A vision of the future...
When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, he will sit in state on his throne,
Son of Man - an expression found in the Old Testament and used as a self-description of Jesus in the New Testament. Jesus used this name to show he wa the Messiah prophesied by Daniel (Quest Study Bible note, p 1745)
At the final judgement....
God's kingdom will be a reality
on earth
Jesus will be in his rightful
place as King/Lord
Jesus enthroned in glory -
attended by heavenly beings - not a human kingdom. Jesus is still
above and greater than all human rulers.
V 32
with all the nations gathered before him. He will separate men into two groups, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,
All the nations will be gathered before him. This ephasises Jesus' authority over all earthly governments. cf Joel 3: 2, where God judges the nations. In this picture of the future, Jesus openly equates himself with God.
When Jesus returns in his glory, there will still be nations - different peoples, but all under Jesus' authority. cf Daniel 7: 9-14, which describes the Son of Man in his glory.
V 33
and he will place the sheep
on his right hand and the goats on his left
Humanity will be divided by Jesus' judgement - some on his right hand side and some on his left.
V 34
Then the King will say
to those on his right hand, "You have my father's blessing; come, enter
and possess the kingdom that has been ready for you since the world was
made.
The people on his right hand side are commended and blessed and invited to enter God's kingdom as full citizens.
V 35, 36
For when I was hungry,
you gave me food; when thirsty you gave me drink; when I was a stranger
you took me into your home, when naked you clothed me; when I was ill you
came to my help, when in prison you visited me."
Reasons for being commended
V 37-39
Then the righteous will reply, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and fed you, or thirsty and gave you drink, a stranger and took you home, or naked and clothed you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and come to visit you?
What a surprise! These compassionate people are not aware that they have done anything special. They just do not understand what Jesus is getting at.When caring for our neighbour as we do ourselves becomes a daily habit, it doesn't seem to be anything special.
These are 'works' done in humility. Obedience to God's commands without any thought of reward. It isn't necessary to fully understand the mind of God. Well, we can't, even if we want to, can we? All he asks is faithfulness - simple faith and trust in him. cf Jesus' comment to Thomas, John 20: 27
V 40.
And the King will answer,
"I tell you this: anything you did for one of my brothers here, however
humble, you did for me."
How often do we look at others, particularly those less fortunate than ourselves, and see Christ? Even when we already give time and money to help them, is that how we see them? Would that attitude make any difference in how we approach people in need?
Jesus is talking about people in need as his 'brothers' - identifying himself with the ordinary people, the suffering people of the world, even on his throne of glory.
Another suggestion about who
is to be cared for as Jesus' 'brothers'.......
From the New Bible Commentary,
p 938:
This passage is often understood
to teach that ultimate salvation is based on acts of kindness alone, so
that there is nothing specifically Christian about the criteria of judgement.
But that is to ignore the important description of the recipients of this
kindness as the least of these brothers of mine (vs. 40, 45) This
phrase suggests that it is not just anyone that the righteous have
helped and the others have ignored: it is the disciples in need.
The phrase the least reminds us of the 'little ones' of Matthew
10:42; 18:6, 10, 14, and we have seen above that this is a term for Jesus'
disciples. When Jesus says that in helping them you did it forme,
this moving identification of Jesus with his 'brothers' recalls the principle
of Matt. 10: 40-42, where to receive the disciples is to receive Jesus,
and it is a cup of water given to 'one of these little ones because he
is my disciple' which will be rewarded. In that case, the criterion
of judgement is not mere philanthropy (good as that is), but people's response
to the kingdom of heaven as they have met it in the person of Jesus' 'brothers'
V 41-43
Then he will say to those on his left hand, "The curse is upon you; go from my sight to the eternal fire that is ready or the devil and his angels. For when I was hungry you gave me nothing to eat, when thirsty nothig to drink; when I was a stranger you gave me no home, when naked you did not clothe me; when I was ill and in prison you did not come to my help."
The fate of those on the left hand side - to be cursed and sent to eternal damnation with the evil and his angels. Why? They did not care for Christ in time of need.
V 44
And they too will reply, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and did nothing for you?"
The left hand side people are as surprised as the right hand side people. They were not aware that they had done anything wrong. How often is it that we do not do anything wrong, but that we don't do anything?
V 45
And he will answer, "I tell you this: anything you did not do for one of these, however humble, you did not do for me."
Same reply that he gave the right hand people.
The left hand people were self-centred, separated from God and therefore unaware of his commands and they were apathetic towards Christ - which is worse than rebellious disobedience.
It was not the lack of kindness or good deeds that condemned the left hand people, but their apathy and ignorance of God. Without a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, there can be no righteousness.
V 46
The final destination for
both groups of people....
And they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous will enter eternal life.'
