MATTHEW LESSON 53

     We will begin this lesson in Matthew 25:31  "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:"

     This Scripture is speaking of Jesus' return to the earth when He
will be King of kings and Lord of Lords. He will rule with an iron
hand.

     Matthew 25:32 "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:" Matthew 25:33 "And he shall set the sheep on
his right hand, but the goats on the left."

     Jesus is Judge of the earth. Every individual shall stand before
Jesus to be judged. There are only two kinds of people; the saved and
the lost. The sheep belong to God, and the goats belong to Satan. The
right hand side is for God's people, and the left is Satan's side.

     Matthew 25:34 "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:"

     Jesus, in this verse, calls Himself  "King" for the very first
time. That will be His title when He returns to the earth. Messiah,
Jesus, Lord, Word, now King. He is inviting the saved to come and
reign with Him. We, Christians, will be joint-heirs with Jesus.

     You see, God did not predestinate us to be saved, but God knew
(had foreknowledge) that we would accept the grace that Jesus provided
us. This kingdom has truly been prepared from the foundation of the
world. God knew that we would be saved even then. Again, I say that
this is not predestination, but foreknowledge.

     You hear so much today in politics about the far left or the far
right. That too, is speaking of the moral fiber of a person more than
the literal right hand. The right hand blessing throughout the Bible
was the one to be desired. Jesus sits at the right hand of God the
Father in heaven; in fact, He is the Right Hand of God.

     Matthew 25:35 "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:"
Matthew 25:36 "Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited
me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me."  Matthew 25:37 "Then shall
the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred,
and fed [thee]? or thirsty, and gave [thee] drink?"  Matthew 25:38
"When saw we thee a stranger, and took [thee] in?  or naked, and
clothed [thee]?" Matthew 25:39 "Or when saw we thee sick, or in
prison, and came unto thee?"

     These are valid questions. They had never literally fed Jesus, or
visited Him, or given Him water to drink, or clothed Him. They could
not understand what Jesus was saying, because they could only think of
literally doing these things for Jesus.

     Matthew 25:40 "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."

     You see, when we do anything to help someone else, Jesus counts
it as we doing these things for Him. We cannot directly do these
things for Him, but every thing, regardless of how small it is, that
we do for our fellowmen is counted as being done for Jesus. God really
smiles on those who helps women and children who cannot help
themselves. We read love your neighbor as yourself. This is not a
principle that the world understands. But besides getting a reward
stored up in heaven for the good things we do, doing good makes you
feel good about yourself.

     Matthew 25:41 "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:"

     As I said before, there are only two destinies that we can choose
from. The right leads to heaven, and the wrong (left) leads to hell.
Hell has been prepared from the foundation of the world, as well. God
does not want anyone to go there, but He is just. If that is the
choice one makes, that will be one's home for eternity. We make the
choice. We cannot blame God. It is our choice to make. He just carries
out our decisions.

     Matthew 25:42 "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I
was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:"  Matthew 25:43 "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."  Matthew 25:44 "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?"

     You see, they, too, never saw Jesus in person, so they did not
understand this statement. This is the picture of a very selfish
person; someone who has no feeling for the infirmities of others. This
person lives just for himself, not caring what destitute condition
their neighbors are in. This person is caught up in self, and has gone
so far as to make a God of himself alone. What a pitiful sight. Then
in the next verse, Jesus told them of their error.

     Matthew 25:45 "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."

     Of course, anyone who saw Jesus in person would do all these
things for Him. Jesus was speaking, here, of the condition of this
person's heart. The heart will be judged even more than the deeds,
because it is actually what a person is. If someone in this kind of
need cannot prick your heart, then you are definitely not right with
God. We are responsible to help those who are before us, if they cannot
help themselves. These are opportunities that come to see what we
really are inside.

     Matthew 25:46 "And these shall go away into everlasting
punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."

     You see, the things you do tell what you really are. This method
that Jesus used to determine the ones in right standing with Him and
the lost is a good one. This happened when this person thought none of
the church group was watching, so he did not have to make it look
good. The things that are done in secret will be made manifest,
whether they be good or bad. Jesus knows without a doubt from this who
should inherit eternal life, and who should be condemned to hell.









































                       Matthew Questions 53

1.  When shall Jesus sit on His throne here?
2.  What will be His title then?
3.  Who will be gathered before Him?
4.  For what purpose are they gathered?
5.  Which side are the sheep on? Which side are the goats on?
6.  Who is the Judge of all the earth?
7.  What shall the King say to those on the right?
8.  How long has the preparation been made?
9.  What is the King inviting the Christians to do?
10. Is the knowing of God predestination or foreknowledge?
11. Who sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven?
12. Who is the Right Hand of God?
13. Why do those on the right deserve heaven? Besides their faith,
    what did they do? Five things
14. Finish this; "Verily I say unto you, inasmuch ye have done it unto
    one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done unto ______."
15. Besides getting a reward in heaven, what is great about helping
    others?
16. What does Jesus say to those on the left?
17. Who is responsible for us going to heaven or hell?
18. Those on the left neglected to do what?
19. What is this a picture of?
20. What will be judged more than our deeds?
21. Where do the righteous go forever?