31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.33And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34Then 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. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,f you did it to me.’
41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44Then they also will answer, 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?’ 45Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
I’m going to focus on the contested identity of the dramatis personae in this parable as that is the key to understanding it; rather than speculate on the nature of the eternal punishment – whatever its real nature the key thing is to avoid it! So we have the Son of Man=King; “all the nations” divided into the sheep and the goats and the “least of these my brothers”, or simply “my brothers”.
Some have suggested that sheep and goats would be separated at night in cold weather so that the more vulnerable goats would be put in a shelter overnight. This is disputed by others, but even so it’s not unreasonable to think there would be occasions when a herder would want to separate a mixed flock. So again we have a parable that depends on a familiar image drawn from normal life. A further point is that goats were not regarded as worthless – it’s the separation on the right and left which emphasises the difference.
The context is a series of parables emphasising the need for watchfulness given the unexpected nature of the final judgment:
Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Mt 23)
This is followed by a sequence of parables that reinforce this warning (the faithful servant and the wicked servant, the ten virgins, the talents). The words immediately following suggest that this teaching was given by Jesus to His disciples. (When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples).
Some have thought that the change from “Son of Man” to “King” is significant but given the mention of the throne it’s reasonable to consider both terms denote Jesus.
“All the nations” (πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ) is more problematic. Does this include or exclude the poor and needy, those in prison et al (i.e. Jesus’ “brothers of mine”)? Does it mean the Gentiles (non-Jews) or non-Christians or everyone including Jesus’ "brothers"? It’s better to look at word usage within the same book, or by the same author, in the first instance. The same phrase is used in the Great Commission (Mt 28:19) to define of whom the disciples are to make disciples. In that context it means all bar the followers of Christ. The usage in Mt 6:32 (the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things) implies non-Jews but the context of the last judgment passage fits better with the Great Commission imo. So I take “all the nations” to mean all nations including Jews, except the followers of Jesus at that time.
“Brothers of mine” ( ἀδελφῶν μου ) is the key to the passage. Is Jesus using this phrase to identify with the poor and needy, or is he referring to his own followers? Matthew uses this word to refer to biological brothers, or anyone whom you know well (Mt 5:23 et al). “My brothers” is used of Jesus’ own family relations and more importantly of his disciples (Mt 28:10, Mt 12:48-50).
In all Bible study one should be careful not to load too much theology into one passage. Is it appropriate to make this passage decide the knotty problem of salvation by faith or by works given its context of final teaching to the disciples of the need to be alert and ready for Jesus’ return? Also we know from James and from Paul that faith cannot be divorced entirely from works. In Eph 2:10 it is evident that Paul expects converts to have good works to do. On the other hand, to argue this passage means that being a prison visitor guarantees your salvation, no matter whether you know and love Jesus, or not, does not fit with much of the NT. A believing Christian with a real faith will do good works, the nature of which are not confined to what Jesus lists here.
So we have two basic alternatives to interpret this passage. Jesus is saying that judgment is determined by how anyone treats the needy (in acts of charity). This may be thought of as an outworking of their faith (cf. Mt 7:21-23), however it is not actually specified in that way. The alternative is that non-believers are judged on how they treat Christians (or Christian missionaries) who are represented here by Jesus’ disciples. The practical treatment denotes how they receive the gospel (cf. Mt 10:14). Again the idea that this is a gauge about how someone receives the gospel is not found explicitly in this passage, but is found elsewhere in Matthew’s gospel.
From the above, we can see that both these interpretations can fit with the theology of salvation by grace through faith so long as one doesn’t treat this parable in isolation from the rest of the Bible. The first alternative fits better with the context of the passage: the disciples (and everyone) should beware of disregarding acts of charity. It also has a wider, more general application. The weakness is the usage of the phrase, “these my brothers”. If Jesus meant by this those in need, then why include such a specific phrase at all – someone can be poor and needy at one time and filthy rich at another.
The second alternative fits better with this key phrase, but less well with the context of the parable. It does fit with how Jesus describes the key role the disciples have in the Kingdom of God e.g.
Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” Mt 10:40-42
In conclusion, there are arguments for both interpretations, and they can both be understood to fit with NT teaching. This passage should not be seen as a clincher in the faith v works debate but as a warning not to ignore good works.
Challenge question:
Are there any other instances where Jesus identifies with the needy as his brothers?
41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44Then they also will answer, 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?’ 45Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
I’m going to focus on the contested identity of the dramatis personae in this parable as that is the key to understanding it; rather than speculate on the nature of the eternal punishment – whatever its real nature the key thing is to avoid it! So we have the Son of Man=King; “all the nations” divided into the sheep and the goats and the “least of these my brothers”, or simply “my brothers”.
Some have suggested that sheep and goats would be separated at night in cold weather so that the more vulnerable goats would be put in a shelter overnight. This is disputed by others, but even so it’s not unreasonable to think there would be occasions when a herder would want to separate a mixed flock. So again we have a parable that depends on a familiar image drawn from normal life. A further point is that goats were not regarded as worthless – it’s the separation on the right and left which emphasises the difference.
The context is a series of parables emphasising the need for watchfulness given the unexpected nature of the final judgment:
Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Mt 23)
This is followed by a sequence of parables that reinforce this warning (the faithful servant and the wicked servant, the ten virgins, the talents). The words immediately following suggest that this teaching was given by Jesus to His disciples. (When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples).
Some have thought that the change from “Son of Man” to “King” is significant but given the mention of the throne it’s reasonable to consider both terms denote Jesus.
“All the nations” (πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ) is more problematic. Does this include or exclude the poor and needy, those in prison et al (i.e. Jesus’ “brothers of mine”)? Does it mean the Gentiles (non-Jews) or non-Christians or everyone including Jesus’ "brothers"? It’s better to look at word usage within the same book, or by the same author, in the first instance. The same phrase is used in the Great Commission (Mt 28:19) to define of whom the disciples are to make disciples. In that context it means all bar the followers of Christ. The usage in Mt 6:32 (the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things) implies non-Jews but the context of the last judgment passage fits better with the Great Commission imo. So I take “all the nations” to mean all nations including Jews, except the followers of Jesus at that time.
“Brothers of mine” ( ἀδελφῶν μου ) is the key to the passage. Is Jesus using this phrase to identify with the poor and needy, or is he referring to his own followers? Matthew uses this word to refer to biological brothers, or anyone whom you know well (Mt 5:23 et al). “My brothers” is used of Jesus’ own family relations and more importantly of his disciples (Mt 28:10, Mt 12:48-50).
In all Bible study one should be careful not to load too much theology into one passage. Is it appropriate to make this passage decide the knotty problem of salvation by faith or by works given its context of final teaching to the disciples of the need to be alert and ready for Jesus’ return? Also we know from James and from Paul that faith cannot be divorced entirely from works. In Eph 2:10 it is evident that Paul expects converts to have good works to do. On the other hand, to argue this passage means that being a prison visitor guarantees your salvation, no matter whether you know and love Jesus, or not, does not fit with much of the NT. A believing Christian with a real faith will do good works, the nature of which are not confined to what Jesus lists here.
So we have two basic alternatives to interpret this passage. Jesus is saying that judgment is determined by how anyone treats the needy (in acts of charity). This may be thought of as an outworking of their faith (cf. Mt 7:21-23), however it is not actually specified in that way. The alternative is that non-believers are judged on how they treat Christians (or Christian missionaries) who are represented here by Jesus’ disciples. The practical treatment denotes how they receive the gospel (cf. Mt 10:14). Again the idea that this is a gauge about how someone receives the gospel is not found explicitly in this passage, but is found elsewhere in Matthew’s gospel.
From the above, we can see that both these interpretations can fit with the theology of salvation by grace through faith so long as one doesn’t treat this parable in isolation from the rest of the Bible. The first alternative fits better with the context of the passage: the disciples (and everyone) should beware of disregarding acts of charity. It also has a wider, more general application. The weakness is the usage of the phrase, “these my brothers”. If Jesus meant by this those in need, then why include such a specific phrase at all – someone can be poor and needy at one time and filthy rich at another.
The second alternative fits better with this key phrase, but less well with the context of the parable. It does fit with how Jesus describes the key role the disciples have in the Kingdom of God e.g.
Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” Mt 10:40-42
In conclusion, there are arguments for both interpretations, and they can both be understood to fit with NT teaching. This passage should not be seen as a clincher in the faith v works debate but as a warning not to ignore good works.
Challenge question:
Are there any other instances where Jesus identifies with the needy as his brothers?
