Matthew 25:31-46

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 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another like 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 since the foundation of the world.

³⁵ Because 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 reply to them, ‘Honestly, I am telling you, just 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 fire prepared since ages past for the devil and his angels.

⁴² Because 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 permanent punishment, but the righteous into permanent life.”

demonstrating faith

The sheep and goats will be separated by how they have treated others. How does one reconcile this passage with those passages which say that believers in Jesus are the ones who will inherit eternal life? {John 3:15-16; 6:40; 20:31; 1 Tim. 1:16; 6:12; Hebrews 6:12 1 John 5:13}. Jesus is not saying that the basis of salvation will be one’s treatment of others. He is saying that the proof of a believer’s authenticity will be his treatment of others. Authentic faith produces the fruit of healthy, helpful relationships. That is a major theme throughout Matthew’s Gospel. The religious elite in Jesus’ day served as the antithesis of that thesis.

LORD, may we treat others with the care and respect that demonstrates our relationship with you – by faith.