Salvation Surprise
Matthew’s gospel begins and ends with the gospel extending beyond the Jewish people to the Gentiles. Matthew begins and ends with Jesus as “Immanuel” (God with us) not only for the religious insider but for the social outsider. Over and over again the people we expect to receive the gospel reject it, and those we expect to reject it, receive it. This is a central, reoccurring theme in all four of the gospels reminding us that heaven is going to be full of surprises
One of the great examples of this is in Matthew 8, with the healing of the centurion’s servant. “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” Jesus replies, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith; I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:6–12). Jesus is amazed; the faith the church should have had is exemplified by a pagan gentile.
Jesus picks up on this theme again in Matthew 12. In verses 18-21, we find the longest citation of the Old Testament in Matthew’s gospel. He is citing a section from Isaiah 42, a chapter all about the message of the gospel going to the Gentiles. “He will bring forth justice to the nations” (Is. 42:1). Notice it is plural. It says “nations,” not “nation.” Matthew 12:18-21 is almost verbatim of Isaiah 42:1-4 until you get to the last verse. Matthew 12:21 says, “In his name the Gentiles will hope,” while Isaiah 42:4 says, “the coastlands wait for his law.” This comes from the MT, but Matthew uses the LXX, which almost verbatim says, “and in his name the Gentiles will hope”
Richard Hays, in his book “Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels,” points out that Matthew follows the LXX “to sharpen the focus on the Christological significance of the prophecy. It is ‘his name’ rather than Torah that is the object of expectation and hope,” (1). Matthew is not saying that the law no longer matters now that Jesus is here. We know this because it is Matthew who records Jesus saying, “do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (Matt. 5:17–18). Jesus did not come to replace the Law, rather Jesus was the living embodiment of the Law. So both the MT and LXX are correct. The law is light to the nations, but the law is ultimately revealed in Jesus. The Law cannot save us; only Jesus can. The religious leaders placed all of their hope in the Torah and entirely missed the incarnation of the Torah in Christ. They could not see the forest for the trees. “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that bear witness about me” (Jn. 5:39). They thought their obedience could save them. But, we’re not saved by our rule-keeping but by our relationship. “In his name (Immanuel) the Gentiles will have hope.” (Matt. 12:21, Is. 42:4 LXX). This is why Jesus says“many” gentiles will be at the great feast in the finished Kingdom, while many Jews will not, (Matt. 8:11-12).
Jesus continues this thread a few verses later when the scribes and Pharisees ask for a sign (Matt. 12:38). He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew 12:39–42). Again we see the religious insider lost while the social outsider is saved. It’s not by accident Jesus uses Jonah and Nineveh as examples. At the end of Jonah, it is the religious church member pouting outside the celebration while the worldly Ninevites enter into the celebration. The same thing happens in the parable of the prodigal son. The younger disobedient son enters the feast while the older, obedient son continues brooding outside the feast.
Interestingly, the phrase “rise up” Matthew uses in 12:41 in reference to the people of Nineveh and in 12:42 in reference to the queen of the South, means “resurrection.” In John 5:28–29, Jesus says “the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” The resurrection is going to be filled with surprises. We will be surprised by the people we did not expect to be there. We will be surprised by the people we expected to be there that are missing. And I believe, on some level, we will all be a little surprised that we’re there. But this is the beauty of the Gospel. Heaven is not an exclusive club; it’s open to everyone and anyone. John says it’s for “whosoever believes in him” (3:16). Which means it isn’t for the religious but for those in a relationship. You can be the most religious person in the world and still not know Jesus. Heaven is not for those who deserve a place, but for those whom Christ reserved a place. Heaven is not for perfect people; it’s for purchased people who put their hope in a perfect Person.
Hays, Richard B. “Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels” Baylor University Press, 2016