Matthew 25:31-46 (NRSV) – The Judgement of the Nations
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that 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 something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me 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 nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just 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.”
Devotional
It is interesting that the first few days of Holy Week, seem to center around a certain theme: Sunday (Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem) was about worship, Monday (Jesus’ visit to the temple) was about prayer, and today, Jesus seems to be calling us into action. He makes us recognize that we are called into the service of others, not just those that we care for on a regular basis, but also those that we would consider complete strangers.
Verses 35-40 are often quoted in church as the basis of this service to the community in which we reside. Yet, as we can see there is much more to this passage than just this sole recognition. The overall context places the situation into conditions of reward or punishment. This was not unusual for Israel, for they had often understood the Scriptures in this way – do what God asks and you will be rewarded, don’t do it and punishment would be coming soon.
We often don’t like to think of God being judgmental, that through Jesus He made his final act of judgment upon His children. Yet, here, Jesus notes that there will be judgment upon his return – “he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (v. 33). Those that are placed on his right are granted eternal life, yet those that are placed on his left will be condemned to eternal punishment, all based on whether they have been in service to the world as God commanded – building relationships with one another and helping one another in their times of weakness.
So, the real question for us this day, this Holy Tuesday, is – do we want to be the sheep or the goat? Are our lives showing that we are worthy of the blessing of eternal life at Jesus’ right hand, or are we preparing ourselves to be condemned for all eternity?
Prayer
Holy and compassionate God, your dear Son went not up to joy before he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified. Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may recognize his example of service to others and find it to be the true way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son, our Savior, Amen.