Flashback Episode — Delayed Rewards: Matthew 25:31-46

If you have ever wondered what criteria is used for Jesus bringing people into His Kingdom, you don’t have to search the Bible for very long before coming to our passage for this episode. For many Christians living today, despite what the media likes to portray, our passage for this episode has been a banner challenging Christians to love and help others ever since it was written. After we read it together, if you are not already familiar with this passage, I’m sure you will be able to see why.

As we said in the intro, our passage is found in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, and we will be reading out of the Holman Christian Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 31, Matthew writes Jesus’ challenge to His followers, saying:

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. ³² All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on the left. ³⁴ 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 foundation of the world.

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 took Me in;
³⁶ I was naked and you clothed Me;
I was sick and you took care of Me;
I was in prison and you visited Me.’

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 take You in, or without clothes and clothe You? ³⁹ When did we see You sick, or in prison, and visit You?’

⁴⁰ “And the King will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’ ⁴¹ Then He will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels!

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 didn’t take Me in;
I was naked
and you didn’t clothe Me,
sick and in prison
and you didn’t take care of Me.’

⁴⁴ “Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help You?’

⁴⁵ “Then He will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me either.’

⁴⁶ “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

This passage marks the last parable Jesus shares with His disciples before meeting with the disciples to eat the last supper, and as I commented leading up to reading this passage, it is easy to see how it calls followers of Jesus to help others.

However, it is worth paying attention to the detail that this passage doesn’t focus us on just helping others; this passage challenges us to help the “least of these”.

Too often, we think of help as being generous towards others, and this is one aspect of it. Being generous towards others is one aspect that we could understand within Jesus’ praise for those who are welcomed into His kingdom.

However, in this passage, Jesus is calling us to help the lowest of the low in society: The hungry, thirsty, naked, stranger who is sick and in prison. While I don’t think this list is describing a single person, what it is describing is someone who does not have the means to repay you. In many ways, this is a much more specific type of help than we might naturally think.

Someone who is hungry, thirsty, or naked and who has money simply has to stop by grocery or clothing store and their problem is solved. Also, sickness is often helped by doctors who appreciate being paid as well.

However, “the least of these” in Jesus’ words seem to describe a person who is clearly in need of help, but who cannot repay the help they need in any way. Jesus’ challenge in this passage is a call to help those who cannot help you back. It is surprising, at least in my mind, that both groups of people in Jesus’ illustration share a common characteristic:

Both groups of people did not recognize Jesus in those they chose to help or not help.

Before continuing further, I want to point out that I don’t believe Jesus or angels are going to sneak down to earth to let us help them, especially when there are so many real people who need help at the lowest ends of society. Instead, Jesus draws the point that by helping those who cannot help us back, we are representing God well and it is like we are helping Him.

As I say this, it makes sense that when we help others in God’s name, we are helping God because at the very least, we give God a good name and a good reputation. Giving God a good reputation, when most people are inclined to think he is mean, vengeful, and looking for opportunities to punish them, is truly helping Him.

It is also worth mentioning that all throughout the gospels, Jesus modeled this type of love. Jesus loved helping people who could not help themselves, and most, if not all of the healing miracles Jesus did helped in a way that truly could never be repaid. Through Jesus’ example, we can understand that God helps those who cannot help themselves – and Jesus challenges us to follow His example in this passage.

However, what about the reward included within this parable?

In this parable, God promises a reward, but it is only after this final separating. It is worth paying attention to the detail that those who are righteous on the King’s right hand side do not receive their reward early. Instead, those who are separated on the King’s right hand side are promised it. In contrast, those who are wicked on the King’s left hand side do not receive their punishment early either, but they are promised it as well. While some might say this understanding is taking the details of this parable too far, I still find it interesting that this parable has all nations and humanity being rewarded and judged at the same time, as opposed to the time of their death, which is different for everyone.

The parable Jesus shares is a parable we can trust, because Jesus is trustworthy. We can trust what Jesus says. We can also fully know that He has given us the simple choice of which side we want to be on. If we intentionally work into our character and lives the opportunity to help those who are in need who cannot help us back, we are acting like those who Jesus calls blessed by His Father – and we can look forward to receiving the kingdom He has promised us.

Before closing out this podcast episode, I want to point out that I don’t believe helping others is a replacement for developing a relationship with God, or for putting our faith in Jesus. I also don’t believe that one can be saved who is against Jesus but who helps those who are helpless. Instead, I believe that faith in Jesus is how we live, work, and love God in the spiritual area of our lives, and helping the helpless is how we truly show our faith in God in the world around us.

Helping others with no strings attached is the best way we can truly be like Jesus. He came to take our place, and when Jesus died in our place, this was a gift given without any conditions.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and focus on growing your relationship with Him. While growing your relationship with God, continue helping those who are in need who cannot help themselves. This is one great way we can model Jesus’ life and ministry, as well as following the challenge Jesus shared with us in our passage for this episode.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, continue praying and studying the Bible, for yourself, because regular prayer and Bible study help you grow your personal relationship with God. While pastors, podcasters, or other people can give you ideas to think about, never let your personal relationship with God depend on someone else. Choose to grow personally closer to God today while also being a blessing to others.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or ignore where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!