Matthew 8:11-12 “And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

The Centurion’s faith marveled Jesus. He had not found such faith in all of Israel. The most astonishing words Jesus’s disciples and the Jewish men around would have ever imagined hearing. Jesus went on to speak of many coming from the east and west to sit in heaven with the Patriarchs of the Jewish nation. This was a true revelation. Jesus is saying that Gentiles, like me and you, would be in heaven with Him. No other words could shake up the Jewish man more until the next scripture.

“But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness.” Jesus is telling them that there would be Jewish men, men of the old covenant of Abraham, that did not accept Jesus as Savior who would be cast into hell. This is the most shocking statement to the men around Him. They thought they were promised heaven by birth. But if you really search out the scripture everything that was credited to the Patriarch’s was by their faith. Just like the faith the Centurion showed.

Faith in the Son of God as Savior is the requirement to enter enteral glory. Nothing else. Not works, nor birthright. For those who choose not to acknowledge Jesus as Lord, well that is terrible to think about. There is a place no one these days likes to talk about. But it is spoken of by Jesus. The full truth is there is a place where there will be great weeping and gnashing of teeth. It is full of eternal fire. We call it hell. It was made for Satan and his minions, not us. But if we do not accept the free gift of salvation, then it is our destination. In reality, we have to work hard to make it there because Jesus seeks us throughout our lives. We just have to stop and listen to His voice calling out to us.