I have a question about Matthew 8:5-13…verses 11-12 specifically. Before Jesus heals the servant, why does He say “I tell 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 thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”? Why will the sons of the kingdom be thrown out?
Matthew 8:5-13 records the incident where the Roman Centurion (a gentile) asked the Lord to heal his servant, which the Lord did. Then He turned to the Jews around Him and indicated that He had not seen faith like the Centurion’s anywhere in Israel.
Using this as a model of things to come, He said that many will come from east and west (Gentiles) to join the Patriarchs in the Kingdom. He was speaking of the coming Church which would be largely Gentile in its origins. But because of their lack of faith, the sons of the Kingdom (the Jews) would be excluded. This thought was repeated in the Parable of the Tenants (Matt. 21:33-46) and the Wedding Banquet (Matt. 22:1-14).
Through out the last 2,000 years the Church has grown in all parts of the world as Gentiles have come to the Lord in faith, while generations of Jews, for whom the Kingdom was intended, have perished without Him.