We began this series at the first of the year. The setting was on the Mount of Olives, overlooking Jerusalem. The disciples were showing off the magnificent Temple to Jesus and Jesus told them that a time was coming when “not one stone will be left upon another.” The Disciples asked what will the signs of these things be? (Matthew 24:1-3). Jesus proceeded to tell about the things that will come, especially the trouble times ahead. But more important, was the emphasis on His return and with His return, the coming judgment. Jesus said:
Matthew 24:42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
The implication is quite clear, we do not know the day nor the hour that Jesus will return, but when He does come, it will be too late to make a decision to live for Him. There will come a time in everyone’s life, when making a decision for Jesus will be too late. Coming to Jesus must be done when He calls, for that call may not always be present. Whether he grants us our last breath, or He physically returns, that time is drawing closer every moment.
Jesus finishes His Olivet Discourse with his teachings about His coming and with “The Coming Judgement.”
Matthew 25:31–46
Craig Blomberg, one of my favorite commentators and writer of a number of my seminary books, had taken several trips to Central America to teach in the seminary in Guatemala. He wrote:
“In fact, while I was in Guatemala, I taught at the evangelical seminary there, just blocks from a square-mile-large garbage dump where more than one thousand people live, combing through the daily additions to the dump to try to find small items that can be resold, the proceeds from which enable them to eke out a marginal existence. This was not my first such exposure to desperate poverty of this kind, but it remains no less touching and troubling.” [1]
“In talking with Christians in Guatemala, when I had established enough of a relationship to get the local Christian leaders to be honest (and North American missionaries were even blunter), the recurring theme that emerged was their amazement at how much money we spend on ourselves, not merely as a country but as churches, and how little we share with the rest of the world, especially with fellow Christians, especially with those in some of the poorest places in the world.” [2]
What do we do to minister and meet the needs to the “least of these?” I look at our shoebox ministry [3] and I cannot help but wonder who the least of these around the world we are touching. Our passage today is the last recorded teaching of Jesus in the book of Matthew. It is not a parable. It is a simile, a comparison. Jesus talks about His coming and his judgment of the nations. It will be like a shepherd separating the sheep from the goats.
A key to properly understanding this teaching of Jesus is know who are the players in this passage; Who are the sheep” Who are the goats? Who is the King? And lastly but often overlooked are the “one of these brothers of mine?” (verse 40). Who are these brothers of the King? We will deal with them in order we encounter them.
First we see the second coming of Jesus. It will not meek, mild and humble like His first advent. He will be coming in glory and in power and in judgment.
Matthew 25:31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.
And when He comes, He will sit on His throne. This is His royal throne from which He will rule. It is not the Great White Throne we read about in Revelation 20 where He will judge the condemned dead. Nor is it the “Judgment seat of Christ” we read about in 2 Corinthians 5:10 where He will give out rewards for the saved. This is at the beginning of the 1,000 year reign of Jesus. And here He will gather all the people groups of the earth before him for judgment.
Matthew 25:32–33 All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
The word “nations” in the Greek is “ethnos,” which means peoples or groups of peoples, based on geographical, cultural or physical ties. no Jesus makes a simile, a comparison, not a parable. But like a shepherd, the people will be separated like sheep from goats. In many herds, sheep and goats graze together, and at a distance, you would have a hard time telling them apart. But sheep are generally more highly valued than the goats and there comes a time when they must be separated. Placing the sheep on the right is the favored position. The left is the place of disfavor.
Now remember, Jesus self-described Himself as the “Son of Man” in verse 31. He is now seated on His royal throne, and starting in verse 34, Jesus refers to himself as “the King.”
Matthew 25:34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Now those on the right, Jesus calls the “blessed of My Father.” It is clear they are favored ones to inherit the Kingdom. Notice this Kingdom was prepared from the beginning of time. We cannot ignore the doctrine of election here. God knew who would make their decision for Jesus. Jesus called and these are the ones who answered the call. These are those who are saved by grace, not works. But now Jesus is going to show the evidence of their salvation.
Matthew 25:35–36 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
This may seem like judgment is made on the bases of works. Not at all. The evidence of a person’s salvation is being examined here.
But these sheep, the ones called the “blessed of My Father” are surprised. They ask an important question here. Notice they are now call “the righteous” in verse 37.
Matthew 25:37–39 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
They are surprised, not with their salvation, but with the fact they had ministered directly to Jesus. How or when did that happen? Jesus the King answers:
Matthew 25:40 The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
Who are these brothers of the King? There are some commentators who say these the Jews during the tribulation. Those who minister to them during that time, do so at great risk. I do not disagree, but I also believe in a broader sense, these are our fellow Christians around the world, especially those in need. Jesus talked about being in the lives of His people.
Matthew 10:40–42 “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”
All Christians make up the body of Christ. When we help a fellow member of the body, we are ministering to the Jesus Himself. Yes, we are not to neglect the poor as a whole, but how more should we be helping out our brothers and sisters of the faith that are in need?
Galatians 6:10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
Many of our missions are for the benefit of other Christians. Remember our trips to the orphanage in Haiti? Our purpose was not to preach to the lost (though we did so when the opportunity presented itself), but to offer aid to the “least of these,” our brothers and sisters in Christ. A huge part of our shoebox ministry [4] are going to disadvantage Christian children around the world. Many of them are used to reach and make new Christians and followers of Jesus, many are going to help start new churches. Foreign missions is much more than reaching the lost. It is also helping our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world. Who are the least of these? If we minister to the least of them, we are ministering directly to Jesus.
Beyond salvation, we are to be active in supplying the physical needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ; food, shelter, clothing, and companionship. Here again, I must make the note, this is not a salvation of works, rather this is an examination of the evidence. What evidence is there that you are saved? James said it best:
James 2:26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
Now we come to the goats, those on the disfavored left side of the King.
Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
The King now calls those on His left “accursed ones.” They are headed for eternal punishment. This verse points out a very interesting fact. Hell was prepared for Satan and his demons. Not for human beings. However, by their own choice, many do not desire to be with Jesus, do not want a relationship with Him, do not want to be with God. So the King makes His judgment based on the evidence. So what is that evidence?
Matthew 25:42–43 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’
They had never ministered to the King. The results of their choice to not know the King is evident, but they are as surprised as the righteous, for ask a similar question.
Matthew 25:44 Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’
And the King’s answer is the same:
Matthew 25:45 Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
How God’s people are treated by others will be noted. Remember Paul/Saul’s conversion on the Damascus Road? When Saul asked who it was speaking to him:
Acts 9:5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting
Saul was persecuting Jesus directly when he was persecuting the those in the church. Jesus takes it personally when His people are attacked. Jesus also takes it personally when his people, even the "least of these" are ministered to.
Our actions everyday has eternal consequences. What evidence do you have to show your salvation? Does the evidence point to knowing the King and ministering to Him, ministering to the least of these his brethren, or does it show the opposite?
Apparently, Jesus tells this as a test of last resort for a disciple. For those condemned, it was not so much as a crime they committed, but a sin of omission. Sins of omission are just a critical as sins of commission.
Here is the deal, one day we will all stand before Jesus. At that time, our eternal fate has already been determined and cannot be changed.
Matthew 25:46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
What is implied here is deep. We all will have an eternal existence. There is no such thing as the doctrine of annihilation. There will be either eternal punishment or eternal life. We either know the Lord personally or not. What is the evidence of either in your life?
[1] Craig Blomberg, Preaching the Parables: From Responsible Interpretation to Powerful Proclamation (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2004), 205.
[2] Ibid., 211.
[3] Our shoesbox minitry is part of Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/
[4] ibid.
