Matthew 25:31-46…
Judgment Day…
When Jesus returns, He will be revealed as King, and act as judge. When Jesus speaks of the nations, He is not saying that part of what people will be judged by is their culture. He is simply pointing out that all the people who are alive when He returns will be assembled.
He had spoken of those who are wise while waiting (Matthew 25:1-13), and then of those who are wise by working (Matthew 25:14-30). Now He speaks of those who are wise through well-doing. He is speaking of helping others, especially fellow believers (cf. Galatians 6:10).
To be this way is costly, risky, and unpopular, but it is also living the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12). It was how the early believers were supposed to go about it then (Hebrews 10:34), and how we are to look at it now (Hebrews 13:3), even though Jesus is speaking of the future.
Helping other Christians in need is doing right by Jesus. Avoiding Christians in need is doing wrong by Jesus (cf. James 2:14-17). Remember, we are the body of Christ, one with Jesus and one with each other (Romans 12:4-5 / 1 Corinthians 6:17, 12:12-27 / Ephesians 4:25).
Clearly this passage is about “social justice” in the sense that it is about caring for the needy. But the needy in view are fellow Christians. “The least of these” doesn’t mean that the Church’s responsibility is to meet the needs of all the poor. While we must not be indifferent to people who have real needs, this passage cannot be legitimately used as a general cover for anything and everything we want to promote under the banner of social justice.
The reaction of both the sheep and the goats to the Lord’s words is one of stunned surprise. In this we can see that for Christians, humility, holiness, and helping are linked. Conversely, as Jesus has been pointing out, you cannot withdraw from preparation, or productivity, or people, and think that is the Christian response. You will either have the inescapable evidence of salvation, or you will not escape the inevitable judgment.
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