Racism and Hell

This week I have been looking at verses from Jesus that correspond to hell and escaping it. We have looking at the fact our relationship inside the church with others and also what we do can and might send us to hell. Today I want to highlight an interesting verse when it comes to Jesus and hell.

Matthew 8:10-12

When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

This is a hard set of verses to unpack and understand. What Jesus is actually saying, or more importantly who Jesus is saying is going to hell? These verses come in the middle of a conversation between Jesus and a Roman centurion. Jesus commends this gentile for his faith and heals the centurion's servant who is ill because of the faith that the gentile had. Jesus commends his faith so much, that Jesus says that the gentile has more faith than anyone in all of Israel. Then Jesus gives these few verses about others who are not faithful and are going to go to hell. The subjects of the kingdom then, those going to hell, are the all inclusive Jews that think they are the only one's who are going to NOT go to hell. The Jews are being racist and excluding the gentiles from God and Jesus is showing them that this racist idea is not correct, that the kingdom of God is open to all, and the fact that racism will send one to hell. let me say that again, racism will send one to hell. 

We need to understand in the church, Jesus came to live and die for all and we the church should be reaching out to all of the lost; black, white, Asian, African, and everyone else who is not like we are. Jesus is simply stating the fact that if we are inclusive and only keep Jesus for ourselves or for others like us, we do not truly love Jesus and will end up in hell, because we are racist and do not understand what it means to love and know our Savior.