Matthew 25:31-46
New International Version (NIV)
The Sheep and the Goats
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
-In Verse 32 "All the nations" implies far reaching theological implications. Does this passage about the conditions for salvation apply to everyone, everywhere throughout time?
-How does this passage address Grace and belief in the Gospel?
-Is it fair for us to look at this passage isolated from other texts in Matthew?
-Can you see yourself as, "the least of these?"
Giver vs Taker
ReplyDeleteAfter the class I had the opportunity to talk with one of the volunteers at the Habitat House. This person, in my estimation is a "Giver." The volunteer had given time and effort on a specific aspect of the house, making it virtually impossible for any other volunteers to "mess it up." Guess what....another volunteer messed it up!
The thing is, our efforts at service to others, feeding the hungry, etc. seldom turn out the way we expect. While the possibility of feeling good about loving our neighbor exists, more than likely something won't go as planned. At least like we planned. Could it be that God use our call to serve "the least of these" and at the same time stretch our faith to make it stronger? I believe He does.