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<< Matthew 25:44 Matthew 25:46 >>
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Matthew 25:45-46
Excerpted from: Am I My Brother's Keeper?But after hearing their punishment for being unfaithful stewards, the goats on the left respond in verse 44: When did we see You in need and not minister to You, they ask. And here we find that same word in this end time judgment that we looked into earlier, diakoneó, which Paul uses to define a faithful steward who carefully uses all God-given gifts to serve one another. It is the same word Jesus uses to describe who will be greatest in the Kingdom of God in Luke 22:26-27. It is the same word Jesus uses to describe Himself over and over in Matthew 20:10 when He says, "I came to serve, not to be served."
We are called to tend and keep, that is, work and serve, guard and protect, to build up God's Family. Our faithful stewardship, our work of service to build up our brethren in all circumstances, is the true sign of God's Spirit, and this is at the center of judgment and the reward of eternal life in the Kingdom. Our acts of service or lack thereof to our brethren are equivalent here to acts of service or lack thereof to Jesus Christ Himself.
A steward does not get to choose what is placed into their care. The master does that. Jesus states clearly, "Inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these [My people], you did not do it to Me." Just one person that we neglect. One person, when we are an unfaithful steward, brethren, leads to a very bad judgment here. If we are neglecting anyone in God's church, God is calling to us, "Where is so-and-so right now? Why have you alienated them? Why have you murdered them with your thoughts and your words?"
And as we learn from this parable, what God is really asking us is, "Why have you alienated Me? Why have you murdered Me with your words? Why have you not serviced Me in my time of need?"
Matthew 25:45
Excerpted from: The One ThingAnd this ties perfectly to Jesus' other parables in Matthew 25, if we really think about it. The Parable of the Talents is about the judgment of our stewardship over all of our God-given talents. We must sacrifice and use all of those talents to bring glory to God in building up the Body of Christ. And in the final judgment, let us read that conclusion in verse 45 now.
So in this parable of the final judgment, both the sheep and the goats are judged not just according to the keeping of the letter of the law. No, here we see keeping of the letter of law is absolutely required. This chapter started with describing spiritual virgins, so this chapter is about those keeping the law. But the judgment of the sheep and the goats is solely based on what they did or did not do to each other, the Body of Christ.
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