"Then the king will say to those bad people on his left, 'Go away from me. God has already decided that you will be punished. Go into the fire that burns forever. That fire was prepared for the devil and his angels. You must go away, because I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. I was alone and away from home, and you did not invite me into your home. I was without clothes, and you gave me nothing to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you did not care for me.' "Then those people will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty? When did we see you alone and away from home? Or when did we see you without clothes or sick or in prison? When did we see these things and not help you?' "Then the king will answer, 'I tell you the truth. Anything you refused to do for any of my people here, you refused to do for me.' "Then those bad people will go away. They will have punishment forever. But the good people will go and have life forever."
—Matthew 25:41-46
Key Thought
Imagine if we viewed every person we met, especially every believer, as if he or she was the very presence of Christ! How much kinder would we be? How much more welcoming to the visitor or the desperate in our church services? How much more attentive would we be to their aches, pains, difficulties, and hardships? How much more careful would we be to not say anything insensitive or uncaring?
Jesus reminds us that this is precisely the case. But he goes one step further. He also reminds us that those who are mean and cruel and hard on others will face ultimate hardship. He reminds us that the ultimate justice is not going to be seen this side of eternity. But when he comes, each will be blessed according to his or her service to him. And, of course, service to him is serving his people!
Today's Prayer
Holy Father, thank you for your children of every language, nation, culture, and tribe. Help me to value them all as you do. In particular, help me to see every believer as the very presence of Christ and treat them with the same dignity with which I would treat Christ. Sweep through your Church with the Holy Spirit, pouring out love in powerful ways so that we may more perfectly reflect your desire to bless and grace each other. In Jesus' precious name I pray. Amen.
Today's Verses in Context
The Son of Man will put the sheep (good people) on his right and the goats (bad people) on his left. "Then the king will say to those good people on his right, 'Come. My Father has given you great blessings. Come and get the kingdom God promised you. That kingdom has been prepared for you since the world was made. You can have this kingdom, because I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was alone and away from home, and you invited me into your home. I was without clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you came to visit me.' "Then the good people will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you alone and away from home and invite you into our home? When did we see you without clothes and give you something to wear? When did we see you sick or in prison and care for you?' "Then the king will answer, 'I tell you the truth. Anything you did for any of my people here, you also did for me.' "Then the king will say to those bad people on his left, 'Go away from me. God has already decided that you will be punished. Go into the fire that burns forever. That fire was prepared for the devil and his angels. You must go away, because I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. I was alone and away from home, and you did not invite me into your home. I was without clothes, and you gave me nothing to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you did not care for me.' "Then those people will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty? When did we see you alone and away from home? Or when did we see you without clothes or sick or in prison? When did we see these things and not help you?' "Then the king will answer, 'I tell you the truth. Anything you refused to do for any of my people here, you refused to do for me.'"Then those bad people will go away. They will have punishment forever. But the good people will go and have life forever."Matthew 25:33-46
Related Scripture Readings
God will do what is right. He will give trouble to those people who trouble you. And God will give peace to you people who are troubled. And he will give peace to us. God will give us this help when the Lord Jesus is shown to us. Jesus will come from heaven with his powerful angels. — 2 Thessalonians 1:6-7
Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! God chose the poor people in the world to be rich with faith. He chose them to receive the kingdom God promised to people who love him. But you show no respect to the poor man. And you know that the rich people are the people who always try to control your lives. And they are the people who take you to court. And the rich people are the people who say bad things against the good name of the One (Jesus) who owns you. One law rules over all other laws. This royal law is found in the Scriptures : "Love other people the same as you love yourself." If you obey this law, then you are doing right. But if you are treating one person like he is more important than another person, then you are sinning. That royal law proves that you are guilty of breaking God's law. And you might follow all of God's law. But if you fail to obey only one command, then you are guilty of breaking all the commands in that law. God said, "Don't do the sin of adultery. " The same God also said, "Don't kill." So if you don't do the sin of adultery, but you kill a person, then you are guilty of breaking all of {God's} law. You will be judged by the law that makes people free. You should remember this in everything you say and do. Yes, you must show mercy to other people. If you do not show mercy, then God will not show mercy to you when he judges you. But the person who shows mercy can stand without fear when he is judged. — James 2:5-13
If you love only the people that love you, then you will get no reward. Even the tax collectors do that. And if you are nice only to your friends, then you are no better than other people. Even the people without God are nice to their friends. — Matthew 5:46-47
Ⓒ 1996-2017 Heartlight, Inc. This material may not be reproduced in part or whole for commercial use without written consent. What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware. Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.
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—Matthew 25:41-46
Key Thought
Imagine if we viewed every person we met, especially every believer, as if he or she was the very presence of Christ! How much kinder would we be? How much more welcoming to the visitor or the desperate in our church services? How much more attentive would we be to their aches, pains, difficulties, and hardships? How much more careful would we be to not say anything insensitive or uncaring?
Jesus reminds us that this is precisely the case. But he goes one step further. He also reminds us that those who are mean and cruel and hard on others will face ultimate hardship. He reminds us that the ultimate justice is not going to be seen this side of eternity. But when he comes, each will be blessed according to his or her service to him. And, of course, service to him is serving his people!
Today's Prayer
Holy Father, thank you for your children of every language, nation, culture, and tribe. Help me to value them all as you do. In particular, help me to see every believer as the very presence of Christ and treat them with the same dignity with which I would treat Christ. Sweep through your Church with the Holy Spirit, pouring out love in powerful ways so that we may more perfectly reflect your desire to bless and grace each other. In Jesus' precious name I pray. Amen.
Today's Verses in Context
The Son of Man will put the sheep (good people) on his right and the goats (bad people) on his left. "Then the king will say to those good people on his right, 'Come. My Father has given you great blessings. Come and get the kingdom God promised you. That kingdom has been prepared for you since the world was made. You can have this kingdom, because I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was alone and away from home, and you invited me into your home. I was without clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you came to visit me.' "Then the good people will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you alone and away from home and invite you into our home? When did we see you without clothes and give you something to wear? When did we see you sick or in prison and care for you?' "Then the king will answer, 'I tell you the truth. Anything you did for any of my people here, you also did for me.' "Then the king will say to those bad people on his left, 'Go away from me. God has already decided that you will be punished. Go into the fire that burns forever. That fire was prepared for the devil and his angels. You must go away, because I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. I was alone and away from home, and you did not invite me into your home. I was without clothes, and you gave me nothing to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you did not care for me.' "Then those people will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty? When did we see you alone and away from home? Or when did we see you without clothes or sick or in prison? When did we see these things and not help you?' "Then the king will answer, 'I tell you the truth. Anything you refused to do for any of my people here, you refused to do for me.'"Then those bad people will go away. They will have punishment forever. But the good people will go and have life forever."Matthew 25:33-46
Related Scripture Readings
God will do what is right. He will give trouble to those people who trouble you. And God will give peace to you people who are troubled. And he will give peace to us. God will give us this help when the Lord Jesus is shown to us. Jesus will come from heaven with his powerful angels. — 2 Thessalonians 1:6-7
Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! God chose the poor people in the world to be rich with faith. He chose them to receive the kingdom God promised to people who love him. But you show no respect to the poor man. And you know that the rich people are the people who always try to control your lives. And they are the people who take you to court. And the rich people are the people who say bad things against the good name of the One (Jesus) who owns you. One law rules over all other laws. This royal law is found in the Scriptures : "Love other people the same as you love yourself." If you obey this law, then you are doing right. But if you are treating one person like he is more important than another person, then you are sinning. That royal law proves that you are guilty of breaking God's law. And you might follow all of God's law. But if you fail to obey only one command, then you are guilty of breaking all the commands in that law. God said, "Don't do the sin of adultery. " The same God also said, "Don't kill." So if you don't do the sin of adultery, but you kill a person, then you are guilty of breaking all of {God's} law. You will be judged by the law that makes people free. You should remember this in everything you say and do. Yes, you must show mercy to other people. If you do not show mercy, then God will not show mercy to you when he judges you. But the person who shows mercy can stand without fear when he is judged. — James 2:5-13
If you love only the people that love you, then you will get no reward. Even the tax collectors do that. And if you are nice only to your friends, then you are no better than other people. Even the people without God are nice to their friends. — Matthew 5:46-47
Ⓒ 1996-2017 Heartlight, Inc. This material may not be reproduced in part or whole for commercial use without written consent. What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware. Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.
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