WHAT YOU DID FOR ME

Passage: Matthew 25:31-46

Key verse: 40

NIV

The Sheep and the Goats

31 “When the Son of Man comes(A) in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.(B) 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate(C) the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.(D) 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom(E) prepared for you since the creation of the world.(F) 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,(G) 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me,(H) I was sick and you looked after me,(I) I was in prison and you came to visit me.’(J)

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’(K)

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me,(L) you who are cursed, into the eternal fire(M) prepared for the devil and his angels.(N) 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’(O)

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.(P)”(Q)

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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

The Final Judgment

31 (A)“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, (B)then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him (C)will be gathered (D)all the nations, and (E)he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates (F)the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then (G)the King will say to (H)those on his right, ‘Come, you (I)who are blessed by my Father, (J)inherit (K)the kingdom (L)prepared for you (M)from the foundation of the world. 35 For (N)I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you (O)gave me drink, (P)I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 (Q)I was naked and you clothed me, (R)I was sick and you (S)visited me, (T)I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And (U)the King will answer them, (V)‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these (W)my brothers,[a] you did it to me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, (X)‘Depart from me, you (Y)cursed, into (Z)the eternal fire prepared for (AA)the devil and his angels. 42 For (AB)I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, (AC)you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away (AD)into eternal punishment, but the righteous (AE)into (AF)eternal life.”

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Footnotes
  1. Matthew 25:40 Or brothers and sisters
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. He then said that the second greatest commandment is like it; to love your neighbor as yourself (Mt 22:39). In this parable, he shows how surprisingly similar these commandments really are. Perhaps what is also surprising is how the King does not judge based on doctrine or rules kept or broken, but by how people lived with love and compassion towards those in need.

If we want to be blessed, we should desire to grow in love and compassion. We can learn about love from Jesus himself, who loved us and gave himself for us. Jesus fed the hungry, healed the sick, welcomed little children along with all who were despised and rejected. Jesus never looked down on others because of their circumstance, but saw the image of God in each person. When we can see Jesus in each and every person, we cannot but be obligated to serve them in their need.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your great love for me. You fed me, nursed me, were patient with me and always held space for me in my need. You looked beyond my sins and shortcomings and gave me new life. Open my eyes to see the great value, the image of God, in each person and love others in their needs.

One Word: Love God; love others.