Matthew 13:41-43

Matthew 13:41-43
At the conclusion of the parable of the tares, Jesus gives us a glimpse of the Day of Judgment. There are two classes of sinners who will be gathered out of the Lord’s kingdom and cast into a furnace of fire: “those who offend” and “those who practice lawlessness.” The word “offend” indicates anyone who causes others to sin or in some way keeps them from doing what is right. Some are heard to say, “This is my life and what I do only affects me.” Wrong. Everything we do in our lives has some affect on others. Our example alone has a great influence on the choices of our children, spouses, close friends, and even casual observers. We will be judged by how our lifestyle affects others.”Lawlessness” simply comes from a Greek word that means “without law.” It has to do with practicing spiritual anarchy. Lest you think that this can only refer to wicked, immoral people, remember that Jesus referred to some religious people as “lawless” in Matthew 7:21-23. We are lawless when we decide that we can disregard what the Lord has commanded us. Denominationalism in general has a “we can do whatever we want” mentality when it comes to worship and serving God. The Old Testament pages are filled with passages in which those who worshiped God were condemned because they did not follow the pattern laid out by the Lord (see Gen. 4:1-8; Lev. 10:1-3; 1 Sam. 15). And Jesus warns of the same in the New Testament (Mark 7:6-9).

We need to also consider how Jesus characterizes hell: a furnace of fire where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Since hell is spiritual place and not physical, or of this world, such descriptions are in some sense figurative. The Lord is using earthly comparisons so that we can understand a place in the spiritual realm. Later, Jesus will call hell “outer darkness” (Mt. 22:13). Darkness and fire would not go together in this world, but in figurative terms they describe how horrible hell will be. “Weeping and gnashing of teeth” is not simply a description of pain as a result of the furnace of fire, but also of the mental anguish one suffers when they realize what they could have had but lost for eternity. These words should offer us strong motivation to serve the Lord while we have the opportunity. There will be no “make-up exams” on that day!
Berry Kercheville