“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
Matthew 25:31-46 NLT
Jesus is the King and judge of the world. In this final parable, Jesus described the final judgment of the world—including Christians. Yes, Christians are judged, too. We know we will not be condemned because Jesus has paid the price (Rom 8:1). Yet the Lord was clear: Christians will give account for their lives; we will be judged (Matthew 7:15-23; 25:19, 32; John 15:5-6; 2 Cor 5:10; 1 Pet 1:17; Rev 20:12). To put it another way: our character matters, our choices matter, and how we respond to God matters. We can’t live the Christian life without Christ, which is why He lives inside of us; it is only His presence that transforms us and produces fruit (John 15:5).
We are saved by God’s grace, and we must respond to His powerful grace. In this parable, those who go to eternal life didn’t realize they were serving Jesus, but they responded to His love and forgiveness and grace—living lives of love and forgiveness and grace—and serving others. Those who are sent to eternal punishment called Jesus “Lord” but had not responded to Him, served Him, or truly followed Him. This parable has a strong point and warning: the final judgment will not be based on what you say or know, but how you live out the love of Christ inside of you. Will you feed the hungry, give a drink to the thirsty, and give clothes to the naked? The things you own do not belong to you; they were given to you by the Lord and meant to be used to help others. Will you visit the sick and those in prison? Your time is not your own; it is a gift from God that is meant to be used to serve Christ. Serving Christ may include shame and inconvenience, but it is the path to freedom and joy.
How have you responded to the grace of God? How are you allowing His love and truth to lead your life? How can you serve others with Jesus this week?
