Joy Lindner
12-11-02
Parables of Jesus
Parable of the Last Judgment
Matthew 25:31-46
How many letters do you get in an average week asking you to support various ministries? One
for starving children in Africa; one for paralyzed veterans; one for prison ministries; one for
sending Bibles to foreign countries. How do we begin to decide which ones to support, or even if
we should support any at all? The Bible continually reminds us of God’s interest in the poor. Our
comparative wealth, if we are confronted with the faces of the needy, may at once inflict us with a
sense of guilt and a sense of thankfulness for our own good fortune. And the calls of Jesus to
give up our possessions to help the needy do not make us feel any better. What are we to do
about those less fortunate? For, certainly, we can live without some of our possessions, but not
without all of them, or at least that’s what we tell ourselves.
The parable of the last judgment is just one of many examples of how seriously Jesus' views our
concern and care for the least in our society.1 In this parable, the basis of the final judgment
appears to rely solely on how we treat the needy, whether we feed, clothe, visit, etc. those in
need. Where is faith in this equation? Must we resort to a works salvation? Of course not, but
us comfortable American Christians tend to focus on faith’s importance to the neglect of living out
that faith in ways that take seriously the needs of those around us. And perhaps Jesus will not
1
Here I am siding with those interpreters who view the “least” as representing all needy people in
society. (Davies and Allison 429). This understanding seems to lead to the possibility of the righteous
outside the church (Davies and Allison 428). Jeremias suggests that this is the criterion by which those
who have never heard of Jesus will be judged, whether or not they knew and cared for the Jesus they met in
those around them (209). I do not think, however, that this parable describes completely how we will be
judged; faith is also important. Others claim, however, that the “least” refers only to Christians (Hagner
744; Carson 520). Hagner bases his claim on Mat 10:42 and earlier verses in Mat 18 where “little ones”
represent believers (Hagner 744). This interpretation is rejected because to limit concern just for needy
Christians does not seem compatible with Jesus’ overall teaching. Furthermore, what about those people
who have no contact with Christians? Yet, all of these interpreters consider “all the nations” (25:32) as
representing all humanity. All the nations refers to a universal judgment (Hultgren 313; Davies and Allison
422; Hagner 742; Carson 521). This implies that those who limit the “least” to Christians affirm that all
people will be judged on how they treat Jesus’ followers (Hagner 746).
have much compassion on complacent Christians who assent to the correct creed but who fail to
take seriously that the call to discipleship includes loving God and neighbor, not in word only but
in deed.
Yet this parable includes a surprising element.2 When the king says that the righteous3 may
4
inherit the kingdom prepared for them because they cared for the needy, the righteous have no
idea what the king is talking about (Hultgren 326). They ask when on earth they saw him hungry,
thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, or in prison. The king states that “just as you did it to one of the
least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (25:40 NRSV). At the time of their
actions on behalf of the needy, the righteous had no idea that the king was taking their actions
personally. In the same way, those who did not care for the needy had no idea the king was
taking their lack of activity as a personal affront. 5
2
This passage is not technically a parable (Hultgren 310; Davies and Allison 418; Carson 518).
Hultgren calls it an "apocalyptic discourse with a parabolic element" (Hultgren 310), namely the metaphor
of the shepherd separating the sheep and the goats in 25:32b-33. Davies and Allison label it a “word-picture
of the Last Judgment” (418). Though this story probably cannot be labeled a parable proper, it does appear
to have some allegorical possibilities concerning the final judgment. God is the judge who will determine
the final destination of all people based, at least in part, on how they treated the lowest people in our
society.
3
The king is said to gather all nations before him and to “separate people one from another as a
shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (25:32). Sheep and goats were often grazed together, making
it necessary to separate them when the goats were milked and the sheep were sheared (Hultgren 311). In
addition, goats have to be herded together at night for warmth (Carson 521). The sheep go to the right, the
position of honor, while the goats go to the left (Hultgren 311). Sheep were seen as more valuable in
Palestinian culture (Jeremias 206; Davies and Allison 423). In addition, sheep were typically white, while
goats were black (Davies and Allison 423).
4
The sheep are invited to come and inherit “the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world” (25:34). This verse need not be interpreted in support of Calvinistic predestination. Instead,
God’s purpose remains unchanged; it is the same at the end as at the beginning (Davies and Allison 425).
“God’s eternal purpose is being accomplished” (Hagner 743).
5
The goats’ punishment does not lie in deeds of commission, but “in the omission of good deeds”
(Jeremias 207; Davies and Allison 431).
Traditionally, this parable is used to increase the guilt of Christians to the degree that they finally
feel obligated to care for the needy; whether or not they actually act on that guilt varies. In fact, it
could be said that guilt is a lousy motivator, for many Christians have grown an incredibly thick
skin against pleas to action motivated by guilt. We are told that we should, that we must, do this
list of six behaviors if we want to end up on the right side during the final judgment. Therefore,
whenever we see someone in need of help, or receive one of those pledge letters, our guilt flares
as we realize God is watching from the eyes of the needy.
Yet, that does not appear to be the point of the parable. The righteous acted in total ignorance
that their acts of compassion were on Jesus' behalf. Food, water, a warm place to stay, clothes,
etc were given because of the worth or the compelling need of the person, not for some ulterior
motive. They were motivated not out of guilt or a desire for reward; these righteous people aided
the dying and broken out of a sense of the value of those hurting people. Frankly, I think the sad
truth is that in many places those who do not know Jesus are serving him better than those in the
church. Service to people in need, even without "any sense of religious obligation or motivation,"
is truly service to Jesus (Hultgren 327). Our motivation for helping others cannot be to gain a
reward, or even to please God (Hultgren 327). Instead, we must help people for their own sakes,
not for our own.
So what are we supposed to do? Here we have a list of six things these righteous people were
commended for: feeding the hungry, providing water for the thirsty, welcoming strangers, clothing
the naked, caring for the sick, and visiting those in prison. Providing the necessities of food and
water are two of the “most basic” acts of kindness (Hultgren 315).
The phrase concerning
welcoming a stranger implies receiving a person totally unknown into one’s own home (Hultgren
315). Visiting the imprisoned was essential for their survival in Jesus’ time, for prisoners had to
rely on those outside to provide food, water, and other necessities (Hultgren 316). Notice that the
sick and imprisoned “are visited, not healed and set free” (Davies and Allison 427).
These are activities that everyone can do; they will take effort and time on our part, but they are
not impossible or unrealistic. We need no special skills. So if I provide the help included on this
list I will have done my part? Not exactly. The list is suggestive, not exhaustive (Hultgren 324).
We are called to care for the needy in any specific circumstance we find them in. Must we help
them all? Perhaps not, for no one can help all. But indeed most of us need to help more than we
have. And we must help until doing so becomes a part of character, done unselfconsciously
simply because of who we are, not motivated with the expectation of reward.
Bibliography
Carson, D. A. “Matthew.” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary Vol 8. Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984. 518-523
Davies, W. D. and Dale C. Allison. The Gospel According to Saint Matthew Vol 3.
International Critical Commentary. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1997. 416-433
Hultgren, Arland J. The Parables of Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdman’s
Publishing Company, 2000.
Jeremias, Joachim. The Parables of Jesus. Revised ed. Trans by S. H. Hooke. New
York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1963.
Hagner, Donald A. Matthew 14—28. Word Biblical Commentary Vol 33B. Dallas, TX:
Word Books Publisher, 1995. 737-747