What is the meaning of Matthew 8:10-12

When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel. And I say to you that many will come from the east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, but the children of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

These three verses refer to the Roman centurion who came to Jesus and asked Him to heal his servant who was paralyzed. The centurion was a Gentile, meaning he was not a Hebrew and was not part of the chosen people, the covenant community, the commonwealth of Israel. That is why in vs. 8-9 he declared to Jesus, “I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. But only speak a word (emphasis added) and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority and have soldiers under me. And I say to one ‘Go’ and he goes, and to another ‘Come’ and he comes, and to my servant ‘Do this’ and he does it.”

So we see why Jesus was amazed at the faith of this soldier who knew about His authority and the power of his word. Since the centurion knew he could command obedience with the power of his words, how much more could God in the flesh heal his paralytic servant with the power and authority of His word?

Jesus commended the centurion for his great faith, and simultaneously condemned unbelieving, disobedient Israel for their lack of faith. That is why he said in vs. 12, the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

                                         

                                       Why are the sons of the kingdom cast out ?

The first thing we to do is identify the sons of the kingdom. When reading vs. 12 in context, Jesus is making clear to his own native people, Israel. The Hebrews were a people chosen by God centuries ago for his own possession because of a promise he made to one man, Abraham (Deuteronomy 7:6-8;Deuteronomy 32:6; Romans 11:2). These are indeed the sons of the kingdom. However, Jesus said the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. What does this mean? Those sons who do not believe will be cast into hell forever for rejecting God’s word; the gospel truth. Keep in mind, all Israel was saved nationally. No one was left behind, but not all were saved spiritually or eternally due to unbelief when they were in the wilderness (Numbers 14:26-38; Psalm 95:8-11). In the Old Testament those who did not believe did not enter into the Lord’s rest –i.e. the land of Caanan.

                                                                   Conclusion

Those who do not believe the gospel of Jesus Christ will never enter God’s eternal rest, heaven. They will be cast out into outer darkness, a synonym for hell where they will be wailing and gnashing or grinding of teeth. Hell is a place of unrelenting pain and torment that will never end. This is the tragic fate of all who never believe the gospel and die in their sins.

Let us all express the humility and the faith of the centurion; we 1) recognize our unworthiness to be in the presence of the Lord and 2) exercise faith and believe every word that proceeds from the mouth of God so that we receive answers to our petitions (Deuteronomy 8:3).

For it would be a beautiful thing to know that the Lord God Almighty would be amazed by our faith in Him and his word.