“Serving the Least is Serving the Greatest” Exegesis of Matthew 25:31-46

Presented to:

The universal church of Jesus Christ

Joshua Wingerd

December 28, 2014

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Thesis:

Christ describes the final judgment to show that, due to his reign as King of kings, He will judge

the world based on how they treated Him by how they treated His people—Christians—during

their time on this earth.

Outline:

I. First, Christ sets out the setting of the final judgment. (31-33)

A. Christ will return. (31)

1. This return will be glorious. (31a)

2. He will take a seat on His throne to judge. (31b)

B. The nations will be herded before Him. (32-33)

1. He will separate them into two groups. (32a)

2. It will be like a shepherd with his flock. (32b-33)

a. The sheep will go on the right. (33a)

b. The goats will go on the left. (33b)

II. Christ will judge both groups. (34-45)

A. He will speak to the sheep first. (34-40)

1. He invites them into the kingdom and gives reasons. (34-36)

a. Food (35a-b)

b. Shelter (35c-36a)

c. Companionship (36b-c)

2. They don’t remember those occasions. (37-39)

3. Christ explains Himself. (40)

a. They served others throughout their life. (40a)

b. When they served others, they were serving Him. (40b).

B. He will speak to the goats last. (41-45)

1. He sentences them to hell and gives reasons. (41-43)

2. They remember the occasions differently. (44)

3. Christ explains Himself. (45)

III. Jesus gives a conclusion. (46)

A. The goats—non-servants—go to hell. (46a)

B. The sheep—servants—get eternal life. (46b)

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Introduction:

Matthew here records Jesus’ description of the final judgment. It is often referred to as a

parable, but, as will be made clear in the exegesis, it is not best understood as a parable. “It starts

with language that is quite literally intended. Then it introduces a comparison with a shepherd in

v. 32. The comparison is extended into v. 33, where the separated groups of animals are placed

to the right and left of the shepherd. But then the account reverts to literal language.”1 The literal,

future judgment of every human who has ever existed is the focus of this passage. The mention

of sheep and goats helps Matthew’s audience—both in the first century and the twenty-first

century—to visualize the scene.

But who is Matthew’s audience? Originally, this gospel was written to the Jews. The

opening of the book describes Jesus as the son of Abraham and the son of David (1:1). These are

specifically Jewish referents. Abraham was the father of the Jews; David was the father of the

kingly dynasty in Judah. Jesus would be a Jewish king: specifically the Jewish Messiah who

would throw off the yoke of the world power at the time and set up His own kingdom. However,

while this was initially expected, the Jews didn’t understand Isaiah 53 which spoke of the

suffering of the Messiah: He came to set His people free from more than just politics; sin is a

much greater problem. However, as the context of Matthew 25:31-46 shows, when Christ

returns, He will be the king that was expected (25:31-33, 34, 40).

This passage occurs at the end of Jesus’ final discourse in Matthew. Matthew 24:1-25:46 is

commonly referred to as the Olivet Discourse because it is spoken on the Mount of Olives.2

Chapter 24 describes the destruction of Jerusalem and Christ’s subsequent return in significant

1 John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI:

W.B. Eerdmans, 2005), 1034. 2 John MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), 1403. “[The Olivet Discourse]

contains some of the most important prophetic material in all of Scripture.”

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detail; chapter 25 begins with two parables about being ready for Christ’s return, and it

concludes with a portrait of the final judgment in 25:31-46. Christ describes the final

judgment to show that, due to his reign as King of kings, He will judge the world based on

how they treated Him by how they treated His people—Christians—during their time on

this earth.

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I. Christ sets out the setting of the final judgment. (31-33)

The first main section of this passage concerns the description of Christ’s second coming. It

explains first that Christ will return, and that upon that return the judgment of the nations will

commence. Though this is not the time to discuss this concept in depth, the transition from return

to judgment forces us to ponder the question: Where is the millennium in this mix (cf. Revelation

20:1-3, 7-15)? These verses play closely with the Messianic passage in Daniel 7:13-14.

A. Christ will return. (31)

Matthew begins this verse—and likewise the whole account—with the words o{tan deV

e[lqh/ oJ uiJoV" tou` ajnqrwvpou (“but when the Son of Man shall come”). By beginning in this

way, Matthew emphasizes two things: 1) that someone is going to come, and 2) the identity of

that coming person.

The fact that Matthew emphasizes the coming of the Son of Man and uses the subjunctive

case emphasizes the fact that no one knows when this return is going to be. Jesus stated as much

Himself in Matthew 24:44 when He encouraged people to be ready for His return. Humanity

must be prepared for it, because once it occurs, the time to repent is past.3

The title, Son of Man, is loaded with Old Testament backing. In Daniel 7:13-14, Daniel

writes,

I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a Son of

Man was coming, and he came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before

him. And to him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations

and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which

will not pass away; and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.4

3 See earlier parable in context (Matthew 25:1-13) and Jesus’s own statement also in the same set of discourse

(Matthew 24:44). John MacArthur, Matthew 24-28, Macarthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody

Press, 1989), 114. “[A]t the moment He appears . . . the opportunity for faith in Him will be past. As pictured in the

parable of the virgins, when the Bridegroom comes the door will be shut (Matt. 25:10).” 4 Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible (NASB),

© 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. The NASB italicizes words that are not in the original.

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Albert Barnes writes that it is necessary to understand the use of the phrase in its original context

because “it has done much to [mold] the language of the New Testament.” He explains earlier

that it is “the [favorite] term by which the [Savior] designates [H]imself.”5 As the phrase Son of

Man is not unique to the Messiah, but is in fact used many times to refer to the average human

being, Barnes posits that the title simply means, when referring to the Messiah as it clearly does

in Daniel 7, “that he was in all respects a man; that he was one of us; that he had so taken our

nature on himself that there was a peculiar propriety that a term which would at once designate

this should be given to him.”6 Calvin explains the emphasis on the phrase “one like a Son of

Man” by writing, “the Prophet says, He appeared to him as the Son of man, as Christ had not yet

taken upon him our flesh.”7 In the Gospels, the phrase “Son of Man” occurs seventy-eight times;

seventy-six of those times are spoken by Christ.8 Christ was who Daniel saw in Daniel 7, and

here in Matthew 25 we are presented with a very similar scene.

John Goldingay writes about the context of Daniel’s vision:

People of all races, nations, and languages had acknowledged Nebuchadnezzar (5:19), and

he had acknowledged that God alone possessed lasting authority (3:33; 4:31 [4:3, 34]; these

motifs also come in Darius’s story, 6:26-27 [25-26]). Now people of all races, nations, and

languages acknowledge that this authority is given to the humanlike figure who takes the

place of Nebuchadnezzar and succeeding empires.9

Jesus gets the authority, so that all peoples, nations, and languages “might serve him” (Daniel

7:14). This is very interesting in light of how the current passage in Matthew describes the final

5 Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament: Explanatory and Practical: Daniel, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI:

Baker Book House, 1978), 63. 6 Ibid., 64. 7 John Calvin, Commentary on Daniel, vol 2, (Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL)), accessed

December 28, 2014, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom25.pdf, 36. Emphasis in original. 8 The two that are not spoken by Christ are in the same verse (John 12:34) where the crowd asks Jesus who the

Son of Man is. 9 John Goldingay, Daniel, Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 30 (Dallas, TX: Word Books, 1989), 190.

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judgment. We will come back to that idea when we get to verse 34, but for now, it is important to

focus on how Christ’s return is described.

1. This return will be glorious. (31a)

First, Christ describes the glory of His second coming. This passage parallels very clearly

with an earlier passage in this same discourse (Matthew 24:30-31). In fact, according to the

NASB and the UBS text, this verse (24:30-31) contains a direct quote by Matthew from Daniel

7:13.10

“And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the

earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE

SKY with power and great glory.”11

The important point of comparison is that both the above quoted verse and the verse

currently under study speak of the glory of Christ’s coming. “The introduction, which gives a

when but not a where, makes vv. 31ff. an exposition of 24.29-31.”12

It is important to note that

Matthew 25:31 reads ejn th`/ dovxh/ aujtou` (“in His glory”). This seems to emphasize that the

glory is His own. He doesn’t need to be glorified by something with Him, but the glory resides in

Himself. Hagner argues that the closest parallel is in 16:27, where the text reads ejn th`/ dovxh/

tou patroV" aujtou (“in His Father’s glory”), and explains, “That Matthew can alter the

language so naturally is an indicator of his high Christology.”13

Christ is clearly God from the

comparison of these verses by the same author in the same book, and what Matthew is likely

doing when these verses are compared is saying that when Christ returns, His own glory is of the

same type as the Father’s glory. It is important to note, however, that “[Christ] does not define in

10 Kurt Aland, ed., The Greek New Testament, 4th ed. (New York, NY: United Bible Societies, 1983), 94, 889. 11 The CAPS indicate Old Testament quotation in the NASB: in this case it is Daniel 7:13. 12 W.D. Davies, and Dale C. Allison Jr, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, International Critical

Commentary (London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2004), 420. 13 Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 14-28, Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 33b (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson,

1995), 741.

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[H]is glory, but clearly he means that when [H]e returns at the end of this age [H]e will come in

majesty and splendor.”14

One sign of this splendor is that the angels come with Him, which is

perfectly parallel with 16:27.

2. He will take a seat on His throne to judge. (31b)

Second, the Son of Man takes a seat on His throne. His throne is described as glorious. The

glorious nature is due to the glory of the one sitting in it. The purpose of the clause is to highlight

the glory of the one sitting on the throne.15

The throne is “characterized by the glory of the One

sitting on it; therefore, a glorious judgment is about to unfold. In the Gospel of John we read,

‘For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son . . . and He

gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man,’ (John 5:22, 27).”16

After Christ takes His seat, the court session begins.

B. The nations will be herded before Him. (32-33)

After describing the glory of His second coming, Christ explains how the judgment will be

initiated. “The resurrection of the dead is presupposed.”17

He begins by saying that the nations

will be gathered together before Him, and then they will be judged. However, before discussing

what is meant by the nations, it is necessary to compare this verse to a parallel passage in the

same context. Jesus describes this same gathering in Matthew 24:31 by saying, “And He will

send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His

elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” However there is a clear

difference between pavnta taV e[qnh (“all the nations”) in 25:32, and touV" eklektouV" aujtou

(“his elect”) in 24:31. What accounts for the difference?

14 Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI:

William B. Eerdmans, 1992), 635. 15 Ibid., 635. 16 Spiros Zodhiates, Exegetical Commentary on Matthew, (Chattanooga, TN: AMG, 2006), 441. Verses

changed to NASB from whatever they originally were. 17

W.D. Davies, and Dale C. Allison Jr, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, ICC, 421.

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It is important to remember that even though it occurs in the midst of the same discourse,

the context is different in chapter 24. Chapter 24 is strictly speaking about the final days of

humanity on the earth. In verse 9 Jesus says that the nations will hate Christians,18

so the nations

aren’t being spoken to in 24:31, because they are the reason why 24:31 is such a beautiful word

to God’s people who are suffering intense persecution. But by the time 25:32 comes around, the

context is the world’s response to the Kingship of Christ, so all the nations are gathered. Both

passages speak about the same thing, but they talk about it from different contextual points of

view.

Leon Morris argues that it is clear that this judgment speaks of the “final judgment of the

whole race.”19

Despite the fact that most would readily agree with this view, it is important to

explain that there are alternate views as well. Hagner includes the alternate views in order of

popularity: “(1) all human beings; (2) all Christians; (3) all non-Christians and non-Jews; (4) all

non-Christians; and (5) all non-Jews.”20

These views should be thrown out except for the first, as

the rest of this paper will argue.

1. He will separate them into two groups. (32a)

After the world is gathered before Christ, He will separate them from each other. The word

for “nations” (e[qnh, neuter plural) changes to “them” (aujtou`", masculine plural). “The

difference in gender . . . does not indicate that one group is giving way to another; rather is the

emphasis passing from collectives to individuals.”21

The world will be judged individually, but

placed into two collective groups. There are those who believe and those who do not believe.

2. It will be like a shepherd with his flock. (32b-33)

18

John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew, NIGTC, 1024. 19 Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, PNTC, 635. 20 Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 14-28, WBC, 742. 21

W.D. Davies, and Dale C. Allison Jr, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, ICC, 423-424.

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The reason why many classify this passage as a parable is because of how Jesus describes

the separation of the two groups in these two verses. It is important to note that “Paschaius

Radbertus (ca. 785-860) was apparently the first to call [this] a parable.”22

Leon Morris argues

that despite it often being described as a parable, Jesus doesn’t call it one,23

but it must be

pointed out that the first two sections of chapter 25 aren’t explicitly called a parable either, so

this is not a weighty argument. “The terms ‘sheep’ and ‘goats’ are taken from the simile in v. 33

and applied to the two contrasted groups of people, but thereafter the image is dropped, and they

are referred to as people, not as animals. . . . Its genre is closer to the majestic visions of divine

judgment in the book of Revelation than to the Synoptic parables.”24

This is no parable, but a

future expectation of judgment. The phrase w{sper oJ poimhVn ajforivzei (“as the shepherd

separates”) is simply a simile to describe how the separation works.

“The primary background for the Gospel references to shepherd and sheep lies in the OT

where Israel is the lost sheep and the king or promised future ruler is the shepherd.”25

The UBS

text sees an allusion to Ezekiel 34:17 in Matthew 25:32.26

Ezekiel 34:17 reads, “As for you, My

flock, thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I will judge between one sheep and another, between

the rams and the male goats.’” However, too much emphasis on this verse as intimately related to

the passage in question could lead down the path of interpreting Matthew 25:31-46 as judgment

of Jews or Christians only. This conclusion cannot be the case, as will be shown, so Ezekiel must

be left in its original context and not brought further into this discussion.

22 Ibid., 418. 23 Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, PNTC, 633. 24

R T. France, The Gospel of Matthew, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids,

MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub, 2007), 960. 25 D. H. Johnson, “Shepherd, Sheep,” in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity

Press, 1992), 751. 26

Kurt Aland, The Greek New Testament, 899.

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The fact that Christ is the one who is said to do the separating recalls to mind Jesus’

statement in John 10. Jesus is the good shepherd who knows His sheep (John 10:11, 14). “The

sheep (which are more commercially valuable and typically white) represent . . . the righteous.

(The biblical goat was commonly black.) Probably the main idea is the ease with which the Son

of man can tell which are the righteous and which are the wicked.”27

The fact that Christ will

separate the individuals of the nations from one another in this way shows that both the sheep

and the goats will be made up of individuals from every nation (cf. Revelation 5:9).

a. The sheep will go on the right. (33a)

Christ places the sheep on the right to show that they are the favored ones, since “the right-

hand side was generally seen as the favored side.”28

The reason for the favor is that these were

the ones chosen before the foundation of the world (see discussion on verse 34; cf. Ephesians

1:4; John 17:24; 1 Peter 1:20).

b. The goats will go on the left. (33b)

Christ places the goats on the left. “The left was thought of as the side of ill omen . . . so it is

the appropriate place for the less favored goats.”29

Morris refers back to a note on 20:21 where

he explains that “eujwvnumo" (‘left’) strictly means ‘of good name or omen, well-named’; it was

used as a euphemism” to avoid the use of the omen attached to the left.30

“Goats . . . do not carry

a negative connotation in ancient Palestine; both sheep and goats were valued and were pastured

together.”31

However, it is clear that being placed on the left was not a compliment to the goats.

II. Christ will judge both groups. (34-45)

27 W.D. Davies, and Dale C. Allison Jr, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, ICC, 423. 28 Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, PNTC, 636. 29 Ibid., 636. Emphasis in original. 30 Ibid., 509. Emphasis in original. 31 Klyne Snodgrass, Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI:

William B. Eerdmans, 2008), 550-551.

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The second main section of the passage is taken up in verses 34-45. It describes the

judgments of both groups. Those on His right are spoken to first (34-40) and those on His left are

spoken to last (41-45). It is important to note that the metaphor of sheep and goats ends here, and

“Jesus begins to speak literally.”32

The following discourse must not be understood as a parable.

To read it as a parable detracts from the fact that it “reads like a description of what will happen

on Judgment Day rather than like another parable.”33

In the same context as Daniel 7:13-14, Daniel 7:10 had come prior. It reads, “A river of fire

was flowing and coming out from before Him; thousands upon thousands were attending Him,

and myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; the court sat, and the books were opened.”

Daniel explains that there is a huge crowd surrounding the Ancient of Days (cf. 7:9), who will be

judged before Him by books. Daniel 7:14 explains that the Son of Man was given His authority

that all peoples “might serve Him.” The deeds recorded in the book (cf. Revelation 20:11-12

which, with Matthew 25:31-46, describes the same scene as well) are the deeds committed by

people in this life. Did they serve Christ or did they not? He was given authority that nations

might serve Him, and it just so happens that Matthew 25:34-45 describes judgment based on

serving Christ. Some scholars will point out that books are not mentioned in this judgment

scene,34

but it does not matter. The scene is the same; it is just seen from a different angle—an

angle where books need not be mentioned.

Verse 34 begins by introducing a new character: oJ basileuv" (“the king”). Based on the

prior information (31-33), Jesus is the Son of man who separates the righteous from the wicked

and places the righteous on His right and the wicked on His left. Here, the king speaks to those

on His right and left as those who are righteous and wicked respectively. Leon Morris points out

32 Ulrich Luz, Matthew 21-28, Hermeneia (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2005), 277. 33 Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, PNTC, 633. 34

W.D. Davies, and Dale C. Allison Jr, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, ICC, 424.

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that this is the only passage (at least in Matthew) where Jesus calls Himself king.35

The king

reference “harks back to 2.2 and 21.5, recalls Jesus’ status as the Son of David, and reinforces

the irony which will come to expression in 27.11, 29, 37, and 42 (where Jesus’ kingship is

mocked or questioned).”36

It is very interesting that the gospel of Matthew begins by presenting

Jesus as the Son of David: the rightful heir to his throne (1:1). “The record of the genealogy of

Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” The point is that the king and the Son

of Man are not two different entities; they are the same person.

A. He will speak to the sheep first. (34-40)

Jesus first turns to speak to those on His right, and he explains that the kingdom was

prepared for them ajpoV katabolh~" kovsmou (“from [the] world’s foundation”). This statement is

the key to understanding the parable; apart from it, believers would be saved by their works, and

not by grace through faith (cf. Ephesians 2:8-9). Luz writes, “The World Judge calls those who

have been blessed by God . . . to enter the ‘kingdom’ prepared for them in God’s eternal plan.”37

It clearly brings to mind the phrase in Ephesians 1:4 that says, “He chose us in Him before the

foundation of the world” (ejxelevxato hJma" ejn aujtw`/ proV katabolh`" kovsmou). These two

statements are almost identical (specifically the part about the world’s foundation) except for the

initial preposition which does slightly change the emphasis in each passage (ajpov [“(away)

from”] in Matthew; prov [“before”] in Ephesians).38

“Two points stand out in all the texts which

mention the foundation of the world. One is that it is always associated with a statement about

35 Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, PNTC, 636. 36 W.D. Davies, and Dale C. Allison Jr, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, ICC, 424. 37 Ulrich Luz, Matthew 21-28, Hermeneia, 277-278. 38 William Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early

Christian Literature, 2nd ed. (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1979), 86, 708.

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man’s destiny. The other is the implied connection between God’s foreknowledge and

predestination. In particular, Matthew 25:34 and Ephesians 1:4 speak of election.”39

Both are speaking of election, but why the different preposition in each instance? Hauck

describes the difference as follows: “ajpoV katabolh~" kovsmou expresses the eternity of the

divine plan of salvation, which was conceived before all ages and which is fulfilled in the last

time, Mt. 25:34; Rev. 13:8; 17:8. In the form proV katabolh" kovsmou the phrase expresses the

pre-temporality of the divine action . . . The rabbis speak similarly of the divine foreordination

from the beginning of creation.”40

Jesus describes the righteous as those for whom the kingdom was prepared before the

creation of the world. They were elected to this kingdom by nothing but the sovereign grace of

God (cf. Ephesians 1:4; 2:8-9). However, it is important to point out that the similar command in

verse 41 is not completely parallel; there are some important differences that will be pointed out

when it is reached. However, Ephesians 1:4 describes the reason for election as follows: “that we

would be holy and blameless before Him.” The point of election is holiness. Later, in 2:10, the

reason we are saved by grace is so that we will become “His workmanship, created in Christ

Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”41

The only way to truly understand this scene of final judgment is to see that election plays a

part. If election was not here, this would be a case of works-based righteousness. However,

Christ wants to make blatantly clear that if believers were elected before the foundation of the

world, their works were foreordained as well, and they should be living lives of service to others.

This leads beautifully into Christ’s conversation with the righteous.

39 H-H. Esser, “Creation, Foundation, Creature, Maker,” NIDNTT, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Pub.

House, 1975), 377-378. 40 Friedrich Hauck, “katabolh", TDNT, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1965), 620. 41

Emphasis added.

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1. He invites them into the kingdom and gives reasons. (34-36)

Christ turns to those on His right, invites them to enter into His kingdom, and then proceeds

to give reasons for their inclusion in the kingdom of God. The main reason was investigated

above in some detail, but even before that, Christ calls these people blessed by His Father. It

echoes Ephesians 1 language as well where Paul writes, “Blessed be the God and Father of our

Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in

Christ”42

(1:3). The word klhronomhvsate (“inherit” [as a command]) “draws attention to a

significant aspect of their salvation. Something that is inherited comes to one as a gift, not as the

result of one’s own earnings, and that may be why the word is used of the life of the world to

come.”43

These people are not being judged based on what good deeds they did. They are told to

inherit the kingdom that God had prepared for them from before creation (which is proof that

they were blessed by God [cf. Ephesians 1]). Christ gives practical examples to prove the truth

that works follow saving faith (cf. James 2:14-17, 24). This passage is by no means speaking of

works-based righteousness, nor should it ever be understood in such a manner. Rather, Christ is

congratulating His people on walking in the works that were prepared for them before the

foundation of the world (cf. Ephesians 2:10). Christ breaks his assessment into “three basic

human needs, apart from salvation—food, shelter, and companionship.”44

a. Food (35a-b)

First, Christ describes His people as having taken care of His dietary needs. They gave Him

food when He was hungry. They gave Him drink when He was thirsty.

42 Emphasis added. 43 Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, PNTC, 636. 44

Craig Blomberg, Matthew, New American Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1992), 377.

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It is interesting to compare that Jesus fed two crowds in the book of Matthew (14:13-21;

15:32-39),45

so perhaps His is the example that His people are to follow. If He fed others, they

should feed others too. The interesting part, though, is that He says that they fed Him (see the

discussion on verse 40 for the importance of this).

Jesus said, in 10:42, “Whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones

even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.” The

importance of this will become crystal clear in verse 40, but for now it’s important to point out

that Christ’s people thought they recognized who they were giving the water too. “While . . .

those who give cold water know for whom they care, such is not the case here.”46

The righteous

are in for a surprise in verse 40.

b. Shelter (35c-36a)

Second, Christ describes His people as having taken care of His bodily needs. They gave

Him a place when He was a stranger. They gave Him clothes when He was naked.

“If [a stranger] was not to spend the night in the open air, someone would have to take him

into a private home. This was done among the Christians (Acts 10:23; Hebrews 13:2, etc.), who

seem to have taken the duty of hospitality very seriously.”47

It is interesting to see hospitality

elevated in Matthew 25:35c, because it is rare in ancient lists that describe care for a person’s

fellow humans.48

This is especially interesting when it is compared with the exhortation in

Hebrews 13:2. There it is explicitly stated to not forget to be hospitable to others.49

The reason

given to encourage hospitality is the following: “for by this some have entertained angels without

knowing it.” The importance of this comparison will be clearly seen by verse 40.

45 W.D. Davies, and Dale C. Allison Jr, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, ICC, 427. 46 Ibid., 427. 47 Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, PNTC, 638. 48 See the chart in W.D. Davies, and Dale C. Allison Jr, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, ICC, 426. 49

John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew, NIGTC, 1029.

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Jesus would know the shame of nakedness within days of sharing this portrait of future

judgment (cf. Matthew 27:28, 31, 35). However, that is not the main point of these words, and it

is interesting to point out that no one is said to clothe Jesus in that time (except for the soldiers in

31 who switch His clothes, but that’s not applicable for the meaning of the passage). Nakedness

indicated poverty,50

which would indicate a comparison with James 1:27; 2:15-16 that is

extremely important in light of verse 40.

c. Companionship (36b-c)

Third, Christ describes His people as having taken care of His emotional needs. They visited

Him when He was sick. They came to Him when He was in prison. “Chrysostom . . . observed

that the list of ministries does not include miracles: the sick and imprisoned are visited, not

healed and set free.”51

The first thing that must be recognized is that they visited Christ when He was sick. While

He was on earth, He healed many of sickness52

(cf. Matthew 4:23-24; 8:7-17; 12:10, 15, 22;

14:14; 15:28, 30; 19:2; 21:14), but it must be remembered that Jesus merely says that these

visited Him while he was sick. He does not say that they healed Him. “[A]t least by paying [a

sick person] a visit they were able to convey something of their interest and their sympathy.”53

Prison was not a fun place to be. Especially in the ancient world, survival in prison was

dependent on care received from the outside world, not necessarily “on the basis of existing

relationship but on the basis of need.”54

The righteous are commended for coming to Christ

while He was in prison. It is also interesting to note, that, as with the hospitality commendation,

visiting prisoners was not a very common way in the ancient world to specifically show care for

50 Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, PNTC, 638. 51 W.D. Davies, and Dale C. Allison Jr, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, ICC, 427. 52 Ibid., 427. 53 Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, PNTC, 638. 54

John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew, NIGTC, 1030.

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fellow humans, and it makes it very interesting that Hebrews 13:3 specifically mentions this as

well.55

“Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated,

since you yourselves also are in the body.” Morris writes, “Any prisoner was a needy prisoner;

these people saw this and did what they could.”56

This will be very interesting in light of verse

40.

2. They don’t remember those occasions. (37-39)

Now that Jesus has described His peoples’ meeting of His every need by describing the

most basic needs of all people,57

they reply to Him. Their answer is full of surprise, and they are

referred to for the first time as oiJ divkaioi (“the righteous ones”). “They ask when they did all

these things . . . listing them one by one.”58

Perhaps they want an explanation for every literal

instance in which they ministered to Christ in these ways. They do not remember feeding Him.

They do not remember giving Him a drink. They do not remember bringing Him into their

homes. They do not remember giving Him clothes. They do not remember visiting Him when He

was sick. They do not remember coming to Him in prison. “They have taken [Jesus’ words] quite

literally but remember no circumstance in which they ministered to Jesus in these ways,”59

because “[i]n true humility consistent with that displayed throughout their lives, they do not

seem to be aware of the impact of their ministry.”60

As Matthew 6:3 shows, “the left hand never

knew what the right hand did.”61

3. Christ explains Himself. (40)

55 Ibid., 1029. 56 Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, PNTC, 638. 57 Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 14-28, WBC, 744. 58 Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, PNTC, 638. 59 Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 14-28, WBC, 744. 60 Spiros Zodhiates, Exegetical Commentary on Matthew, 444. 61

W.D. Davies, and Dale C. Allison Jr, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, ICC, 428.

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Christ does not want His people to doubt what He has said to them. For this reason He

begins His response by saying ajmhVn levgw uJmi`n (“truly I say to you all”), which is “the mark of

an especially weighty saying.”62

Jesus then tells them what they really did, followed by what it

really meant.

a. They served others throughout their life. (40a)

Jesus acknowledges that they served others throughout their lives. He says that the things

they did were done eJniV touvtwn twn ajdelfw`n mou tw`n ejlacivstwn (“for one of the least of

these brothers of mine”). This raises the question: Who are these brothers of Jesus?

Several options have been put forward: every needy person (Christian or non-Christian), all

believers, or Christian missionaries.63

It is important to remember throughout this discussion

several very helpful interpretive comparisons: John 13:35; 1 John 3:16; Matthew 12:46-49; and

Matthew 28:10.

In John 13:35, Jesus says, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have

love for one another.” The word ajdelfov" (“brother”) does not show up in this verse, but this is a

clear reference to how believers are to live in relation to one another. First John 3:16 describes

what this love looks like: “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought

to lay down our lives for the brethren.” Here ajdelfov" (“brother”) does show up, and it is a clear

reference to believers. Believers love one another by laying down their lives for each other, in

what can very easily be described as acts of selfless service. “[Generally], ajdelfov" in the NT

denotes ‘fellow-Christians’ or Christian brothers.’ . . . In [Mark] 3:33ff.; and [parallel];

62 Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 14-28, WBC, 744. 63

W.D. Davies, and Dale C. Allison Jr, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, ICC, 428-429.

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[Matthew] 25:40; 28:10; [John] 20:17 Jesus calls His hearers or disciples His brethren, and He

also uses the same term to describe the relations of the disciples to one another.”64

Matthew, which is the most important place to look for comparative uses of the word since

it is part of his book which is under question, uses the word “brother” 37 times in his gospel. The

first six uses in chapters 1-4 are clearly referring to familial relationships. The occurrences in

5:22-24, 47 and 7:4 could very well be either fellow-believers or familial relations.65

When it

occurs four times in chapter 10 it clearly refers to familial relations. Matthew 12:46-50 is a clear

mixture of both, in what seems to be where Jesus gives the definition of the word in His normal

usage (see next paragraph). After this, unless He qualifies it so that it is obviously referring to

familial relations, it seems to be that when Christ uses the word “brother,” He means “believers”

every single time except once (the only time He says a clearly familial referent after 12:50 is in

19:29). The word “brother” is clearly familial in 13:55, 14:3, 17:1, 20:24, and 22:24-25;

someone other than Jesus speaks all of these, or they are Matthew’s narration describing the

relationship often mentioned between James and John (brothers, sons of Zebedee, cf. 4:21). The

only other doubtful use of “brother” is Peter’s use in 18:21; he could be speaking of either

believers or family; however, given the fact that it is stuck between two uses by Christ in 18:15

and 35, it is probably best to see it as speaking of believers. The last three uses, all by Christ—

23:8, 25:40, and 28:10—are speaking to believers, but since 25:40 is under consideration, it is

necessary to prove it to be so.

Matthew 12:46-50 relates the following narrative:

While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing

outside, seeking to speak to Him. Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your

64 Hans Freiherr von Soden, “ajdelfov", ajdelfhv, ajdelfovth", filavdelfo", filadelfiva, yeudavdelfo"”

TDNT, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964), 145. 65 Cf. 1 John 3:15, 17 and 4:20 which is clearly speaking to fellow believers. Love for fellow believers is a sign

of true, saving faith.

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brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.” But Jesus answered the one who

was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And stretching

out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! For

whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and

mother.”66

The crowds are clearly speaking about familial relationships, but Jesus decides to reinterpret the

word ajdelfov" (“brother”). When He reinterprets it, He stretches out His hand towards those He

is speaking about, so that there is zero confusion, and says that His brother (and sister and

mother) is one who does the will of God. Based on this interpretation, the use of ajdelfw`n

(“brothers”) in 25:40 can legitimately be interpreted as “brothers and sisters.”67

The phrase about

doing the will of the Father occurs almost identically in Matthew 7:21. Young’s Literal

Translation renders the phrase as follows:

Matthew 7:21 says, “he who is doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens.”

Matthew 12:50 says, “whoever may do the will of my Father who is in the heavens.”

The significant difference is that in Matthew 7:21 the verb is a participle while in 12:50 the verb

is a subjunctive. It is especially interesting that Matthew 7:21 describes the same exact scene as

Matthew 25:31-46, so those being judged are being judged on the basis of whether or not they

did the will of the Father. Because of Matthew 12:50, those who do the will of the Father are the

brothers of Christ. The identical phrase toV qevlhma tou patrov" mou (“the will of my Father”)

also occurs in John 6:40.68

It reads, “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds

the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last

day.” The will of the Father is to believe in Christ. Those who believe become Jesus’ brothers

and sisters (Matthew 12:50) and are able to enter into heaven after the judgment (Matthew 7:21).

66 Emphasis added. 67 See John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew, NIGTC, 1031. He explains that “or sisters” can be added “to

mark the gender inclusiveness of twn ajdelfwn.” I would argue that rendering it to say “and sisters” would make

more sense in this context though. 68

These are the only three occurences of that identical phrase in the New Testament.

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Finally, Matthew 28:10 says, “Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and take word to My

brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.’” The fact that this verse occurs after

the women were already on their way to tell the disciples that Christ had risen from the dead

would prove that this verse also speaks of believers when it uses the word “brothers.”

Based on Jesus’s use of the word ajdelfov" (“brother”) beginning in Matthew 12:50, it is

clear that when Christ uses the same word in Matthew 25:40, He is speaking specifically about

believers also. However, the end of the verse will continue to prove this point.

b. When they served others, they were serving Him. (40b)

Jesus explains that when they served others they were really serving Him. This explains

why Jesus can say that they fed, watered, invited in, clothed, visited, and came to Him. However,

the question still stands: how was Jesus served through the serving of other Christians?

The first passage to compare is in Acts 9:3-6. Here, we see a conversation between Saul of

Tarsus and Jesus Christ:

As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light

from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He

said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told

you what you must do.”

The important thing to recognize here is that Jesus tells Paul that Paul was persecuting Him.

However, Paul was technically doing nothing of the sort; Paul was persecuting the church (cf.

Acts 9:1-2). If persecuting the church is to be seen as persecuting Jesus, then serving believers

should be seen as serving Jesus. Jesus congratulates the righteous ones in Matthew 25:40 for

serving Him because in serving their fellow believers, they were really serving Him.69

There is

69

This language of Christ intimately connected to believers is also found in Colossians 1:18, 24

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an “intimate bond that identifies Jesus with His disciples”70

that would make no sense if the

brothers represented just any lowest-class individual. Paul, in Acts, was persecuting Christ

because Christ’s Spirit was indwelling the believers who were being persecuted. Christ’s Spirit

only indwells believers (cf. Ephesians 1:13-14). Therefore, in Matthew 25:40, it must be

understood that believers are rewarded for serving their fellow believers.

Hebrews 13:2 is also interesting when considered in this light. As Nolland pointed out

earlier, this passage speaks directly to two of the lesser occurring acts of mercy found in

Matthew 25: hospitality and prison visits.71

It speaks about people bringing angels into their

homes without realizing it. The believers spoken to in this verse had no idea that they had ever

shown hospitality to Jesus. “Some have entertained angels without knowing it,” but it wouldn’t

be impossible to argue from the context in Matthew: “Some have entertained Jesus without

knowing it.”

Leon Morris sums up this point well. “To receive a disciple is to receive Jesus (10:40). . . .

[This] is probably the way we should understand the words, but that does not give the follower of

Jesus license to do good deeds to fellow Christians but none to outsiders. Such an attitude is

foreign to the teachings of Jesus. Everyone in need is to be the object of Christian

benevolence.”72

As Matthew 5:7 says, “‘Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy’

requires no qualification.”73

It is important to note, before moving on, that the King of the

Universe makes Himself equal with the group known as the outcasts of society.74

“Blessed are

the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).

70 Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 14-28, WBC, 745. 71 John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew, NIGTC, 1029. 72 Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, PNTC, 639. 73 W.D. Davies, and Dale C. Allison Jr, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, ICC, 429. 74 Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, PNTC, 639. “Throughout [H]is earthly life Jesus had never

sought to be in a lofty and comfortable position. He lived ‘despised and rejected of men,’ as the prophet put it (Isa.

53:3), and [H]is followers must not forget it.”

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B. He will speak to the goats last. (41-45)

After speaking to the righteous, Jesus turns to those on His left. “We suppose that those on

the left have already heard the conversation with those on the right, which fact must cause them

grief.”75

This section is very parallel to verses 34-40, but the differences between the two are

important to note. In fact, before explaining why they are told to depart from Him, it is necessary

to look at several reasons why they are not told to depart from Him.

They are not told to depart because they were predestined to hell. The first major break from

the parallelism in this section is found in Christ’s opening words to these people, but that will be

better discussed under the next subheading. The important point here is how He describes the

place He sends them. He calls it toV pu`r toV aijwvnion toV hJtoimasmevnon tw/` diabovlw/ kaiV

toi`" ajggevloi" aujtou` (“the eternal fire, the one that has been prepared for the devil and his

angels”).76

While the kingdom was actively prepared for the righteous who were sure to inherit

it, the fire was actively prepared for the devil, not the wicked who will be sent there. “Matthew is

somewhat reserved towards the idea of a double predestination.”77

This concept finds a parallel

in Romans 9:22-23. There Paul writes, “What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath

and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared

(kathrtismevna) for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon

vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand (prohtoivmasen) for glory.” While the words

used are clearly from different roots, the vessels of wrath were not prepared by a stated agent

(passive participle), but the vessels of mercy were prepared beforehand by God (active

indicative). The fire that these unrighteous are commanded to depart into was “a fire prepared

75 W.D. Davies, and Dale C. Allison Jr, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, ICC, 430. 76 See comments on verse 46 for a discussion of “eternal fire” 77

Ulrich Luz, Matthew 21-28, Hermeneia, 278.

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not for them, but for the devil and his angels.”78

It is also interesting to “[n]ote that unlike the

kingdom, the everlasting fire is not described as ‘prepared... from before the foundation of the

world’.”79

These people were not elected to hell. They failed, in their own responsibility, to do

the things that would lead to eternal life (in this context, loving believers, but in reality, believing

the gospel).

They are not told to depart because God cursed them. There is another difference between

this verse and verse 34. There, Jesus says that the righteous are blessed oiJ eujloghmevnoi tou

patrov" mou (“the ones who are blessed of my Father”), but in 41 He says that the wicked are oiJ

kathramevnoi (“the ones who are cursed”). This difference is key to the point of the above

paragraph as well. God blesses those He elects, but God is not responsible for the curse that

comes upon the wicked. They bring it on themselves. “Chrysostom remarks, ‘no longer of the

Father; for not He laid the curse upon them, but their own works’.”80

1. He sentences them to hell and gives reasons. (41-43)

Jesus gives tangible reasons in verses 41-43 as to why He sends the ones on His left to hell.

He begins by commanding poreuvesqe (“Depart”). This runs directly counter to his command in

verse 34 where He says deu`te (“Come”). This scene, while not grammatically identical, is very

similar to the one presented earlier in Matthew 7:21-23.81

It is interesting to point out that in both

accounts people are told to depart, people are clearly confused as to the reason, and people

thought they worked for Christ while they were on earth. In Matthew 7 they bragged on their

miraculous deeds, and in Matthew 25 they are told that they didn’t even do seemingly

78 Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, PNTC, 640. 79 Spiros Zodhiates, Exegetical Commentary on Matthew, 446. 80 Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, PNTC, 639-640. 81

John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew, NIGTC, 1033.

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unimportant deeds. This could be Matthew’s way to show the difference between the wicked’s

perception of themselves, and what they truly are.

Verses 42-43 are almost entirely identical to verses 35-36. The only difference is in the

negations before every act of kindness portrayed in the earlier verses (ouj or oujk occur 5 times in

these two verses). “As consistently as the righteous are approved for their deeds of mercy, so

now are the unrighteous faulted for their lack of charitable deeds toward Jesus.”82

(To see just

what it was that these people did not do for Jesus, see the comments under section II.A.1.)

2. They remember the occasions differently. (44)

The people commanded to go to eternal fire answer back to Jesus. A difference in this verse

when compared to verse 37 is clear: those on Christ’s right were called oiJ divkaioi (“the

righteous ones”), but those on the left remain nameless.83

They do not understand what He is

saying. They don’t remember ignoring Him and His needs. In light of 7:21-23, many of them

probably thought they had done much for Him throughout their lives. Morris cites Glover who

wrote, “[T]he wicked know not their evil. They remember some neglect and harshness, but it was

only of a Lazarus at their gate. Had they seen the King there, their best had been His. They

discover with horror that all their sins against their brethren are reckoned by the Master as

against Himself.”84

The list is also a lot punchier. Instead of three separate clauses as before, these protest in one

sentence. “When did we see you x, y, and z and not serve you?” instead of “When did we see you

x and help you; when did we see you y and help you; etc.?” Most would argue that it is only to

ease the monotony,85

but this doesn’t have to be the case. This construction “lends to the scene

82 Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 14-28, WBC, 745. 83 W.D. Davies, and Dale C. Allison Jr, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, ICC, 431. 84 Glover quoted in Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, PNTC, 640. 85

E.g. John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew, NIGTC, 1033; Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 14-28, WBC, 746.

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with the condemned something breathless and distressing, which forms a powerful contrast with

the slow-moving serenity of the dialogue with the elect.”86

The terseness of their speech could

easily serve to show that they are nervous concerning the answer to their question.

3. Christ explains Himself. (45)

Christ answers their question. There are only two differences in this quotation from what He

said to those on His right previously in verse 40. The first difference is the addition of the

negatives (oujk and oujdev), and the second difference is the omission of the reference to brothers.

In verse 45 He says eJniV touvtwn tw`n ejlacivstwn (“for one of the least of these”) instead of eJniV

touvtwn tw`n ajdelfwn mou twn ejlacivstwn (“for one of the least of these brothers of mine”).

This is simply a case of ellipsis; words are omitted that the hearers/readers would understand

intuitively to still be meant.87

“The omission of the phrase . . . is a matter of abridgment and

should not be taken to signal a change of meaning from the phrase in [verse] 40.”88

It is not

impossible to imagine Jesus pointing to those on His right as He makes this announcement.

It is interesting to point out that in verse 32 pavnta taV e[qnh (“all the nations”) are gathered

before Jesus, and in 24:9 Jesus had said that pavntwn tw`n e[qnwn (“all the nations”) would hate

believers; in 25:42-43, 45 Jesus points out the practical ways in which the nations showed that

they hate Christ’s disciples. “To honor Jesus means nothing more than to do what He has

commanded—above all, to take seriously the love commandment.”89

Matthew 22:37-40 contains

this commandment:

And He said to him, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR

HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND. This is the

great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR

86 Preiss quoted in W.D. Davies, and Dale C. Allison Jr, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, ICC, 431. 87 Ulrich Luz, Matthew 21-28, Hermeneia, 282. He adds, “That Matthew has omitted precisely the word

‘brothers,’ . . . simply shows that his understanding of it was clear and needed no further elucidation. 88 Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 14-28, WBC, 746. 89

Ulrich Luz, Matthew 21-28, Hermeneia, 282.

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NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the

Prophets.”

By breaking the command of not loving the least disciple of Christ (their neighbor), they were

proving that they were not following the first commandment, because “the one who does not

love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20).

III. Jesus gives a conclusion. (46)

It is at this point that Jesus concludes the dialogue. In doing so He declares the final

destination of each group of people. The parallelism of the passage echoes Daniel 12:2,90

which

says, “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but

the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.” Nolland points out though, that verse 46 when

compared to Daniel 12:2 “lacks its focus on resurrection, and the language is much closer for the

positive than for the negative fate.”91

It is imperative to point out that both destinies, though opposite, are parallel in their

description. Jesus says eij" . . . aijwvnion twice, “pointing to the gravity of the issue at stake.”92

The difference in each is what is aijwvnion: once it is kovlasin (“punishment”) and once it is

zwhvn (“life”). Morris comments on the parallelism: “The same adjective is applied to both the

punishment and the reward. Jesus is not speaking of some small experience that would be but for

a moment, but of that which has no end.”93

Jesus uses the word aijwvnio" (“eternal”) to describe the destinies of both groups of people.

In understanding what He means it is imperative that we understand the popular use of this word

during the time period in which Matthew wrote, because some have tried to argue that

punishment does not exist into eternity with no end, but this verse cannot allow that

90 W.D. Davies, and Dale C. Allison Jr, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, ICC, 432. 91 John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew, NIGTC, 1034. 92 Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 14-28, WBC, 746. 93

Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, PNTC, 641.

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interpretation.94

“Matthew believes that there will be a double conclusion to history; there is no

suggestion of universal reconciliation.”95

So what does aijwvnio" (“eternal”) mean?

The word aijwvnio" (“eternal”) is used often to describe God, especially in the Septuagint,

but also in the New Testament several times. Some key examples in the Septuagint are Genesis

21:33, which explains that Abraham “called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God

(kurivou qeoV" aijwvnio").” Another example is in Exodus 15:18 which reads, “The LORD shall

reign forever and ever (aijwna kaiV ejp’ aijwna).” Psalm 136 contains the word “eternal” twenty-

six times in describing God’s love (eij" toVn aijwna). Isaiah 40:28 describes God as “the

everlasting God (qeoV" aijwvnio").” In extra-biblical Jewish writings we read, “For my hope is in

the Everlasting (tw/` aijwnivw/), that he will save you; and joy is come unto me from the Holy One,

because of the mercy which shall soon come unto you from the Everlasting (aijwvniou) our

Saviour” (Baruch 4:22). Elsewhere, “Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and said, ‘O

everlasting God (oJ qeoV" oJ aijwvnio"), that knowest the secrets, and knowest all things before

they be’” (Susanna 1:42). Finally, in the New Testament we see the phrase used in Romans

16:26 when Paul calls God “the eternal God (tou aijwnivou qeou`).” Finally, it is important to

point out that “[a]s a predicate of God aijwvnio" contains not merely the concept of unlimited

time without beginning or end, but also of the eternity which transcends time.”96

If God is eternal, with no beginning and end, and the final judgment is described with the

same adjective for both destinies, then it follows that the final judgment is for eternity: whether it

be for life or for punishment. It is also used “as a term for the object of eschatological

94 John A. Broadus, Commentary on Matthew (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1990), 512. “It will at

once be taken for granted, by any unprejudiced and docile mind, that the punishment of the wicked will last as long

as the life of the righteous; . . . those who deny the doctrine must establish here a difference of meaning, and with an

overwhelming presumption against them.” 95 Ulrich Luz, Matthew 21-28, Hermeneia, 282. 96

H. Sasse, “aijwvn, aijwvnio"” TDNT, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964), 208.

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expectation.”97

Sasse goes on to explain, and specifically references Matthew 25:46, that

aijwvnio" carries the sense of ‘unceasing’ or ‘endless.’98

“The adjective aijwvnion, ‘eternal,’ is

used in both instances, pointing to the gravity of the issue at stake.”99

A. The goats—non-servants—go to hell. (46a)

Jesus describes the punishment of the wicked first. They go to everlasting punishment. Jesus

uses the word kovlasi" (“punishment”) to describe what goes on for eternity. In modern greek

this word is used for hell.100

In Revelation 20:14-15, John describes the eternal punishment (hell)

as a lake of fire. Previously, in the same chapter, Matthew described this final destination as

follows: “that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (25:30). Again, “[t]here is no

trace of its being remedial (as it was for Origen and Gregory of Nyssa, who also did not think of

literal fire; contrast Augustine . . . –urging that eternal punishment is reasonable and that hell’s

fire is literal).”101

Even if the fire of hell is taken as a symbol, symbols always fall short of the

true reality; this would mean that if burning ceaselessly in fire is bad, how much worse must hell

be?

B. The sheep—servants—get eternal life. (46b)

Jesus concludes this picture of the final judgment by describing the state of the righteous.

They go to eternal life. It is worth pointing out that in verse 34 they were told to enter the

kingdom of God that had been prepared for them, and now they are said to enter eternal life.102

97 Ibid., 209 98 Ibid., 209. 99 Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 14-28, WBC, 746. 100 J. Schneider, “kolavzw, kovlasi"” TDNT, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1965), 816. 101 W.D. Davies, and Dale C. Allison Jr, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, ICC, 431. 102

John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew, NIGTC, 1034.

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Conclusion:

This passage focuses on the final judgment of the world and does so on the basis of deeds

done. Elsewhere, judgment is said to be based on whether or not people do bad things. Here

however it is clear that people are also judged for sins of omission (cf. James 4:17).

Specifically, this passage shows that social justice is important. However, given the context

of the writing of this book, it must be understood that the social justice that must be practiced,

must first be practiced towards Christians. A believer who doesn’t love another believer can

certainly not truly love the homeless man on the corner or the destitute and homeless women and

children across the ocean.

While believers must not hesitate to show love to other believers (cf. James 2:15-16; John

3:15, 17; 4:20), which is the primary emphasis of the passage, social justice for the lost is also

necessary. The truly loving Christian will love so much that the love overflows from the church

setting to the setting of the world around him. And since the elect do not have a sign on their

forehead that says, “heading to a kingdom prepared for me from the foundation of the world,” it

is extremely important that believers not focus all their service on the believers they know on a

daily basis (especially in first-world America). Believers here should be quick to serve the

homeless and the outcasts of our country, and they should also be quick to send money to third-

world countries. Many of these people could be believers, and service to them could be service to

Christ. Not all of it will be, but much of it could be.

Finally, this passage in Matthew encourages people to be involved in a local church. How

are believers supposed to know the needs of other believers around them if not for being in a

church? Hebrews 10:23-25 reads, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,

for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and

good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging

Wingerd 31

one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Believers cannot avoid the

church. We must be actively participating, so that we can be actively serving Christ by serving

His body. We don’t want to ignore Him.

Wingerd 32

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