Matthew 25:40 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Matthew 25:40

Comments

But Christ, the King, will answer them with truths more wonderful than they could ever have expected. In his estimation – which is the only estimation that counts – they have done these acts of kindness to him. This is how he sees it and this is how he will reward it. Every act of kindness done to a believer is treated by Christ as an act of kindness done to himself. He reads the very best into our genuine acts of love to one another. Christ is not talking about acts of kindness done to men in general, but of those done to Christians in particular. These are his representatives on earth and form the church which is his body, indwelt by his Spirit. He follows the life of each one with the utmost attention and knows every sorrow and every trial they face. He knows they are hated by the world and can expect no relief from that quarter, especially if they are faithful to him. Only fellow believers can give the kind of comfort and help that really alleviates their suffering: acts of charity done for Christ’s sake and accompanied by exhortations to trust in the Lord. Though he loves his people, in his wisdom he has chosen to leave them on the earth without his physical presence for a time. By doing so he has created a situation in which they can minister to one another and he creates in their hearts something of that compassion which he himself feels towards them.That he is not talking about acts of mercy done to men and women in general is obvious from the words, ‘to the least of these my brethren’. He is speaking about people who are standing right there and in earshot. They are the ones on his right hand, for he would never call those on his left hand whom he is about to condemn to hell, ‘my brethren’. They are ‘these my brethren’ and, again, the demonstrative pronoun shows that they are present. Even the most insignificant of them is valued by Christ and counted as vastly different from those who do not know him.

Application

Though Christ is ascended into heaven, we have a way of expressing our love to him. Love for the head promotes love for the whole body, and love for the head holds the whole body together. When a person is converted then it makes a great difference. Suddenly they become concerned for others. If we wish to express our love for our Lord, he has told us that there is no better way we can do it than to love every one of those who belong to him in this world. By doing so we have the opportunity of ministering to our Saviour in all manner of needy situations which he cannot himself be found in, since he has been exalted to a position beyond all suffering. Nevertheless, he speaks of himself as receiving the benefit as if he was the one who was hungry, and this is no exaggeration because of the love that causes him to identify himself with his suffering ones.

Note also that Christ reads the motive behind the act, and this is what really matters to him. What is rewarded here is every act of kindness shown to a believer because they belong to Christ. Even sinners love those who love them, and do good to those who do good to them, but such acts will receive no reward from Christ. The only love which is recognised as true love is that love which starts with desire to please Christ.

What can we do for him who has given his life to redeem us from the pit of hell? If we find him hungry we will certainly give him food to eat for he has given us the bread of life. If we find him thirsty how can we hold back water when he has given us his own blood to drink? If we meet him as a stranger, how can we not take him into our homes when he prepared for us eternal mansions to live in when we were destitute? If we come across him naked and without clothes to keep warm, how can we not cover him when he has given us his perfect righteousness to cover our shame? If we hear of him languishing in prison, how can we not come and visit him to encourage and help him when he has released us from an eternal imprisonment in hell?

Questions

But should we not care for the poor in general? Should we limit our charity only to those who we identify as believers? The parable of the Good Samaritan says there should be no such limitation and Christ’s acts of mercy were dispensed to the people in general. Nevertheless, his abiding love was for his disciples and though the world may receive a benefit from the overflow of Christian love, our particular concern is for those who often suffer the most just because they belong to Christ.

Outline

Purpose

Introduction

Matthew 25:40 Commentary and Bible Study