‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
-Matt 25:29-30
We've looked at the "outer darkness" previously in the Parable of the Wedding Guests and in other studies. We noted that this is not the "fiery hell" of man's traditions; it is a place outside the kingdom.
Remember, in Matthew 8 it is THE SONS OF THE KINGDOM who are cast into the outer darkness. There, these can ONLY refer to Jews as they are contrasted with the faith of Gentile.
The "wicked servant" and the "unprofitable servant" and the guest at the wedding with a garment are all cast into the outer darkness.
The guests at the wedding who answer the invitation are part of the fourth call. This is after the city is burned. We note, in short here, that these are those called in the Time of Jacob's Trouble yet to come.
What garment is he missing? The garment is "the righteous acts of the saints" (Rev 19:8b).
"You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life..."
-Rev 3:4
This missing out on the Kingdom (not life), leads to the "weeping and gnashing of teeth" associated with this judgment.
Note these pointed words spoken by the Savior to the religious hypocrites of Israel:
‘The publicans and the harlots GO into the kingdom of God BEFORE you’
-Matt. 21:31
And this from the Sermon on the Mount:
"For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."
-Matt 5:20
The "narrow gate" is often used in gospel preaching, but when this happens, it does violence to the context and confuses a gift with something earned.
"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction [perdition], and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and DIFFICULT is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."
-Matthew 7:13-14
Grace is not "difficult," but entrance into the Kingdom is difficult. For that they must have faith, yes, but also "righteous works." Matthew is about ENTERING the Kingdom. It starts with the "Son of David" and the "Son of Abraham." It speaks to Jews and concerns the promised Kingdom.
We note again the first question the Holy Spirit enlightened chosen Apostles of the Messiah have after 40 days of teaching bu the Risen Lord on the subject of the Kingdom:
"speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God... Will you, at this time, restore the KINGDOM to ISRAEL?"
-Acts 1:3,6
These are not easy things. There are tremendous and deep truths in scripture that we must continue to seek out until we can seek no longer. I do not claim to understand every aspect of these things (and it is God's pleasure to hide some things from us).
But much of Christendom wallows in confusion by conflating the earthly Kingdom of God with His Body. We must "rightly divide" these truths.