Jesus
speaks of the gnashing of teeth a lot in his parables and teachings. Therefore we hear it a lot. But I wonder if we have ever thought about
what it actually means or signifies.
I find myself
thinking about a certain dog in a certain comic with a menacing Dennis as its
master.
When
it does appear it often appears at the end of a story or description or
explanation. It is often what we are
left with. So it ought to have significance
and not just be glossed over as a quaint turn of phrase from the time.
If
you look up a definition for gnashing you will find it describes the grinding
of teeth in anger. It is an expression
of rage. Often a rage inspired by great
pain. I once heard an example of
gnashing as being what you instinctively do if you hit your thumb with a hammer
or stub your toe badly. You squeeze your
eyes closed, grind your teeth and vocalise your reaction through your closed
teeth. You get the idea.
However
in scripture that gnashing of teeth of often partnered with weeping. We hear described, the weeping and gnashing
of teeth. And here it takes on a new
kind of dread. Anger and pain coupled
with a tremendous sorrow. And in many
scriptural contexts the implication is that the weeping and gnashing of teeth
will last an eternity.
It’s
a part of our faith analogy to which we don’t often go if we are honest. But Jesus did on a number of occasions. And many of those occasions are about the
Kingdom of God. We are in a little part
of the Christian Year known as the Kingdom Season and Advent, shortly to be upon
us, is set against the hope of the kingdom to come. So we’d better sit up and take notice of what
Jesus means and what it could mean to us.
Jesus’
first reference to weeping and gnashing of teeth comes in Matthew 8:12 where He
compares the kingdom of heaven where “many” come from all parts of the world to
“recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Those who don’t come near
are described as being in the “outer
darkness” where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, a description of a
horrible fate. In His parable of the weeds sown in the field, Jesus again
describes the fate of those who reject Him, this time adding to the description
“the fiery furnace” into which they will be cast (Matthew 13:41-42). The story
of the guest who comes to the wedding feast of the Lamb without the proper
clothing (salvation) is cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and
gnashing of teeth (Matthew 22:11-13), as is the wicked servant described in
Matthew 24:44-51 and the worthless servant in the parable of the talents, which
was the story that prompted my reflection.
All
these references to weeping and gnashing of teeth have one thing in common—the
undeniable fact that those who do are outside the kingdom, those who reject God
and goodness, will find themselves in a kind of darkness, and will suffer this frustration.
A Vicar once preached on the gnashing of teeth in eternity and a worried elderly lady in the congregation afterwards presented the problem. 'I don't have any teeth'. The Vicar replied solemnly. 'Teeth will be provided.'
The
contrast is what we find in Revelation.
“He
will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning
or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away"
The
pain that causes the gnashing of teeth will be unknown in heaven, and there
will be no weeping, no wailing, and no tears. The sorrow and death that cause
us to weep and mourn will be a thing of the past. Sickness, death, persecution,
and sin will be no more.
At
one time you would have found this polarisation of the afterlife into a place
of horror and suffering and a place of peace and comfort, common currency in
frightening people towards some form of reluctant salvation.
The
threat of the place of teeth gnashing was also used by those in authority to
scare people into a submission to suit their needs or the needs of a particular
community.
Society
at large now ridicules this part of the Christian purveyance and doesn’t take
it seriously. And when the evangelistic
process relies heavily on this kind of rhetoric then it too loses its
credibility and the ability to impart anything about God, Christ and the
Christian faith is hampered.
We
could, then, all sit back and say, well, we won’t bother with them then.
They’ll find out one day and realise they were wrong.
Or
we could say, prayerfully, what is God now telling us about this part of the
faith story that is being challenged and taken apart. For remember God can speak to us through
those who we think don’t have faith.
Like
many things to do with our faith and its interpretation it deserves another
look to see where God is now pointing us.
When
we look at references to the weeping and gnashing, they are all concerned with
a negative eternal experience following an active rejection of God, and,
probably by implication, following an evil motivated life style.
The
thing is they are references that are only used by Jesus. Only Jesus dares to tell us about this
dreadful condition. Not Paul, or the
prophets, or Abraham or Moses, or Ruth or Sara, or John the Baptist. Only Jesus dares to tell us this, and when he
does he says that the judgement will by ‘my father in heaven’. In other words it is a God centred decisions
as to who ends up teeth gnashing.
For
too long human beings have tried to invent calculating and defined ways to
describe people as either saved and safe or unsaved and dangerous. And even if we could define someone as a
definite believer who are we to then say that someone else who doesn’t reach
that same profile is therefore lost in the outer darkness.
In
Jesus’ parables only God is the discerner or all that. We are the tellers of the gospel and the
supporters and nurturers, and the rest is between that person and God.
And
here’s another clue. The weeping and
gnashing of teeth appears in stories.
Stories of feasts and servants, debts and talents. Its all part of the analogy to describe the
indescribable. In John 14 Jesus depicts
the afterlife experience as a house with many mansions, many rooms, actually
many dwelling places. That doesn't mean
the faithful are going to find themselves in a nicely decorated double glazed Barrets home. The analogy was to convey
the sense of dwelling; of being with God, and the peace and comfort that will
bring.
Likewise
the image of rolling tears and dental tensions, was a way of putting over the
feeling of being without God. If God is
light, then without God is darkness. We
mustn’t presume that because someone doesn’t use the words we use or the
religious phrases we use that they are without God. Likewise someone can emulate the Christian
profile and be far from the God of love.
St
Paul says to his Thessalonians, Therefore
encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing. And Jesus did more about encouraging his
followers than he did about warning about the darkness. And he found pre-existent faith as well….you
faith has cured you’’’’he would say.
As
Christians we do care that people come close to the God of love, the God of
light, and that they do so for all sorts of positive reasons. Come into the light because you want to see,
not because you are afraid of the darkness.
Therefore
encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.
