“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. “Then 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 creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ [Matthew 25.31-36]
Oh wow. If the Kingdom is forgiveness, then this illustration by Jesus makes a lot of sense!
Both the sheep and the goats are qualified (identified) by one thing: forgiveness. How do I know this? Because the presence or absence of the works of forgiveness: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, giving shelter to strangers, clothing the naked, healing the sick, and visiting prisoners, determines which are sheep and which are goats.
How can we know feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, giving shelter to strangers, clothing the naked, healing the sick, and visiting prisoners, are works of forgiveness? Because these are all blessings promised in Deuteronomy 28 for obedience - and so, they are all restored benefits of being forgiven by God in Christ.
And so, if feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, giving shelter to strangers, clothing the naked, healing the sick, and visiting prisoners, are all benefits received in being forgiven, then they are also the benefits bestowed by forgiving!
You see, when Jesus said, "if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins," [Matthew 6.15] He was giving us a clear and simple explanation of what qualifies or disqualifies one for eternal life. And, His explanation in Matthew 6 is completely consistent with today's passage from Matthew 25. There will be a judgment and what we have done with God's forgiveness determines our fate.
It is not ironic then that the Parable of the Three Servants (Matthew 25.14-30) is the segue into Jesus' illustration in Matthew 25.31-36. Each of the three servants was given something to 'do something with.' Two of the servants took what they had been given, invested it, and realized profit. One servant took and kept what he had been given to himself and gained nothing. If that which 'was given' to each of the servants was forgiveness, then again, everything ties together quite nicely.
Jesus was very clear about all of this. However, a religious (lazy) mindset cannot receive it. Jesus' parables and illustrations provide the excellent opportunity for the diligent to learn what they mean. For the not-so-diligent (those satisfied with religious status quo), Jesus' parables and illustrations have no meaning and remain that way because no effort is made to understand.
But then, there is the elephant in the room. Now that we understand that forgiveness is the message of the Good News, will we act upon it?
Father, I continue to see that my forgiving is paramount to being forgiven by You.
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