Matthew 13:42
Saturday, 18 October 2025
and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13:42
“And they will cast them into the furnace of the fire. There it will be the lamentation and the gnash of the teeth” (CG).
In the previous verse, Jesus noted that at the end of the age, the Son of Man will send out His messengers to gather all who offend or practice lawlessness. Their fate will not be a happy one. This is seen in His next words, saying, “And they will cast them into the furnace of the fire.”
The kaminos, furnace, is introduced here. It is derived from kaió, to burn or to light (as in a lamp). Thus, it speaks of setting on fire. This then consumes what is lit. The kaminos is a place where this occurs.
Furnaces are places of immense heat, but they are also shut when ignited, making them inescapable, except through where the fumes and venting of heat take place. The idea then is that of total destruction with no chance of escape. As people are being referred to, this speaks of a place of divine judgment. This coming judgment was referred to in Malachi –
“‘For behold, the day is coming,
Burning like an oven,
And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble.
And the day which is coming shall burn them up,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
‘That will leave them neither root nor branch.
2 But to you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings;
And you shall go out
And grow fat like stall-fed calves.
3 You shall trample the wicked,
For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet
On the day that I do this,’
Says the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 4:1-3
Of this end-of-the-age event, Jesus next says, “There it will be the lamentation and the gnash of the teeth.”
Lamentation is a sign of great mourning. Those who rejected their own chance of salvation through coming to Christ will realize the error of their ways. They will certainly plead for mercy, but none will be provided. Their chance in life was wasted on setting snares and practicing lawlessness.
Gnashing teeth is a sign of immense negative emotion that accompanies the lamentation. One ridiculous commentary found in the Expositor’s Greek-Testament says the word is “held to be inappropriate here, because the gnashing of teeth is caused by cold, not by fire.” Cold causes teeth to chatter, not gnash.
The imagery is that of people receiving the just penalty for the aberrant lives they lived. Like those at the time of Noah’s flood, they were warned by him as he prepared the ark. In the end, only he and his family were saved. An entire world of people was swept away through the judgment of the flood. In the end times, fire will replace flood.
Life application: There are times when a commentary is so ridiculous that it needs to be highlighted and spoken against. Imagine someone so nitpicky that they find fault in God’s word by claiming Jesus’ use of the word translated as gnash to describe the anguished state of these people is inappropriate. But this is what scholars who have no care about the word do.
The word brugmos, to gnash, is derived from bruchó, to grate the teeth. That is used in Acts 7 –
“‘You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, 53 who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.’
54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed [bruchó] at him with their teeth.” Acts 7:51-54
These people weren’t standing in the cold with their teeth chattering. Rather, they were in a heated rage at Stephen because he identified their arrogance and hypocrisy against the Lord by always resisting His will.
Be careful when you read commentaries to not accept what you hear without thinking through what is stated. Far too many supposed scholars have one overarching intent, which is to tear apart the word in an attempt to make themselves look smarter than God, who gave us His word.
Such people are warped and twisted. Think about what you read. There is nothing inappropriate about what God presents to us. What is inappropriate is how we may arrogantly dismiss it or speak against it. For some good advice, if the guy who gave this analysis, Holtz by name, is saved, don’t stand too close to him at the Bema Seat of Christ. It may be a bit fiery there.
Lord God, may we never attempt to diminish the beauty or glory of Your word. Help us to remember that it is given to us to lead us into the knowledge of You and what You have done in the giving of Jesus. There is nothing awry or inappropriate in it. It is a precious and sacred bestowal to the people of the world. Help us to treat it accordingly. Amen.
