We have been applying Matthew 25 to the judgment of the great day or the great and terrible day of the Lord that Joel concerning which Joel prophesied. This post will focus on verses 34-40.
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: for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink? And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.
This is especially fitting for a first-century context. So many Christians read this with a future application and make conclusions about the parameters and basis of our future judgment. Notice that the destiny of the wicked and the righteous hangs on the treatment of their fellow man. There is no mention of faith, baptism, observance of the Lord’s Supper, and a host of other topics that we may think is a heaven/hell proposition. We are looking at a first-century context and a judgment against those Jews for not only rejecting the Christ but their attitude toward others. Matthew 9:13 has Jesus telling them to ponder the meaning of the statement, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice” (cf. Matthew 23:23-24). Think of the parable of the good Samaritan that accentuates the good done by a Samaritan in comparison to a religiously devoted Levite and priest (Luke 10). Consider the lesson taught of the rich man who “fared sumptuously every day,” but failed to show mercy and kindness to Lazarus, the poor man at his gate (Luke 16:20).