Matthew 25:31 says, When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: When Jesus returns, all His angels are coming with Him. The whole world will take note. Verse thirty-two adds, And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: At that time, all nations will appear before Christ, and He will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Verse thirty-three declares, And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. The sheep will be on the right side and the goats on the left. Verse thirty-four adds, Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: The sheep, those on the right side, will be told to come, since they are blessed by the Father, and inherit the kingdom prepared for them since the foundation of the world. They will be blessed because of their relationship with Christ and not because of some inherent goodness. Verse thirty-five states, For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Verse thirty-six adds, Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. These things were all done after people accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord and not for reward. We may do a lot of good things, but if we deny Jesus, then they will not be rewarded. Verse thirty-seven declares, Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? Verse thirty-eight adds, When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Verse thirty-nine continues, Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? The righteous, those who are made righteous by their relationship with Christ, will ask when they did all these things, indicating once again that they weren't done seeking reward, but simply because that would be what God expects of His people. Verse forty proclaims, And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. The King will tell them that when they did it to the least of His brethren that they did it to Him. God expects His people to be caring, sharing, and loving people. Verse forty-one declares, Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: Those on the left, the goats, will have quite a different fate awaiting them. They will inherit an everlasting fire, because they have not accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord. Verse forty-two says, For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: Verse forty-three adds, I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Those on the left will be told that they did not take the actions that those on the right did, but again it is not just about the actions them self, but the actions done after accepting Christ and done for God's glory. Verse forty-four asks, Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Those on the left will likewise ask when they failed to do these things, implying that they may have thought that they did. Again, it is about the relationship with Christ before the action that is important. Verse forty-five declares, Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. Jesus will state that when they failed to do it to the least of these that they failed to do it to Him. Verse forty-six proclaims, And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. Those who are not righteous by their relationship with Jesus will go away to everlasting punishment, but those who have accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord, the only way that we can be made righteous, will go away to everlasting life. We want to be one of the sheep and not one of the goats.
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