Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons


Matthew

The vision of the supreme court. 25:31-46

[Seed logo] Introduction
      Our passage for study concludes Jesus' fifth and final discourse, "The coming of the Lord", 24:1-26:5. To drive home his exhortation "be prepared" ("keep watching" in the sense of keep focused on Christ, keep trusting Christ), Jesus relates two short teaching parables (illustrations) in 24:42-51 and two longer kingdom parables (riddles), the Ten Virgins, 25:1-13 and the Talents, 25:14-30. Jesus now concludes with a visionary description of the day of judgment. In that day the "blessed/righteous" will be separated from the "cursed". The righteous are blessed because they are prepared; they are prepared in that they accept (have faith in) Christ, which faith prompts their love of the brotherhood.

The passage
      v31. Although Jesus doesn't identify the "Son of Man" with himself, there is no other reasonable possibility. This "Son of Man" is Daniel's Son of Man, the one who comes before the Ancient of Days to receive a kingdom, and to reign in glory and power, Dan.7, Jol.3:1-12. Note, his coming is a coming to heaven, not a coming to earth - the Son of Man gathers the saints (his "angels") and takes them to glory. It is interesting to note that in eternal terms he has already done this, Eph.2:6.
      v32-33. Just as the farmer separates his sheep and goats at evening time (goats need shelter in winter), so the Son of Man will separate "the nations", with those at his "right" hand given power and honour. Although most scholars view this scene as a last-days judgement of all humanity, some see it as a separation of "the little ones" from mere professing believers. The problem is, if we accept the latter interpretation we are then inclined to see the good deed of brotherly love as a crucial ingredient for salvation. This is an unacceptable conclusion.
      v34-40. The "blessed/righteous" are "the least of these brothers" ("little ones", believers, disciples). They now receive the inheritance of the kingdom, an inheritance the Father has prepared for them since the beginning of time. The crucial question is, how did they earn this reward? It could be argued that love of the downtrodden, or more particularly brotherly love, is the means of their salvation, but love of the brotherhood is more rightly a fruit of salvation, the fruit of faith (cf. 2Cor.5:10 - a similar idea). A believer, motivated by the compelling love of the indwelling Spirit of Christ, loves their brother in the Lord (although always imperfectly). So, the "blessed/righteous" receive their reward because of their faith in Jesus, not because they were loving.
      v41-45. The "cursed" are banished to eternal fire. Their end is the same as the Devil and his demons. "True disciples will love one another and serve the least brother with compassion; in so doing they unconsciously serve Christ. Those who have little sympathy for the gospel of the kingdom will remain indifferent and in so doing, reject the Messiah King", Donald Carson. Another popular interpretation is that the cursed are "those who are inside the Christian community, but who are not the 'little ones'", George Gay. This interpretation is unlikely, so we are best to stay with the idea that the "cursed" are those who reject, even ignore Jesus. They are those who are without faith, who run out of oil and burry their talent.
      v46. The final day brings complete separation. The righteous in Christ to eternal life, the cursed to annihilation.

The terrible day
      In our passage for study Jesus paints a picture of the day of judgment. It is a day of sorting: sheep to the right, goats to the left; blessed to the right, cursed to the left. One can imagine that those standing before the Son of Man on that day would have expected a judgment based on their personal behavior, namely, their compassion toward humanity. Yet, they were shocked to find that their judgment before God was based on an exceedingly great expectation, one which was beyond the norm. Jesus makes it quite clear that a failure to act with total compassion serves as a personal affront to the Son of Man, an affront that leads to "the eternal fire."
      When it comes to the subject of salvation, of finding ourselves on the right side of God and not on the left with the goats, Jesus often uses a reverse psychology teaching method. Eternal life has always rested on a free acceptance of the mercy of God. The trouble is, religious people often think that holding on to eternal life is all about being good. It is this type of flawed thinking that Jesus constantly seeks to expose and our passage for study is a perfect example of Jesus doing just that. If we honestly take to heart Jesus' words, we have to accept that we stand with the "accursed". But, is that the end of it?
      The truth is that the only way a person will get to the right side of God and possess "eternal life" is if the Son of Man gets them there. Salvation, getting saved, staying saved, is totally dependent on the mercy of God; it is a gift of God, ours for the asking. Of course, such a person will reflect their standing with Jesus by their love of those who love Jesus, but in the end, it is their faith in Jesus, their trust in his promised mercy, that secures "eternal life."
      So, take the warning; a person's eternal security depends on God's love, not their own.

Discussion
      What evidence is there that the blessed and the cursed do not represent two separate components of the Christian community, namely true believers and professing believers?


Notes

Textual notes   Abbreviations,   Bibliography
 
      The interpretation of this passage is hotly contested. Many commentators understand "the least of these brothers of mine" to refer to the physically poor, the hungry, needy... The implication is that entrance into the kingdom of heaven is determined on the basis of deeds of mercy and compassion done to Christ through the poor and downtrodden. This approach is further extended by suggesting that Christ is now manifested to the world in the life of the poor and that we experience the risen Christ in acts of compassion toward the poor.
      There are, of course, other ways of handling the passage. Some commentators see the "least brothers" as missionaries. Dispensational writers see the "least brothers" as Jews converted through the tribulation at the beginning of an earthly millennial kingdom. The judgment porceeds on the basis of how people act toward these Jewish brothers (a view which has provided a cover for the dispossession of the Palestinian people by the zionist state of Israel). The more conservative commentators see the "blessed" as disciples, as believers. With this approach there is a tendency to regard a believer's standing in the sight of God as somehow maintained, or advanced, by acts of compassion toward the brotherhood.
      The problem with this passage is that it does not lend itself to a clear interpretation, nor does the immediate context give us many clues. In fact, scholars even argue over what form of literature it represents. Many see it as a parable and set about treating it as an allegory. Yet, surely a single reference to the separation of the "blessed" from the "cursed" at the day of judgment being compared to a shepherd separating his sheep from his goats, does not make for a parable. The language of the passage is certainly apocalyptic, although it is more descriptive than visionary. The parable of the Weeds in Matthew 13 may well help, but even here we end up with a wide range of interpretations.
      We are best to allow scripture to interpret scripture. The apostle Paul is the exegete of Jesus and his central doctrine of justification is similarly central to Jesus and therefore must control our interpretation of Jesus' teachings. Jesus' communication of justification may be different to Paul's, but the truth is the same - "it is by grace you are saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." If we allow this doctrine to test our interpretation we are forced to the conclusion that the "blessed" receive their reward because of their acceptance of (faith in) Jesus, while the "cursed" are cast aside because they fail to accept Jesus.
      It is likely that Jesus is using a familiar teaching device whereby he undermines dependence on good works for salvation by emphasizing the demands of the law, and in so doing, moves his hearers (disciples / Jews - ie., this approach is only for religious people, nomists) toward a dependence on the grace of God. Religious people expect to be rewarded on the basis of their good works, so Jesus sets out a list of good works that are well beyond the norm and then says that a failure to do them to "one of the least of these" is a personal affront to him, the glorious reigning "Son of Man." The consequence of this failure is to end up in "eternal fire." The passage forces us to recognize that we are all goats ("all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"), and that we will have to find another way of being prepared for the coming day, a way apart from works of the law. Thankfully there is the way of faith, and in the end, this is the only way to be prepared for the last day. This interpretation fits well with a context which repeatedly stresses the "be prepared" ("watch") theme.

v31
      "When the Son of Man comes in his state of glory, all the angels being with him, he will take his seat on the throne which is his in his glorified state. All the nations will be assembled in his presence, and he will separate people one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats", Cassirer. Throughout the passage Jesus speaks as the Son of Man. Although we know Jesus is himself the Son of Man, in the passage he is not making that link. Jesus is relating how it will be when Daniel's Son of Man receives his eternal kingdom from the Ancient of Days.
      oJtan + subj. "when" - Introducing an indefinite temporal clause.
      oiJ aggeloi (oV) "the angels" - messengers. Jesus' angelic entourage, but also possibly believers, his messengers on earth, gathered with Christ on the final day.

v32
      panta ta eqnh (oV) "all the nations" - here probably just means "all peoples", both Jew and Gentile although Green suggests Gentiles only.
      aforisei (aforizw) pres. "will separate" - A pastoral illustration which turns out to be a rather frightening event in the day of judgment.

v33
      ek dexiwn + gen. adj. "on [his] right" - from right. The preposition taking a particular sense identifying [from] where they are placed. Jesus extends the shepherd illustration into this verse, having the sheep and goats sorted into the good luck and bad luck (right and left) positions. The sheep are placed on his right, a position of power and authority.
      euwnumwn adj. "left" - illustrating a bad omen

v34
      oJ BasileuV (euV ewV) "the king" - Jesus uses the title "Son of Man" because it is a mysterious messianic title, cf. Daniel 7 where the Son of Man receives his right to rule from the Ancient of Days. Jesus maintains this apocalyptic imagery, now referring to the Son of Man as "the king". Note, how Jesus maintains the 3rd person ascription; it's not "then I will", but "then the king will".
      oiJ euloghmenoi (eulogew) perf. pas. part. "you who are blessed" - the blessed ones, praised ones. The participle functions as a substantive. These blessed ones, standing to the right of Jesus, are blessed because they are standing to his right - they have gained their eternal inheritance. It is best not to extend the shepherd illustration beyond v33. It is replaced by the visionary illustration of the peoples of the world standing to Jesus' right and left.
      klhronomhsate (klhronomew) aor. imp. "take your inheritance" - receive an inheritance. The inheritance is defined as the kingdom.

v35
      This and the next verse, begins the fourfold repetition of deeds of compassion which are of such a standard that God is obligated to accept them and reward them accordingly. It is amazing that vertually every commentator handles them as if they can be done, whereas they but remind us that our "righteousness is but filthy rags." The answer to our predicament is found lurking in the gospels (for those with eyes to see!), although thankfully we have the apostle Paul who plainly exegetes Jesus' teachings on our behalf.
      gar "for" - Expressing cause/reason.
      epeinasa (peinaw) aor. "I was hungry" - Here we see the divine identified with the creature - God with his creation. We do though often make the mistake of trying to identify God with a particular part of his creation, eg., the materially poor, or believers..... Of course, God's identification is with the whole of creation, particularly that part of his creation made in his image. It is in this wider sense that Jesus can say "I was hungry and you gave me food to eat."
      moi dat. pro. "[you gave] me" - to me. Dative of indirect object, identifying the one for whom the act is performed.
      fagein (esqew) aor. inf. "to eat" - The infinitive is probably verbal, expressing purpose; "you gave to me [something (assumed)] in order that I might eat."

v37
      oiJ dikaioi (oV) "the righteous" - Here, the "righteous" are those who are right with the Father through their relationship with Jesus, a relationship which prompts compassion toward Jesus' other friends.
      legonteV (legw) pres. part. "[will answer him]" - [will answer him] saying. Attendant circumstance participle, redundant.
      tote .... peinwmta (peinaw) pres. part. "when [did we see you] hungry" - hungering. The participle is adverbial, temporal, "when hungry did we see you?"

v40
      apokriqeiV (apokrinomai) aor. pas. part. "-" - having answered. Attendant circumstance participle, redundant.
      ef oJson "whatever" - in as much as. "To the degree that", Morris.
      twn elacistwn sup. adj. "least" - Superlative of little. An articular adjective "adds a sort of climax", Robertson. It is likely that Jesus here, as the Son of Man, is identifying with the totality of mankind rather than his disciples (the term "brother" is often used of the disciples), or the poor (lowly humanity). Of course, this description of compassion may properly be used as the ideal of brotherly love, one we should strive after. In the end, a person who loves Jesus is naturally inclined to love the brother, even the least brother. "One of my brothers here, however insignificant", REB.

v41
      oiJ kathramenoi (kataraomai) perf. pas. part. "you who are cursed" - the cursed ones. They are cursed in that they are sent from the Father's presence into the eternal fire. The image of hell, or gehenna, derives from the ever-burning rubbish tip outside Jerusalem in the valley of Hinnom. Everything was thrown on it, including corpses.
      to aiwnion adj. "eternal" - the eternal (ever-burning) [fire]. This reference is used to support the notion of eternal punishment, but the image of an ever-burning rubbish tip is not necessarily painting an eternal damnation of the lost. Annihilation may be a better image - they are no more.
      tw/ diabolw/ (oV) "the devil" - the deceiver, the liar, the slanderer.
      toiV aggeloiV (oV) "[his] angels" - Satan's demons. "Satan's mob."

v42
      ouk edwkate (didwmi) aor. "you gave [me] nothing [to drink]" - you did not give. Not "would not give me", TEV, but as NIV.

v44
      ou dihkonhsamen (diakonew) aor. "did not help [you]" - did not do service [to you]. In the sense of "serve your need", since the word is used of service to others. "Did not come to your aid", Cassirer.

v46
      kolasin (iV ewV) aiwnion "eternal punishment" - suffering as a consequence of wrong behavior. In this case it is described as ongoing. This hell, the lake of unquenchable fire (eternal, Matt.15:3), is symbolic of a punishment that involves separation from God, a separation that is better described as eternal annihilation, nothingness. Banishment from the presence of the living God is a monstrous loss - an unquenchable fire. "Eternal doom", Peterson.


[Printer icon]   A print friendly justified 10pt Times New Roman version sized to fit a 1 page A4, or 2 page A5 format.
 
[Pumpkin Cottage]
Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources
Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons
www.lectionarystudies.com