Then shall the righteous answer him saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungering, and nourished thee; or thirsting, and gave thee to drink?
The King has just named six kindnesses done to Him: food, drink, welcome, clothing, care in sickness, a visit in prison. The people He praises cannot remember a single one of them. Their reply is not modesty but genuine bewilderment: when did any of this happen?
This is not a general judgment of the dead at the end of all things. The wording settles it: nations, not the risen dead.
A careful look at our Lord's words shows that He does not speak about resurrection. He says: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations" (vv. 31, 32). The reference is therefore to His appearing and kingdom, and to His judgment of the living, not of the dead. We do not speak of "the nations" in respect of the dead: this term describes the living.
The absence of any mention of rising from the dead is itself part of the argument.
Notice especially that there is no reference to resurrection here for either "the righteous" or "the accursed." On both sides they were Gentiles living in their natural bodies, for they are expressly said to be "all the nations" when they were gathered before the glorious throne of the Son of Man.
Their question is not a formality. They are learning something at that very moment which they had never known before.
Notice what they answer: "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?" Could a Christian say such a thing in heaven, where we will know even as we are known? … However blessed this scene may be, it is still the Lord as Son of Man judging all nations. He blesses the righteous from among them. Up to that moment they did not know that in showing acts of love and kindness towards Christ's messengers, they had done so much towards Christ Himself. Their last lesson was the first that Paul learned on the road to Damascus. That truth startled his soul: "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."
The King answers by pointing to a third group in the scene — the people He calls His brothers. Kindness to them reached Him.
The sheep showed them love, care, sympathy in their sorrows. So these brothers of the King must have gone through tribulation before the King appears. The conclusion is obvious. In that day, the ground on which He will deal with the nations will be this — "How did you behave towards My messengers?" … Those who honour the message treat the messengers well. They care for them and identify themselves with them. The Lord remembers this, and counts what was done to His messengers as done to Himself.
The acts listed were not random decency. Who received the kindness matters as much as the kindness itself.
Some had shown more than kindness, self-denial, or moral excellence in any marked degree. They had shown love in various ways to the servants who preached in the King's name. Those servants preached the same truth which He had preached at the start of His public ministry. But it was faith which worked in their love. If the King and His coming kingdom had been only a myth in their eyes, they would have at least ignored His messengers as impostors.
One woman in Jericho shows the same pattern.
We may see Rahab's case as an early picture of this. She believed. At that time judgment was gathering over Jericho, a picture of the world. It is written of her, "And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?" She had faith and showed it by works. And so these nations believe the messengers and treat them with kindness. Grace covers them because they believed.
Many read this scene as praise for charity work in general. Commentators warn that this misses the point.
How great the confusion is among Christians about the meaning of these words! Often the interpretation given strikes at the very foundations of the gospel. People think our Lord means charitable acts: hospitals and prison work, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked through church work or charitable institutions. … If anyone does these things and is faithful in them, the King will approve of them in the judgment — and many a soul builds on this foundation of sand. All this is completely wrong. The works have an entirely different meaning.
The forgetfulness of these people is held up as the shape real service takes.
John Newton had been writing about A B C Christians, and a young clergyman wrote to him and said he had been testing himself by it and found he was in the "C" class, the highest. John Newton wrote back and said there was one thing he had forgotten to mention — namely, that those in the "C" class did not know it. … So in Matthew 25, those who pleased Him were quite unconscious of what they had done. And the principle is the same for us.
What is forgotten below is not lost above.
He forgets nothing that is done for His sake, though they have no recollection of what He speaks of. Faith does what is right and thoughtful without expecting any recognition for it. As the hymn says, "Little things we had forgotten He will tell us were for Him."
- Faith first. The sheep did not earn their place by good deeds. Their kindness to the King's messengers proved they had believed His message.
- Faith hidden. Their question shows they never counted their acts as service to Christ. They showed love to His messengers and thought no more of it.
- Faith reaching. The King ties Himself to His brothers: help given to them reached Him. Paul learned the same lesson on the Damascus road.
- Faith mistaken. Reading this scene as a reward for charity work is a foundation of sand. It turns a judgment of belief into a scorecard of good causes.
- Faith rewarded. Christ forgets nothing done for His sake; the little things we no longer remember He will name as done for Him.
and when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in; or naked, and clothed thee?
The sheep do not accept the King's praise — they cannot remember ever taking Him in or clothing Him. Their reply raises two questions: who did they help, and why does the King count it as done to Himself?
This scene is a judgment on earth, not a judgment of the dead. Two details in the text show it.
The reference is therefore to His appearing and kingdom, and to His judgment of the living, and not of the dead. We do not speak of "the nations" in respect of the dead: this term describes the living. And notice too that there are three groups — the sheep, the goats, and the brethren of the King. That fact alone settles how we read the whole scene.
The King tells them they showed kindness to "the least of these my brothers." Naming that third group explains who stood at their door, and why he needed shelter.
Who are "these my brethren?" We have had the sheep and goats — the righteous and the unrighteous Gentiles; but who are the King's brethren? Those whom the Lord will send out before He comes in the glory of the kingdom; men sent to announce that He is coming in His kingdom. The sheep showed them love, care, sympathy in their sorrows. So these brethren of the King must have gone through tribulation before the King appears. The conclusion is obvious that, in that day, the ground on which He will deal with the nations will be this — "How did you behave to My messengers?"
Feeding and clothing sound like plain decency. But the King does not reward kindness in general. He rewards kindness aimed at one group, and that aim shows what the giver believed.
What some had shown was not just kindness, self-denial, or notable moral character. It was love, shown in many ways, to the servants who preached in the King's name the same truth which He had preached at the beginning of His public ministry. But it was faith which worked in their love. If the King and His coming kingdom had only been a myth in their eyes, they would have at least ignored His messengers as impostors. They believed the message to be of God and therefore treated its preachers with kindness.
One woman did the same long before, while judgment hung over her city.
We may look at Rahab as an early foreshadowing. She believed. At that time judgment was gathering over Jericho — a picture of the world. "By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies." She had faith and showed it by works. The preachers going about are persecuted and hated by others — suffering, hungry, some thrown into prison. And so these nations believe the messengers and treat them with kindness. Grace covers them because they believed.
Their question is not false modesty.
They had shown such kindness to poor Jewish preachers of the gospel of the kingdom, but had not thought of their deeds at all as done to the Lord Himself.
Their surprise also shows where they stand. One man learned their lesson first, and learned it the hard way.
Could a Christian say such a thing in heaven, where we will know even as we are known? But these godly Gentiles are clearly still in their natural bodies, and the Lord is teaching them even after He appears in glory. However blessed this scene may be, it is still the Lord as Son of Man judging all nations and blessing the righteous from among them. Up to that moment they did not know that their acts of love and kindness towards Christ's messengers were so much done to Christ Himself. Their last lesson was the first that Paul learned on the road to Damascus — the truth that startled his soul: "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."
Their forgetting is not a fault — it is how faith works.
He speaks to them of showing Him many kindnesses in times of special need. For He forgets nothing that is done for His sake, though they have no recollection of what He speaks of. Faith does the things that are right and considerate without expecting any recognition. As the hymn reads, "Little things we had forgotten He will tell us were for Him."
- Living, not dead. Christ judges the nations alive on earth when He appears. The third group in the scene — the King's brethren — settles how we read it.
- The stranger had a name. The hungry, homeless visitor was one of the King's messengers. He carried news of the coming kingdom, and suffered for it.
- The welcome was the evidence. Nobody shelters a messenger he thinks is a fraud. Taking him in showed faith in the King who sent him, as Rahab's welcome of the spies did.
- The surprise was real. They never linked the coat they gave to the Christ now on the throne. He counts kindness to His own as kindness to Himself.
- He keeps the record. Faith acts without expecting credit. The small things the doer forgot are the ones the King names back to him.
and when saw we thee ill, or in prison, and came to thee?
The King has just listed six kindnesses shown to Him, and the righteous cannot place a single one of them. Their surprise raises two questions: who is on trial here, and why do the accepted not remember the deeds that mark them out?
The scene is often read as the last judgment of everyone who has ever lived. Commentators point instead to a detail in the text. Besides the sheep and the goats, the passage names a third group — the King's brethren.
Could anybody show me a single passage about a general resurrection? There is no such thought in Scripture. You get Matthew 25 quoted for it, that the goats and sheep represent the two classes; but He has come in His glory down here. He is not sitting on the great white throne: before this heaven and earth flee away. Here He is come and sits on His throne. When He does come and sits there, He gathers all the Gentiles, the nations, to judge them. It is the judgment of the living. You have three sets of people, not two; and you have nothing of resurrection. You have sheep, goats, and brethren.
The kindnesses in this question went to people in real trouble. That points to who these brethren were and what they went through.
We have had the sheep and goats — the righteous and the unrighteous Gentiles. But who are the King's brethren? They are the men the Lord will send out before He comes in the glory of the kingdom, sent to announce that He is coming in His kingdom. The sheep showed them love — care — sympathy in their sorrows. So these brethren of the King must have gone through tribulation before the King appears. The conclusion is obvious. In that day, He will deal with the nations on this ground — "How did you behave to My messengers?"
The righteous are not being modest. They truly do not know, and one writer asks whether anyone in heaven could speak like this.
Could a Christian say such a thing in heaven, where we shall know even as we are known? … However blessed this scene may be, it is still the Lord as Son of Man judging all nations and blessing the righteous from among them. Up to that moment they did not know that their acts of love and kindness towards Christ's messengers were done towards Christ Himself. Their last lesson was the first that Paul learned on the road to Damascus — the truth that startled his soul: "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting."
If the sheep did not know they were serving Christ, what made their kindness count? One writer answers: how they treated the messengers showed what they thought of the One they represented.
God knows the true state of every heart quite apart from works. Yet public judgment is always according to works, since works show plainly and without fail what that state is. So everyone watching can see that God's judgments are right. These messengers, whom the King calls "My brethren," had gone out as His representatives. People treated them according to the view they took of the Son of Man whom they represented. Those who believed in Him stood with His messengers and cared for them in their rejection and suffering. Those who did not believe in Him paid them no attention at all. Those who had faith declared it by their works. Those who had no faith equally declared it by their works.
One writer applies their unawareness to service today.
In Matthew 25, those who pleased Him were quite unconscious of what they had done. And the principle is the same for us.
What the doers forget, He keeps.
He speaks to them of showing Him many kindnesses in times of special need. For He forgets nothing that is done for His sake, though they have no recollection of what He speaks of. Faith does what is right and considerate without expecting any recognition for it.
- Three, not two. Sheep, goats and "these My brethren" stand before a throne set up on earth. This scene says nothing about resurrection.
- The brethren. They are messengers sent out ahead of the King. Their hunger, sickness and prison show they passed through tribulation.
- The test. How the nations treated those messengers decides the case. It showed what they thought of the King who sent them.
- The evidence. Works are not merit; they are the visible proof of faith or unbelief, so that everyone can see the judgment is right.
- The surprise. The accepted cannot recall one kindness. That is the point: faith serves without keeping score, and He forgets nothing done for His sake.