Divine Interruptions – Matthew 25: 31 -46
The Judgment 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.”
What does the passage say?
V. 31-33 Today’s passage talks about what will happen the righteous judge comes back. It says, “When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will e arranges before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts our sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left” (v. 31 The Message). There will be a time when all people stand in front of the throne of judgment.
V. 34-40 The King calls for all, who the king regards as righteous people, the ground on this right. He says, “Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation” (v. 34 The Message). Showing that the creation is now restored. What had been intended, from the beginning of the creation, but broken due to our sin has been restored.
V. 41-46, The basis of their judgment, is for not serving the Lord. The King says, “When I was hungry… Thirsty… stranger… you did not look after me” (v. 42-43 NRSV) The unrighteous did not care for the least and only focused on themselves.
What does this mean to me/us
To understand this passage, we have to read the entire chapter of Matthew 25, or maybe even 24, as Jesus talks about the end days. He first says it will come unexpectedly (The Parable fo the Ten Virgins). Then he says to use your gifts (talents) well until the king returns (The Parable of the bag of golds). And then he says, what are you doing with all your bag by golds? Why use it for yourself?
So in summary…
Prepare for the end day -> be faithful to your call -> Serve others, rather than living for yourselves.
However, people live as if there is no end. Instead of being faithful to their call, and serving the master who entrusted them their bag of gold, people want to accumulate their own goods. And instead of living in a selfless way, we tend to live selfishly.
Is this the reason people cringe, whenever they hear about the end days? Because it describes what culture we are living? Can’t we as Children of God show and become an example to this world, who is heading toward the end, how to live?
Jesus came to this world to show an example of life. And he is asking us to live in the same manner.
During this season of Lent, may us recalibrate our way of life focused on God’s Kingdom.
What does this MEAN to you?
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