Matthew 13:41, 50 Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth

Question:

I was brought up in a traditional Pentecostal protestant spiritual teaching. I have studied much to find my own way spiritually to work out my own salvation as it were. I continue to struggle with a God of love and joy and peace and the idea of sin so bad as to be unforgivable and hell and Satan. My mom often said that Satan was working overtime when we work to do good. I was hopeful you can provide interpretation and guidance on these matters so that I might better understand them in the Bible. Your guidance has been a wonderful tool to my Bible study time. Any guidance you can offer will be appreciated.

Comment:

Chapter 13 of Matthew contains several different attempts by Jesus to describe the new consciousness (“the kingdom of heaven”) that he was challenging people to discover and embrace within themselves. He carefully uses images from every day life (sowing seeds, fishing, baking) to evoke several ideas about the kingdom: It will express out of very small ideas and choices, and it requires steadfast discernment to separate expressions of the kingdom consciousness from those of imperfect mortal consciousness. 

Most of these images can be found in Mark and Luke as well. What is unique to Matthew here and elsewhere in his Gospel is the imagery of “weeping and gnashing of teeth” as a punishment for those still distracted by mortal consciousness. Both the verses you cite describe a furnace of fire and weeping and gnashing. It’s useful to remember that one of the primary objectives in the Gospel of Matthew is to convince early Christians, who had begun to drift away when Jesus’ promised second coming hadn’t happened, that they should stay faithful to the church. Since Mark (the earliest Gospel) doesn’t include these images, we can surmise that they were not from Jesus, but from Matthew’s earnest attempts to create some scary consequences for failing to hold the faith.

Metaphysically it’s important to realize that fire is not only a destructive force. It can also be an agent of purification. The idea that negative, limited thoughts in consciousness will have to be “burned away” so that loving, empowering “kingdom” thoughts can hold sway is very valid, I think. The more stubbornly we hold on to old ideas, the fiercer the fire required to purify them, burning out the negativity. The process can be gentle or painful—the choice is ours.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed