they neglected. Only in the darkness, like the prodigal son living with the pigs, will they “come to their senses” (Luke 15:17).
This is precisely Paul’s hope that his Jewish brethren will become “jealous” when they see the gentiles entering the kingdom (Romans 11:11). Then, they will come back to what was always there for them. It seems that we often must spend time in the “desert” before our hearts are changed. God casts no one into darkness because he wants them to stay in darkness, but that they might be drawn to the light.
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