31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25: 31-46 ESV
Matthew 25: 31-46 Christ's Judgment
When the Son of Man comes - This is Jesus, Who Matthew has established as King, both by lineage as the Son of David, and the fulfillment of OT prophecy as the One Who paid in stripes the Kinsmen's redemption. It was men who offended the infinite God, and so Jesus must come as a man, but He must satisfy the infinite and eternal Being, so He must be God. He has already come as the humble servant that we should have been, and He has already been rejected as we should be, and He has already given His life on the cross, rose again, for death cannot hold the One Who is without sin.
…4because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me. 6In burnt offerings and sin offerings You took no delight.… Hebrews 10: 4-6
…9He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail. 10Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder from heaven against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth and will give power to His king. He will exalt the horn of His anointed.” 1 Samuel 2: 9-10
…63But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to Him, “I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64“You have said it yourself,” Jesus answered. “But I say to all of you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 65At this, the high priest tore his clothes and declared, “He has blasphemed! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.… Matthew 26: 63-65
Then He will sit on His glorious throne - This is the Second coming, the judgement of those on the earth. This is at the end of the Tribulation. Jesus will sit on the throne of His father David, which is in Zion, which is Jerusalem.
…37“Then You are a king!” Pilate said. “You say that I am a king,” Jesus answered. “For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.” 38“What is truth?” Pilate asked. And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against Him. 39But it is your custom that I release to you one prisoner at the Passover. So then, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”… John 18: 37-39
…4On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving to the north and half to the south. 5You will flee by My mountain valley, for it will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with Him. 6On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost.… Zechariah 14: 4-6
Before Him will be gathered all the nations - This is prophesied in the OT.
…12Let the nations be roused and advance to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit down to judge all the nations on every side. 13Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow because their wickedness is great. 14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the Day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.…
…15The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine. 16The LORD will roar from Zion and raise His voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.
17Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy, never again to be overrun by foreigners. 18And in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the streams of Judah will run with water, and a spring will flow from the house of the LORD to water the Valley of Acacias. 19Egypt will become desolate, and Edom a desert wasteland, because of the violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.… Joel 3: 12-19
And He will place the sheep on His right - He distinguishes between believers and unbelievers, the right hand is the place of preference.
…13And Joseph took both of them—with Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand—and brought them close to him. 14But Israel stretched out his right hand and put it on the head of Ephraim, the younger; and crossing his hands, he put his left on Manasseh’s head, although Manasseh was the firstborn. 15Then he blessed Joseph and said: “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,… Genesis 48: 13-15
…8For the One who was at work in Peter’s apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in my apostleship to the Gentiles. 9And recognizing the grace that I had been given, James, Cephas, and John— those reputed to be pillars— gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. 10They only asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.… Galatians 2: 8-10
…43Jesus said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord’? For he says: 44‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’ 45So if David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how can He be David’s son?”… Matthew 22: 43-45
Inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world - Note, God made this for them from eternity, it is His blessing not their merit, nor any foreseen act originating within them. He chose them in Christ.
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. 4For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love 5He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will,… Ephesians 1: 3-5
For I was hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked - We learned about virgins with oil and without, about wheat and tares, about servants who produced fruit and those that did not. Those servants did what they were supposed to do, as did the virgins who acquired the oil for their lamps, and now we see the fruit of those who God has called. They are performing very god-like tasks, in doing for those that can do little or nothing in return for them, and they are doing it out of love for Christ and His people.
…8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.… Ephesians 2: 8-10
Lord, when did we see You hungry - Note the way the righteous answer, they did not set out to earn roll over minutes or miles, they were not checking off a box. This was so intrinsic and a delight to their new natures that they just did it, without fan fair and from a heart made willing. They are obviously trusting in Christ, what He did, and not in their own works, yet faith without works is dead, and so they are found to have a living faith. There is fruit on these trees.
…8So do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me, His prisoner. Instead, join me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. 9He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began. 10And now He has revealed this grace through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the gospel,… 2 Timothy 1: 8-10
As you did to one of the least of these my brothers you did to me - He has taught the disciples for some time now, and He drives home that if we love Jesus then this will be manifest in our love for each other. The most annoying convert, the one that takes up so much of our energy, maybe that's me and I just see it as someone else, but even the very least of His little ones, whatever we do for them is as unto Christ. He so identifies with His sheep that He tells Peter 3 times to feed His sheep. For the pastor it is to bring the whole counsel of God to his congregation, for the husband it is to wash his wife with the word. For the father and mother it is to teach their children the Scripture, to teach them that it is more blessed to give than receive. For the rich it is to help the poor, not the lazy as some would teach, for this only compounds the problem and aids them in sloth. For the poor it is to pray, to give of what they have and trust in God to multiply it like the fish and the loaves. If I see a need that I cannot personally meet it should drive me to my knees, and the one who thinks little of this knows very little of God.
7Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.… 1 John 4: 7-9
…25So Jesus declared, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them call themselves benefactors. 26But you shall not be like them. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves. 27For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines? But I am among you as one who serves.… Luke 22: 25-27
As you did not do it to one of the least of these - This comes up in very practical historical instances as OT examples. Even the nations that God sent against Israel when they were being judged were still punished for their lack of mercy. Some of Israel's closest kin were often least favorable to them. God will also remember those who have persecuted His church now as well. In the southern states here it is illegal to refuse anyone water, even someone who has come into the country illegally.
…20But Edom insisted, “You may not pass through.” And they came out to confront the Israelites with a large army and a strong hand. 21So Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through their territory, and Israel turned away from them. Numbers 20: 20-21
Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it, 3 and say to it, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, O Mount Seir, I am against you;
I will stretch out My hand against you,
And make you most desolate;
4 I shall lay your cities waste,
And you shall be desolate.
Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
5 “Because you have had an ancient hatred, and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, when their iniquity came to an end, 6 therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; since you have not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue you. 7 Thus I will make Mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it the one who leaves and the one who returns. 8 And I will fill its mountains with the slain; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those who are slain by the sword shall fall. 9 I will make you perpetually desolate, and your cities shall be uninhabited; then you shall know that I am the Lord. Ezekiel 35: 1-9
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