the Least of His Brethren

                                                                  Sunday School Lesson

                                            

Lesson: Matthew 25:31-46
                                                                                                 
Golden Text: “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:31-46).
I.  INTRODUCTION.  The people of Israel have a special place in God’s heart.  God told Abram many years before the nation of Israel came into existence that those who would bless his seed would be blessed and that those who would curse his seed would be cursed (see Genesis 12:3).  In this week’s lesson, the Lord Jesus picked up on this principle given to Abram and applied it to the time of His return.  This week’s passage refers to Christ’s return to the earth at the end of the Great Tribulation to judge the Gentile nations.
II. BACKGROUND FOR THE LESSON.  Our lesson this week is part of the great discourse Jesus gave His disciples on the Mount of Olives concerning the last days.  They had asked Him questions about future things, so He outlined the characteristics of the tribulation period and His return in glory (see Matthew 24:3-35).  He then emphasized the need to be ready and gave three parables to illustrate it (see Matthew 24:36-25:30).  He ended His discourse with the judgment scene presented in our lesson text which focuses on the judgment of the “nations” upon Christ’s return to earth.  
III. THE KING’S COMING (Matthew 25:31).   Our first verse says “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.”  Immediately following the rapture, the seven year tribulation will take place.  The last three and a half years are called the Great Tribulation (see Revelation 7:14) because it will be a time of great evil coming from false christs and false prophets (see Mark 13:22) and natural disasters will occur throughout the world (see Revelation chapters 6-16).  After the tribulation period is completed, the judgment that our lesson describes will begin “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him.”  The term “Son of man” is often used by Jesus of Himself and it identifies Him with humanity.  It also signifies His messianic office (see Daniel 7:13; Matthew 24:30).  When Jesus makes His return “all the holy angels” will accompany Him.  They won’t rule with Christ, but will obey Him in their usual roles as messianic messengers and servants.  Christ will bring the Great Tribulation to an end and establish His rule over the earth (see Revelation19:11-16) when He will “sit upon the throne of his glory.”  Christ will begin His millennial rule over the earth just as the prophets foretold (see Isaiah 2:1-4; 11:1-9; Micah 4:1-7) and it was reiterated in Revelation 20:1-6.  The judgment that our lesson describes will occur at the outset of Christ’s millennial reign. 

IV. THE KING’S SEPARATION OF MANKIND (Matthew 25:32-33)      

A. (vs. 32).  This verse goes on to say “And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.”  When Christ is seated on His throne all the nations of the world will stand before Him.  Apparently the angels will do the gathering (see Matthew 13:39-41).  The word “nations” here refers to all living humanity at that time or specifically “Gentiles” to distinguish them from Jews (see Romans 3:29; 9:24: 11:13).  We should not understand from the wording here that Christ will judge nations as a whole.  The Gentiles gathered before Christ won’t be judged as whole nations, but instead as individuals.  This has always been God’s method of dealing with men.  The Lord will judge living individual Gentiles at the end of the tribulation to determine which of them will enter His kingdom.  At that time, individual Gentiles will be separated into two groups.  Christ will “separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.”  Shepherds often pastured sheep and goats together, but at the end of the day they were separated into different folds or groups.  Jesus used imagery that His hearers would understand.  Goats brought considerable income and could be used as sacrifices.  However, sheep always had more value and seem to have been preferred for sacrifices over goats.  The goat didn’t signify evil, but it signified lesser worth.  
B. (vs. 33).  This verse continues to say “And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.”  Christ, the King will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left without a question being asked.  In Scripture, the right hand signifies the place of honor (see Genesis 48:17-19; Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62; Acts 2:33).  The sheep clearly represent the righteous or believers, as we shall see in the following verses, who have come out of the Great Tribulation (see Revelation 7:9-14).
V. THE KING’S INVITATION (Matthew 25:34-40)
A. The invitation to enter the kingdom (Matthew 25:34).  This verse says “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”  The “King” will first address those individual Gentiles on His right side saying “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”  The word “blessed” comes from a root word meaning “to speak well of.”  Those on Christ’s right hand will be well spoken of by the heavenly “Father.”  The term “inherit” indicates that these persons will also be regarded as heirs obtaining an inheritance that is rightfully theirs.  The inheritance is the “kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”  What’s striking here is that this kingdom was prepared for them from eternity past.  It is very true that their decisions will gain them entrance into the kingdom, but God’s sovereignty will have directed their paths to the kingdom (see Romans 8:29-30).
B. The invitation justified (Matthew 25:35-36).
1. (vs. 35).  The King continues to say to the believers on His right side “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in.”  The Messiah’s reason for including those on His right side in the kingdom is the good deeds they did for Him personally.  When He was hungry they fed Him. When He needed water, they supplied it.  When He was a stranger, they treated Him as if He wasn’t.  Jesus uses His own principle here that people are known by their works (see Matthew 7:16-20).  The works or deeds that the sheep performed reveal that they were genuine believers in Christ.  They know Him and He knows them and He welcomes them into His glorious kingdom.
2. (vs. 36).  In this verse the King continues with the reasons why He has invited these believers into His kingdom.  He said “Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”  Jesus tells them that when He was naked they gave Him clothing.  When He was sick, they came to see Him.  When He was in prison they did the same.  Such acts of compassion reveal their character as true children of God.  Note:  A serious problem can arise here.  How can the same Lord who taught salvation by faith in Him (see John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47) seemingly accept persons into His kingdom on the basis of good works?  Will a different way of salvation prevail at the time of the tribulation?  Many people have taught, on the basis of these verses that even in our day we are saved by charitable deeds and social actions.  Jesus was not teaching salvation by works here.  Instead, He was pronouncing the principle that good deeds are the evidence of salvation.  Without them there is good reason to question a person’s faith and love (see James 2:14-26; I John 3:16-18).  The outward sign of discipleship is love (see John 13:34-34) that reaches out to the needy in practical ways.
C. The invitation questioned (Matthew 25:37-39).
1. (vs. 37).  After giving those on His right the reasons why they were being invited into the kingdom, this verse says “Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?”  In response to the King’s gracious words, those on His right, now identified as “the righteous,” will ask with some surprise, when had they done those good deeds to Him.  They had never seen Christ before.  Such a reaction and response is typical of godly, unselfish people who give of themselves without looking for thanks or reward.  Their love for Christ and their neighbor overflows in spontaneous good deeds, and they are really unaware of having done any good deeds.  That’s exactly what made these deeds so good! These believers are the opposite of the Pharisee who kept a mental list of his deeds and recited them back to God (see Luke 18:11-12).  Note:  This reaction of the believers at the judgment will be positive proof that these saints have not been saved by good works, for if they had been saved by works they would have swelled with pride when the King mentioned their good deeds.  The example of these people of God should challenge us to examine our motives for service.  Those who are self-conscious about their contributions and disappointed when they are not recognized are serving for the wrong reasons.  The service God delights in comes from a desire to glorify Him and edify others (see Matthew 5:16; Romans 14:19).
2. (vs. 38).  The righteous went on to ask “When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?”  They continued to repeat to Christ the list of deeds that He gave them credit for.  These righteous were still unaware of when they saw Jesus as a stranger and took Him in or when they saw Him without clothing and gave Him some.
3. (vs. 39).  They concluded their question to Christ saying “Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?”  Again, they had no recollection of doing any of these things for Christ simply because it was now their nature to do these things for anyone.  These righteous people have been transformed and empowered by the Holy Spirit which caused them to consider practical concern for others as a normal part of life.  Their ministry to the needy is produced by God living within them; so they see no reason to boast.
D. The invitation explained (Matthew 25:40).  This verse says “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”  The King will explain to those on His right hand, the sheep or the righteous, how they had ministered to His needs.  The word “verily” means truly and introduces Jesus’ declaration that “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”  It’s clear that they will have shown great compassion toward Jesus’ “brethren” and Jesus will see those acts as done unto Him personally.  The words “my brethren” apparently introduce a third group of people present at this judgment.  But who are they? 

VI. THE KING’S JUDGMENT (Matthew 25:41-46)

A. The judgment declared (Matthew 25:41).  This verse says “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”  After having addressed the sheep, or the righteous in verse 34, here the King turns and addresses those on His left, the goats.  He will say to them “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.”  Jesus said to the righteous “come” (see vs. 34).  But to those on His left, the unbelievers He says “Depart from me.”  This phrase indicates an eternal banishment from Jesus’ presence.  He and the unbelievers are completely incompatible, so they cannot enter His kingdom.  When we consider all that God’s presence means, joy, peace, protection, justice, and sympathy, then separation from Him is the most horrible part of eternal punishment.  Jesus experienced that same fate, separation from the Father Himself (see Matthew 27:46) so that men wouldn’t have to face it.  He addresses the sheep as “ye blessed of my Father” (see vs. 34), but He calls the goats “ye cursed.”  Notice, the King does not say “ye cursed of my Father” because whatever curse that rests on them they will have brought on themselves.  Whereas those on the right will “inherit the kingdom” (see vs. 34), those on the left will be banished “into everlasting fire.”  Some people understand the words “everlasting fire” to be metaphorical language, but it appears so often in the Scripture that it certainly must be literal (see Matthew 18:8-9; Mark 9:43-48).  While the righteous were told that the kingdom was “prepared for (them) from the foundation of the world” (see vs. 34), the wicked will learn that “everlasting fire” was “prepared for the devil and his angels.”  However, the tragedy here is that the “everlasting fire” or the lake of fire (see Revelation 20:14-15) was not prepared for humans, yet because of disobedience and failure to trust Christ as Saviour, many humans will go there.  This is the final place of eternal conscious suffering and it is the destiny of the unsaved of all ages.  Satan and his angels made their choice and determined their own end.  Likewise, when people persist in living under Satan’s rule, they also voluntarily consign themselves to the same end.  Note:  Let no one believe the popular myth that Satan is the ruler of hell.  Jesus Christ holds the keys to hell (see Revelation 1:18), and His judgment alone will determine who must go there.  Satan and his followers, both angelic and human will inhabit hell as fellow sufferers.
B. The judgment justified (Matthew 25:42-43).
1. (vs. 42).  In this verse the King continues to say to those on His left hand “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink.”  The King will condemn the unbelieving Gentiles on the same grounds that He will accept those who believe.  The King will declare that they did nothing to help Him in His time of suffering and need.  Just as the righteous will be recognized by their good deeds, the wicked will be known by the absence of those deeds.  Christ will say to the unbelievers that when He was hungry, thirsty, in need of shelter and clothing, sick and imprisoned, they didn’t even offer to help.  Again, when we fail to minister to Christ’s followers we fail to minister to Him which reveals a heart that has not been regenerated by the work of the Holy Spirit.  In other words, the outward actions of the unbelievers will indicate the spiritual condition of their souls.  Note:  These unbelievers are not condemned for committing the more hideous sins like murder, sorcery, or immorality.  Instead, they are condemned for sins of negligence and omission.  Sins of omission are those things we had the opportunity to do for others but chose not to do anything. In other words they were indifferent to the crying needs of others.
2. (vs. 43).  In this verse Jesus continued to give the unbelieving Gentiles the grounds on which their judgment will be based.  He said “I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.”  Again, the King will condemn the unbelieving Gentiles on the same grounds that He will accept those who believe (see vss. 35-36).  
C.  The judgment questioned (Matthew 25:44).  This verse says “Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?”  Just like the righteous in verse 37, the unbelievers or wicked will ask the King when did they ever see Him suffering in the ways He described.  These condemned unbelievers will question the King’s verdict to send them into the lake of fire.  In essence they were asking how could they have neglected His needs if they had never seen Him before.  They are suggesting that they never had the opportunity to help Him in times of need.  The wicked in their pride will fail to remember any point in their lives where they had fallen short of ministering to Jesus.  There are many such self-righteous people like that today.  They declare that if they had opportunities to serve Christ they would.  The opportunities were all around them, but they were too selfish to notice.
D. The judgment explained (Matthew 25:45-46).
1. (vs. 45).  This verse says “Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.”  In response to their question, Christ will explain to the unrighteous that failing to help “one of the least of these” was the same thing as failing to help Him.  The goats, or unbelievers who survive the tribulation will have had the same opportunities to aid the godly Jewish remnant during the tribulation period that the sheep or righteous had, but they won’t even have the desire to take advantage of those opportunities. 
2. (vs. 46).  Our final verse says “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”  Jesus concluded His description of the judgment with the solemn declaration that each group would go to its eternal destiny.  The eternal state of the goats or the unrighteous is mentioned first.  Jesus said that “these shall go away into everlasting punishment.”  He left no possibility for future repentance and release.  Not only will they be excluded from the messianic kingdom here on earth, but they will also be separated from God’s presence throughout eternity.  On the other hand, Jesus said the sheep or the righteous who cared for His people during the tribulation will go “into life eternal.”  They will enter the messianic kingdom and continue to live with the King forever.  Of course a person receives eternal life when he or she accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour (see John 5:11-12).  But here in this verse “life eternal” refers to the final abode of believers in the presence of God.  Notice that the existence of the condemned is called “eternal punishment” not eternal life in punishment.  The terms everlasting and eternal translate the same word.  “Eternal life” is a term always reserved for believers.  It denotes a supreme quality of life as well as an unending quantity.  “Eternal life” is the very life of God given as a gift to those who receive Christ by faith (see Romans 6:23; I John 5:12).  Note:  The teaching of Scripture is clear: works don’t earn salvation (see Ephesians 2:8-10).  However, works do reveal the heart of a person (see James 2:18).  In fact, our works or deeds are an objective test of our relationship with God.  Although the judgment in our passage involves those who will live in a future generation, the principles of God’s judgment are as eternal as His nature.  Everyone will someday stand before Him.  The first judgment will involve those who are caught up in the rapture and will stand before the judgment seat of Christ where we will be judged on our works (see II Corinthians 5:10), and receive or lose rewards (see I Corinthians 3:13-15).  The second judgment is presented in our text.  It involves those who are left behind and survive the tribulation.  The third and final judgment will be the Great White Throne judgment where the wicked unbelievers of all generations will stand before God to be cast into the lake of fire (see Revelation 20:11-15).  The external issue that will determine the fate of those who stand before the King in the judgment presented in our lesson, will be how they treated Jesus’ brethren, godly Jews testifying for Him under great trial.  However, the real issue will be their personal relationship with the King Himself.  This same issue will determine the eternal destiny of all of us.

              
VII. Conclusion.  By interpretation, our lesson this week concerns the believers and unbelievers who survive the tribulation period.  However, by application, the text applies to us today.  We are to give extra care to the needy and helpless because helping them is the same as helping Jesus.  So what can we do to help troubled people?  We may need to give money.  We may need to offer a ride to someone, or to spend time with a lonely person.  Such help may be given to believers or unbelievers, since we really don’t know who is saved and who is not.  Only God knows that.  But caring for unbelievers can create an excellent opportunity to share Christ with them.  Contrary to some interpretations, helping the helpless or needy does not save us.  We are saved through faith in Christ.  However, our faith should lead us to help people, because in helping them we are actually helping Christ.  But the biggest hurdle we face is our own selfishness.  We may have to sacrifice our personal pleasures to be able to give time to someone in need.  Let’s all commit to doing what is sometimes inconvenient and make an effort to help the least among us.