I am struck at Jesus' response to the centurion. The centurion shows some considerable faith, and Jesus acknowledges this. The next part, thought, seems a touch out of place:
I tell you, many will come from the east and west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then Jesus heals the man's servant.
Does that seem out of place to anyone else? Any thoughts on the "sons of the kingdom?" Another one of my bible's translates it "subjects of the kingdom." I feel like the cliche response would be to ascribe this noun to the uber-law-abiding Jewish leaders?
Also, this isn't in Luke.
I like Matthew's emphasis on the universal message of Christ.
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I typically read that as saying that many Jews will be left out, whereas Gentiles can now come to faith. And that ties in with him praising the faith of a Gentile. What was the intended audience of Matthew's letter?
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I see the "subjects of the kingdom" in this verse as Jews who do not have faith like the centurion. This reminds me of Romans 11, which talks about natural branches (Jews) being broken off in order that wild shoots (Gentiles) can be grafted into the olive tree (the true Israel). Also, Romans 9:8 "...it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring."
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