He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats

 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.  And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.  Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'  Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and gave You drink" When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'  And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to me.'

"Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:  for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'  Then they also will answer Him, 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?'  Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'  And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

- Matthew 25:31-46

Our current reading is taking place at the end of a discourse by Jesus to His disciples, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and also the time of His return.  We began reading this discourse on Thursday (see also Friday and Saturday's readings).  Monday, we read a new parable He gave about this time in which we await His second coming, and He continued teaching in parables in yesterday's (Tuesday's) reading:   "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.  And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.  Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.  And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.  But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money.  After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.  So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.'  His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord.'  He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.'  His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord.'  Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground.  Look, there you have what is yours.'  But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.  So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.  So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.  For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.  And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"

 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory."  Here, my study bible has a long note regarding the entire passage of today's reading.  It says, "Here is the majestic climax of the discourse, which is not simply a parable, but a prophecy of the universal judgment that will indeed come.  Since the Cross is now near to Him, Jesus raises the hearer to the sight of the glory of the Son of Man on His judgment seat and the whole world before Him.  The standard of judgment is uncalculated mercy toward others.  The works produced by faith are emphasized, for saving faith always produces righteous works.  What we do reflects our true inner state.  The least (v. 40) refers to all the poor and the needy.  The needs described in this parable include both physical and spiritual needs.  Thus, the hungry or thirsty (v. 44) are not only those who need food and drink, but also those who hunger and thirst for the hope of the gospel."

"All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats."   My study bible tells us that Christ uses sheep to illustrate the righteous, because they follow His voice and are both gentle and productive.  Goats are used to indicate the unrighteous, because they do not follow the shepherd, and they also walk along the cliffs, which symbolically represent sin.  (See also Matthew 8:32.)

"And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.  Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world . . ."  A note here tells us that "inherit" is a term used with regard to sons and daughters rather than strangers or servants, for the righteous become children of God by adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).

". . . for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'  Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and gave You drink" When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'  And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to me.'"  My study bible suggests here that to see Christ in everyone is the fulfillment of the great commandment to love your neighbor as yourself (22:39).

"Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'  Then they also will answer Him, 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?'  Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'  And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."  My study bible says that Jesus' statement  that the fire was prepared for the devil (v. 41) shows that hell was not created for man.  Rather, people choose to ally themselves with this place of torment by coldness of heart.

Although Jesus is referring to a great cosmic event, that of His Second Coming, there is so much humanity and humility that fills these words He is giving us.  First, He still calls Himself Son of Man.  He doesn't refer to Himself as Christ, but Son of Man.  And secondly, we can't mistake the great humility and emphasis on humanity in the completion of this story, and the true criteria by which we are measured and our character is understood.  Do we follow His words by helping those in need?  Let me point out that the great background to all of this help is that we are "with" others.  Those in need, in any form, must not be separate, cast out, abandoned.  Rather, they are visited, given the food and drink for which they hunger and thirst, strangers taken in and the naked are clothed.  Of course, we must see these words not only literally but also figuratively.  What they pose to us is the condition of everybody:  in some sense, broken or in need.  A person can need a kind word, a cloak of friendship to clothe their nakedness, an inspiration of faith when they feel they've lost their way, the comradeship of those who are willing to be with them in any time of misfortune or spiritual or other need.  What we want to remember is that this isn't only a formula for writing checks or handing out money.  It's a theory of compassion, in all of its capacities, to manifest in the world through the faithful who follow His teachings.  Let us remember Christ's humanity holds us in the fullness of what it is to be a human being, in all our needs, not just for the material!  So who do you see that is hurting or needs help or guidance, a smile, a word, a simple conversation, just to feel they are not abandoned and alone?  Let us remember that human beings can hunger and thirst in all kinds of ways, prison can manifest in many forms in life, strangers can be right next to you in a pew, or maybe ill and in need of therapeutic care in so many ways; there are scars from the past that also influence the present.  Refugees are all around us.  Man is not just a body, but also a spirit and a soul, a heart and a mind, full of depth that needs healing.  Let us remember His great humanity, even in His great cosmic return.