ONEFAMILY OutreachSign up for Weekly Study:ONEFamily Outreach exists to "Connect Kids to Community and Communities to Kids." I originally began posting these studies as a service to the jails and shelters where I was a Chaplain. They are available for free. If you can make a donation (no donation is too small), that would help defray some of the costs and support our work. If you are unable to support us at this time -- it's okay, I've been there too -- God bless you in your ministry and I pray this study can be a blessing to you. ONEFamily Outreach is primarily supported by your donations and by trainings, workshops, retreats and concerts.Download More Studies | Download Music | Books and Products | Book Jerry “Come, You Who are Blessed”Matthew 25:31-46[Mt 25:31] “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. [32] “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; [33] and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
Matthew 25:31[Mt 25:31] “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.” “When the Son of Man comes…”This parable brings forth three Gospel truths that act as a filter with which to view the entire bible:
According to prophecy, both in the New Testament and Old, the Lord will occupy his rightful seat [thronos] of glory [doxa]. The complete phrase could also be stated as: “He will be given his due authority,” or; “He will be placed upon his rightful seat of honor.” The term for glory is frequently used as dignity, honor, praise and worship. It always implies the concept of being “made apparent.” In other words, there will be no doubt about Christ’s coming to power and his throne of glory. “He will sit on His glorious throne…”The day is destined to come; a heralded day of revealed glory and righteous judgment (making unjust ways “right”). This is the reading that leaves no room for doubt as to Christ’s “Guidelines for the final test.” Jesus is the ultimate teacher who does not want to leave his students with any doubts—any unclear expectations. He wants us to know that there is a “point” to life and that point is to draw close to God: A God who is love and is revealed through our love.
Prophesies of the Coming Judgment:Ps 9:7-117 But the LORD abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment, 8 And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.
Dan 7:13-1413 “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. [14] “And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and {men of every} language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed”. Zech 14:5-95 And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, {and} all the holy ones with Him! [6] And it will come about in that day that there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. [7] For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light. [8] And it will come about in that day that living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. [9] And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be {the only} one, and His name {the only} one. Matt 19:28-3028 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. [29] “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, shall receive many times as much, and shall inherit eternal life. [30] “But many {who are} first will be last; and {the} last, first.” Acts 1:1111 And they also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” 1Thes 4:16-1816 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of {the} archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. [17] Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. [18] Therefore comfort one another with these words. Heb 1:8-98 But of the Son {He says} “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. [9] “Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy companions.” Rev 1:7-87 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. Even so. Amen. [8] “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Rev 20:11-1511 And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. [12] And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is {the book} of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. [13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one {of them} according to their deeds. [14] And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. [15] And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Matthew 25:32-33[32] “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; [33] and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.” “All the nations…”We know from Scripture that Christ already rules from God’s right hand: Acts 2:33-3633 “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. 34 “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, 35 Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.” 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” 1 Cor 15:25-2825 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27 For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. 28 And when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, that God may be all in all.
Ps 110:11 The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.”
Rom 8:38-3938 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. “Will be gathered before Him…”In this reading, the Lord lays out the circumstances of the final gathering: All the nations will be gathered [sunago]—but with the intention of being separated [aphorize]. Why gather to separate? Why not just cast the uncharitable ones into judgment?
“He will separate them from one another…”Why would a shepherd divide sheep from goats? Sheep were the gentle and helpless cousins of the goat. Goats were wild, independent creatures considered to be willful and stubborn. Throughout the bible, goats are used by writers as symbols of poor leadership. They would often wander from the shepherd and lead the sheep with them. Then, when trouble arrived, goats would flee and leave the sheep behind. God separates the goats and the sheep to prevent the weak from being manipulated by the strong. Jer 50:6-96 “My people have become lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray. They have made them turn aside {on} the mountains; they have gone along from mountain to hill and have forgotten their resting place. [7] “All who came upon them have devoured them; and their adversaries have said, ‘We are not guilty, Inasmuch as they have sinned against the LORD {who is} the habitation of righteousness, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’”
Zech 10:3-63 “My anger is kindled against the shepherds, and I will punish the male goats; for the LORD of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like His majestic horse in battle. [4] “From them will come the cornerstone, from them the tent peg, from them the bow of battle, from them every ruler, {all} of them together. [5] “And they will be as mighty men, treading down {the enemy} in the mire of the streets in battle; and they will fight, for the LORD {will be} with them; and the riders on horses will be put to shame. [6] “And I shall strengthen the house of Judah, and I shall save the house of Joseph, and I shall bring them back, because I have had compassion on them; and they will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the LORD their God, and I will answer them. The manipulation issueThere are two ways to manipulate a person:
“Making things right” (the biblical concept of righteousness) means appling all of my resources (“talents” in Mt 25:14-30) to end injustice. This was at the very heart (and power) of the early church. “He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.”Jesus is seated at the “Right Hand of God.” Prophesy proclaims it, Jesus explained it and Stephen even witnessed it. Yet, why is it always God’s “Right hand?” Why not his left? Why “righteousness” and not “left-eousness?”
Gen 48:17-1917 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. 19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. (KJV) 1 Tim 5:2222 Do not lay hands upon anyone {too} hastily and thus share {responsibility for} the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin. Opening his handLet’s end this section by looking at the origin of the word “righteousness” and how it became tied into “the right hand.” As we have seen, there are multiple scripture references to the power of God being manifested by his “Right-Hand Man,” the Messiah. Mark 14:6262 And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” Acts 7:5656 and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Rom 8:34-3934 Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
The right handALMS
—Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers Hope for left-handers (like me)Before we leave the topic of left and right-handedness I just want to give hope to other left-handers out there. We do have a hero in the bible that confirms we aren’t entirely evil. His name is Ehud and he can be found in the book of Judges: Judges 3:1515 But when the sons of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.
Matthew 25:34-36[34] “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. [35] ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; [36] naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’” “Come ye blest of my Father…”In the last study, we heard a sentence that many of us would long to hear from our Lord; “Well done good and faithful servant.” This week we hear another sentence that we should use as a benchmark for our lives; “Come, you who are blessed of My Father…”
What is blessed?In our last reading, the servants who invested all their being were commended by the Lord. The Lord blessed—not the amount returned—but the effort invested. Christ shows us quite clearly in this lesson that to be blessed is to feed the hungry, give drink to the parched, invite the stranger into your life, clothe the naked, visit the sick and go to the imprisoned. To be blessed is to have the privilege to invite the hungry orphan, widow or immigrant into the King’s banquet and to clothe that person with the King’s glory.
This word means to be famished or to have a distended belly from hunger. Literally it describes the pinching pain of hunger that stabs at the stomach of the starving. The term for spiritual hunger (or longing) is epipothesis, which would also be used as vehement desire. The two words are obviously different. By using the term “feed the hungry [peinao],” Jesus meant that we must help feed the physically hungry.
Matt 5:43-4843 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.’ [44] “But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you [45] in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on {the} evil and {the} good, and sends rain on {the} righteous and {the} unrighteous. [46] “For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax-gatherers do the same? [47] “And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more {than others}. Do not even the Gentiles do the same? [48] “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
This word was used to depict a cage or a prison. It also meant someone who is guarded or literally “kept separate.” We are told to “go to” those who are separated, guarded or even “caged.” Literally, the command we are given to respond to the “imprisoned” is “erchomai,” which means; “You brought light to me,” or, even more; “You were light to me.”
Deut 15:7-87 “If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; 8 but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need {in} whatever he lacks. Job 31:16-2316 “If I have kept the poor from {their} desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, 17 Or have eaten my morsel alone, and the orphan has not shared it 18 (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, and from infancy I guided her), 19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, or that the needy had no covering, 20 If his loins have not thanked me, and if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep, 21 If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan, because I saw I had support in the gate, 22 Let my shoulder fall from the socket, and my arm be broken off at the elbow. 23 “For calamity from God is a terror to me, and because of His majesty I can do nothing. Ps 112:5-95 It is well with the man who is gracious and lends; He will maintain his cause in judgment. 6 For he will never be shaken; the righteous will be remembered forever. 7 He will not fear evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. 8 His heart is upheld, he will not fear, until he looks {with satisfaction} on his adversaries. 9 He has given freely to the poor; His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted in honor. Prov 14:3131 He who oppresses the poor reproaches his maker, but he who is gracious to the needy honors Him. Prov 19:1717 He who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his good deed. Isa 58:7-87 “Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 “Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will speedily spring forth; and your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Ezek 18:7-97 if a man does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, does not commit robbery, {but} gives his bread to the hungry, and covers the naked with clothing, 8 if he does not lend {money} on interest or take increase, {if} he keeps his hand from iniquity, {and} executes true justice between man and man, 9 {if} he walks in My statutes and My ordinances so as to deal faithfully-- he is righteous {and} will surely live,” declares the Lord GOD. Ezek 34:4-114 “Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them. 5 “And they were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered. 6 “My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill, and My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth; and there was no one to search or seek {for them.}”
Micah 6:88 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Luke 14:13-1413 “But when you give a reception, invite {the} poor, {the} crippled, {the} lame, {the} blind, 14 and you will be blessed, since they do not have {the means} to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Acts 4:3232 And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one {of them} claimed that anything belonging to him was his own; but all things were common property to them. 2 Cor 9:77 Let each one {do} just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver. Heb 13:33 Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body. James 1:2727 This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of {our} God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, {and} to keep oneself unstained by the world. James 5:14-1614 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. I Jn 3:16-1816 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. Matthew 25:37-40[37] “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? [38] ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? [39] ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ [40] “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’” “Lord, when?”Here is perhaps one of the most unassuming, beautiful statements in the whole bible; “When did we see you in such circumstances?” These believers simply had no clue they were ministering to the Lord when they ministered to the least of these.
This is the kind of love that the world cannot understand. It is the kind of love a person gives when they realize they have been loved exorbitantly; above anything that they deserve. It is the kind of love that begins and ends with the statement; “I just want to love like I've been loved.”
Matthew 25:41-46[41] “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; [42] for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; [43] I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ [44] “Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ [45] “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ [46] “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” They called him, “Lord.”As a person who desires to call Jesus “my Lord,” this parable is sobering. For, it is not what I call myself that matters in the end. What matters is will my actions lead Jesus to recognize me? The context of this reading goes as far as to suggest that the poor will be our advocates in heaven. It is the outcast who say, “It’s all right, Lord. I recognize that person.”
About the AuthorJerry Goebel is a community organizer who started ONEFamily Outreach in response to gang violence and youth alienation in a rural community in Southeastern Washington. Since that time, Jerry has worked with communities around the globe to break the systemic hold of poverty by enhancing the strengths of the poor.
Copyright NoticeCopyright © 2007 Jerry Goebel. All Rights Reserved. This study may be freely distributed, as long as it bears the following attribution: Source: Jerry Goebel: 2007 © http://onefamilyoutreach.com. Scripture Quotations noted from NASB are from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD VERSION of the bible. Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org) The New Testament Greek Lexicon based on Thayer’s and Smith’s Bible Dictionary plus others; this is keyed to the large Kittel and the “Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.” These files are public domain. The Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon is Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Lexicon; this is keyed to the “Theological Word Book of the Old Testament.” These files are considered public domain. NAS Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries. Copyright © 1981, 1998 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. (www.Lockman.org) Sign up for Weekly Study: |