Matthew 25:44 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Matthew 25:44

Comments

Horrified that the Lord of heaven accuses them of mistreating him and leaving him to suffer, a protest is wrung from their lips. Here they stand before the one on whom their eternal destiny depends, who has divine authority and power to spare them or to judge them and condemn them to eternal darkness. He accuses them of such cruelty towards him that, if it were true, they could expect nothing but revenge from him now. But isn’t he overstating the case? Is he aware of their attitude to him? Surely they have never done him any personal harm. How can he now speak as if during their lives they showed a personal malice towards them? Was he not born into the world and passed from it long before most of them were even born? What possible opportunity did they have therefore to do the things that he accuses them of doing? Though in their hearts they must admit that they have no love for him, they cannot see how they have ever expressed such an attitude to his face.

Application

‘When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or in any state of need and fail to assist you? We have no recollection of such events even though you have reminded us of all that took place in our lives.’ But God scrutinizes the heart very closely and in all honesty the wicked have to admit that, had they been in such a situation, they would certainly have acted as he says. God has his own ways of finding out what is in our hearts, and he can bring the hidden things to light that we have not yet admitted to ourselves.

Questions

Does this mean that men will not be judged for other sins such as murder, adultery and lying? Will Christ overlook all the other transgressions of his law that do not involve himself directly? Certainly not, but in this brief summary of what he will say to men and women, he focuses on those omissions that most starkly expose their attitude to him. Ultimately all sins may be resolved into this: hatred towards God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is therefore the key aspect of human behaviour that determines all our eternal destiny.

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Matthew 25:44 Commentary and Bible Study