Commentary on the Parable of the Sheep and Goats and the Least of These. Matthew 25:31-46

They didn't see Him!

We often use these verses to say that when we encounter the least of these we encounter Christ. Although this is one of the points of this parable -- that Christ hides among the poor and that we will be know by how we treat him -- it is certainly not the only point -- or even the main one.

No, we cannot sell these verses short.

We must let it completely sink into our hearts, minds, and souls that the righteous in this parable are righteous because they were merciful to the lowliest of people who they did not know were Christ.

Stated more emphatically, the righteous are not merciful because they can see Christ in others better than the rest of us, but because they don't need to. Indeed, the righteous are merciful for no religious reasons at all; they are merciful for no reason other than the purely human ones.

Even the righteous cannot see Christ in the lowliest people, perhaps because the least of these is precisely the person in whom you or I cannot see our risen savior.

The righteous are merciful anyways.

Matthew 25:31-46

"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 them 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 the right,
`Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 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.'
"Then these righteous ones will reply,
`Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?'
And the King will tell them,
`I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'
"Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, `Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his demons! For I was hungry, and you didn't feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn't give me anything to drink. I was a stranger, and you didn't invite me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me no clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn't visit me.'
"Then they will reply, `Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?'
And he will answer,
`I assure you, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.'
And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life."