Spiritual Lessons from Matthew 25:31–33, 41–46, NASB
“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. …
“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Two parables immediately precede this proclamation: the parable of the ten virgins, and the parable of the three servants who were given different numbers of talents or gifts. It is no accident that these immediately precede Jesus’ instruction on the sheep and the goats.
Concerning this passage of Scripture, Ellen White wrote:
“Those on the left hand of Christ, those who had neglected Him in the person of the poor and the suffering, were unconscious of their guilt. Satan had blinded them; they had not perceived what they owed to their brethren. They had been self-absorbed, and cared not for others’ needs.” The Desire of Ages, 639.
We have an obligation to our brethren.
“To the rich, God has given wealth that they may relieve and comfort His suffering children; but too often they are indifferent to the wants of others. They feel themselves superior to their poor brethren. They do not put themselves in the poor man’s place. They do not understand the temptations and struggles of the poor, and mercy dies out of their hearts. In costly dwellings and splendid churches, the rich shut themselves away from the poor; the means that God has given to bless the needy is spent in pampering pride and selfishness. The poor are robbed daily of the education they should have concerning the tender mercies of God; for He has made ample provision that they should be comforted with the necessities of life. They are compelled to feel the poverty that narrows life, and are often tempted to become envious, jealous, and full of evil surmisings. Those who themselves have not endured the pressure of want too often treat the poor in a contemptuous way, and make them feel that they are looked upon as paupers.
“But Christ beholds it all, and He says, It was I who was hungry and thirsty. It was I who was a stranger. It was I who was sick. It was I who was in prison. While you were feasting at your bountifully spread table, I was famishing in the hovel or the empty street. While you were at ease in your luxurious home, I had not where to lay My head. While you crowded your wardrobe with rich apparel, I was destitute. While you pursued your pleasures, I languished in prison.” Ibid., 639, 640.
Many are probably saying, “I know all that, AND I give to the poor. I am involved with this or that charity. Or, I give handouts to the homeless.” But if this is our thinking, we may still be among the goats.
Understanding this text in its correct interpretation was one of my struggles in coming to grips with the true understanding of Christianity and what it really meant. We are taught, even within Adventism, that this Scripture is about the physically poor, sick, blind and naked. We have A.D.R.A. We have Dorcas societies, soup kitchens and clothing banks. All of these serve a good purpose. However, let me paraphrase these paragraphs from The Desire of Ages with a spiritual perception and you will see that we get a vastly different view of this passage, and of our duty.
“To the rich in the knowledge of salvation, God has given spiritual wealth that they may relieve and comfort His children, suffering under the curse of sin; but too often they are indifferent to the wants of others. They feel themselves superior in the knowledge of the Scriptures, to their poor brethren who know not the way of salvation. They do not put themselves in the poor man’s place. They do not understand the temptations and struggles of the poor, without the armor of God for protection against the wiles of Satan, and mercy dies out of their hearts as they see these poor ones in their sin. In costly dwellings and splendid churches, with grand theological truths, the rich in their theories of God shut themselves away from the poor in spirit; the means that God has given to bless the needy is spent in pampering their pride of opinion and selfishness with the words of eternal life. The poor are robbed daily of the education they should have concerning the tender mercies of God, His forgiveness of sin, and His power to give victory over sin; for He has made ample provision that they should be comforted with the necessities of life—eternal life. They are compelled to feel the poverty that narrows life, restricting it to the poor and limited substitute for eternal life—the life of this world, and these poor are often tempted to become envious, jealous, and full of evil surmisings towards those whom God has set to be light bearers for His kingdom. Those who themselves have not endured the pressure of want for Bibles, for the riches of salvation, too often treat the poor in a contemptuous way, and make them feel that they are looked upon as paupers in eternal goods.
“But Christ beholds it all, and He says, It was I who was hungry for the bread of life eternal. I was thirsty for the living water. It was I who was a stranger to the Plan of Salvation. It was I who was sick with the leprosy of sin. It was I who was in the prison house, the bondage of Satan. While you were feasting at your bountifully spread table of the eternal truths of the Bible, I was famishing in the hovel or the empty street, without a Bible, without the knowledge of the way to the heavenly mansions. While you were at ease in your luxurious home, contemplating your eternal mansion, I had not where to lay My head, no comfort or peace. While you crowded your wardrobe with rich apparel, knowing of the robe of Christ’s righteousness, I was destitute, spiritually naked and cold. While you pursued your pleasures, I languished in the prison of sin.” The Desire of Ages, 639, 640.
And how is it that Christ could say this? Because, He says, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me” (Matthew 25:45 NIV).
Let’s turn again to Inspiration to see just what is our obligation, our duty to our brethren. “The subject of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment should be clearly understood by the people of God. All need a knowledge for themselves of the position and work of their great High Priest. Otherwise it will be impossible for them to exercise the faith which is essential at this time or to occupy the position which God designs them to fill.” The Great Controversy, 488. [Emphasis supplied.]
“The subject of the sanctuary was the key which unlocked the mystery of the disappointment of 1844. It opened to view a complete system of truth, connected and harmonious, showing that God’s hand had directed the great advent movement and revealing present duty as it brought to light the position and work of His people.” Ibid., 423. [Emphasis supplied.]
“The work to be carried on by the people of God is declared in the words of Inspiration: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight’ (Mark 1:2, 3). ‘Behold My servant, whom I uphold; Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My Spirit upon Him. He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. … He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for His law’ (Isaiah 42:1–4).” Testimonies, vol. 9, 64.
Jesus is coming again—SOON! He tells us, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.” Can we do it if we do not have a clear understanding of the sanctuary message, of the investigative judgment taking place right now—a judgment before which every individual, whether they know about it or not, has to stand? According to the passages we have just read, we cannot.
“God invites all men to the fullest investigation of the claims of His law. His word is sacred and infinite. The cause of truth is to go forth as a lamp that burneth. Earnest study of the word of God will reveal the truth. Sin and wrong will not be sustained, but the law of God will be vindicated. ‘Thus saith God the Lord, He that created the heavens, and stretched them out; He that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house’ (verses 5–7). Christians are to seek their light from the word of God and then in faith go forth to give that light to those who sit in darkness.” Ibid.
“When Christ came to the world, he found that Satan had almost everything under his own control. Christ announced His mission at Nazareth. He said, ‘The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath anointed Me to teach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord’ (Isaiah 61:1, 2). This was His work. He went about doing good, and healing all those who were oppressed of the devil. There were whole villages where there was not a moan of sickness in any house, for He had passed through them and healed all their sick. His work gave evidence of His divine anointing. He had come to represent His Father to the world; and love, mercy, and compassion were displayed in every act of His life. His heart went out in tender sympathy to the children of men. This was His work in our world, to elevate humanity by combining divinity with humanity. He took man’s nature that He might reach man’s wants. With His human arm He encircled the race, and with His divine arm He grasped the throne of the Infinite, and united finite man with the infinite God, and earth with Heaven. Here was man, plunged in degradation, sin, and ruin, and Christ was willing to resign all His glory in order to offer to man the cup of salvation. Astonishment filled Heaven to see man’s indifference, to see man so lacking in appreciation of the things that would make for his peace.” The Signs of the Times, June 17, 1889.
The present truth message for Jesus and His disciples, the message of the angel at the first advent, was a message of peace and good will toward men. But now we see three angels flying in the midst of heaven proclaiming the present truth messages for our time. They are urgent messages of judgment, of consequences, and of protection from the consequences for being found guilty in the judgment.
These messages for our time are food for the hungry, water for the thirsty, freedom to those in bondage, healing for the sin-sick soul, the spiritually blind and naked. It is not some ecumenical, undefined, nebulous gospel of peace. Inspiration gives us ample, explicit and clear instruction.
“I saw the necessity of the messengers, especially, watching and checking all fanaticism wherever they might see it rise. Satan is pressing in on every side, and unless we watch for him, and have our eyes open to his devices and snares, and have on the whole armor of God, the fiery darts of the wicked will hit us. There are many precious truths contained in the word of God, but it is present truth that the flock needs now. I have seen the danger of the messengers running off from the important points of present truth, to dwell upon subjects that are not calculated to unite the flock and sanctify the soul. Satan will here take every possible advantage to injure the cause.
“But such subjects as the sanctuary, in connection with the 2300 days, the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, are perfectly calculated to explain the past Advent movement and show what our present position is, establish the faith of the doubting, and give certainty to the glorious future. These, I have frequently seen, were the principal subjects on which the messengers should dwell.” Early Wrtings, 63. [Emphasis supplied.]
As a church, are we fulfilling the true gospel commission, preaching “this gospel of the kingdom” whose “present truth” message is the Most Holy Place message of the sanctuary in heaven? Or is our Lord saying to us that it was He who was hungry and thirsty. While we were feasting at our bountifully spread table, He was famishing in a hovel or empty street. While we were at ease in our luxurious homes, He had not where to lay His head. While we crowded our wardrobes with rich apparel, He was destitute and while we pursued our own pleasure, He languished in prison in the person of one of His children.
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot’ (Revelation 3:14, 15 NASB).”
God sends His message of love to us. He sees that unless we repent, He will have to say to us that we sat spiritually rich (in our own eyes), feeling that we have all the truth (we have need of nothing) and yet in our spiritual arrogance, pride and self-satisfaction, left those destitute of the knowledge of His grace—His great, eternal, life-giving present truth messages on the outside, cold, hungry for the truths of salvation, naked without the robe of Christ’s righteousness, in bondage to the yoke of sin, in the prison house of suffering, and eventually eternal death. He sees us, by our actions, saying “peace on earth, and good will to men.” He will have to say to us “ ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me’ ” (Matthew 25:41 NASB). Oh, “Saddest of all words that ever fell on mortal ear are those words of doom, ‘I know you not’ (Matthew 25:12).” Christ’s Object Lessons. 413.
This is how these words we read earlier of Inspiration can be true. “Those on the left hand of Christ, those who had neglected Him in the person of the poor and the suffering, were unconscious of their guilt.” We do not recognize that it is our gift, our privilege, and our duty to know, to understand, to live, and to give the “present truth” message of Christ’s work in the Most Holy Place to those languishing in the bondage of sin. We do not really take in the fact that as we sit, complacent, self-satisfied, foolish virgins, having vast opportunity for and knowledge of the truth, but not the burning zeal of the Holy Spirit to share it, that we are Laodicea—we are to face the consequences—“I will spew [vomit forcefully] you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16 RSV) and His words, “depart from Me” “I know you not.”
Let us heed the voice of the “True Witness.” He knows our true condition. We may fool ourselves but we cannot fool God. In fact, according to our study of Inspiration, most people will be self-deceived. But the “True Witness” who KNOWS, has told us ahead of time that we may escape those “saddest of all words — ‘I know you not.’ ”
Brenda Douay is a staff member at Steps to Life. She may be contacted by email at: brendadouay@stepstolife.org.