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Matthew
25:31-46
 | Reading the Text:
|
| Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
 | The
Five Gospels Parallels, John W. Marshall, University of Toronto. |
| "Charity
and Hospitality," Comparative World Scriptures from United
Communities of Spirit. |
|
Chapter LXXVI,
Dialogue With Trypho,
Justin Martyr.
(c 160) |
|
II.VII.3,
II.XXXII.1,
III.XXIII.3 (agrees
with Codex Bezae),
IV.XVIII.6,
IV.XXVII.4,
IV.XXVIII.2,
IV.XXX.3,
IV.XXXIII.11,
IV.XL.1, 2,
IV.XLI.3,
V.XXVII.1,
V.XXXV.2,
Adversus Haereses,
Irenaeus of Lyons.
(c. 180) |
|
Chapter X,
Adversus Judaeos,
Tertullian
(c. 198) |
|
Chapter XXVI,
On
Prayer,
Tertullian
(c. 199) |
|
Chapter IX,
Exhortation to the Greeks,
Clement of Alexandria
(c 200) |
|
I.8,
III.4,
III.12,
Paedagogus,
Clement of Alexandria
(c 200) |
|
II.16,
III.6,
Stromata,
Clement of Alexandria
(c 200) |
|
Chapter XI,
Against Hermogenes,
Tertullian
(c. 205) |
|
Chapter XIV,
On the Flesh of Christ,
Tertullian
(c. 211) |
|
Chapter XI,
Scorpiace,
Tertullian
(c. 213) |
|
Chapter I,
Chapter XIII,
On
Modesty,
Tertullian
(c. 217) |
|
III.I.6,
First Principles (De Principiis),
Origen.
(c.225) |
|
On
the Lord's Prayer
--
Cyprian of Carthage
(c. 252) |
|
Epistle LIX --
Cyprian of Carthage
(c. 253) |
|
Concerning Works and
Almsgiving --
Cyprian of Carthage (c. 254) |
| From the
Catena
Aurea, Patristic Commentary by St Thomas Aquinas. |
| From the Geneva Notes.
 | "A graphic setting
forth of the everlasting judgment which is to come." |
|
| From
Matthew
Henry's Commentary.
| "This is a description
of the last judgment. It is as an explanation of the former parables." |
|
| The Eternity of
Hell-Torments (Matt 25:46): sermon by George Whitefield.
| "But since the torments
of the damned are not only possible, but certain (since God himself, who
cannot lie, has told us so) for men, notwithstanding, to persist in
their disobedience, and then flatter themselves, that God will not make
good his threatenings, is a most egregious [gross, excessive] instance
of folly and presumption." |
|
| From
Wesley's
Notes.
| "All these works of
outward mercy suppose faith and love, and must needs he accompanied with
works of spiritual mercy. But works of this kind the Judge could not
mention in the same manner. He could not say, I was in error, and ye
recalled me to the truth; I was in sin, and ye brought me to repentance." |
|
| Sermons by John Wesley:
| The Reward of
Righteousness (Matt 25:34)
| "Good works are so
far from being hindrances of our salvation; they are so far from
being insignificant, from being of no account in Christianity; that,
supposing them to spring from a right principle, they are the
perfection of religion." |
|
| On Visiting the Sick
(Matt 25:36)
| "One great reason
why the rich, in general, have so little sympathy for the poor, is,
because they so seldom visit them. Hence it is, that, according to
the common observation, one part of the world does not know what the
other suffers." |
|
|
| From the
Commentary on the Whole Bible
(Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
| "The surprise expressed
is not at their being told that they acted from love to Christ, but that
Christ Himself was the Personal Object of all their deeds:
that they found Him hungry, and supplied Him with food: that they
brought water to Him, and slaked His thirst; that seeing Him
naked and shivering, they put warm clothing upon Him, paid Him
visits when lying in prison for the truth, and sat by His bedside
when laid down with sickness." |
|
| From The People's
New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
| "It should be noted (1)
that the duties named are such duties as every one can perform.
Chrysostom says: "He said not I was sick and ye healed me; or in
prison and ye set me free; but ye visited me and came unto me."
(2) A real, personal service of Christ is implied, one involving some
sacrifice of ease, time and property." |
|
|
| Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
|
Comments
(commentary) and
Clippings
(technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican
Diocese of Montreal. |
|
"The Sheep and Goats," Gospel Analysis, Sermons from
Seattle,
Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle,
Washington. Detailed background and exegesis.
| "The people with Christ’s heart,
hands and feet are those people who follow him. Christian people in all
centuries have reached out to the hungry, the thirsty, the strangers,
the naked, the sick, the imprisoned." |
|
|
"First
Thoughts on Year A Gospel Passages in the Lectionary: Christ the King,"
William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
| "Jesus was not an exception in
the life of God, but the rule." |
|
|
Lesson and the Arts, Matthew 25:31-46, Rochelle A. Stackhouse,
Lectionary Homiletics sample, 2008.
| "...The classic literary referent for this theme
is Leo Tolstoy’s Martin the Shoemaker, a story worth telling again,
even to those who have heard it before..." |
|
| Exegetical
Notes by Brian Stoffregen, at CrossMarks.
| "David M. Granskou
("Preaching on the Parables") picks up on this theme with this
brief comment: "More important is the observation of Jeremias that
this is not a typical judgment story insofar as the righteous are
surprised at being among the saved." [p. 124]." |
|
|
Dylan's Lectionary Blog,
Christ the King Sunday, 2005. Biblical Scholar
Sarah Dylan Breuer looks at readings for the coming Sunday in the lectionary
of the Episcopal Church.
| "But the coming of
God's kingdom is like this: people will be going about their business in
precisely the way described above ... and then the final coming of the
Son of Man will reveal to everyone's eyes just how empty that way of
life is, just how much pain and how little reward comes of living that
way." |
|
|
Sermon
Preparation Thoughts and Questions by Wesley White, 2005. |
|
"Come, You Who Are Blessed,"
Jerry Goebel, One
Family Outreach. "Focus on scripture from a justice perspective." Exegesis, study, and teen study
and activities.
| "It is not whether we call Jesus,
'Lord,' that is an indicator of our belief; it is whether we act
as if Jesus is Lord! Do other people look at our life and say, 'I
know you are Christian by your love [John 13:35].'" |
|
|
"Justice and Judgment," Edgar Krentz, The Christian Century,
1996.
| "Lest we forget: Matthew's Gospel begins with a
stress on doing the faith." |
|
|
"At the Clothing Bank," Anthony B. Robinson, The Christian Century,
1993.
| "Goodness is not planned. It is not a heroic decision
or clever calculation. It is an expression of who we are." |
|
|
"The
Lord's Call Is My Part In God's Plan,"
Larry Broding's
Word-Sunday.Com: A
Catholic Resource for This Sunday's Gospel. Adult Study, Children's
Story, Family Activity, Support Materials.
| "If the Lord appeared to you this very
moment, what could you show him?" |
|
|
Wellspring of
the Gospel, Ordinary 34A, Catherine McElhinney and Kathryn
Turner, Weekly Wellsprings. |
|
"The Pharisaic Jesus and His Gospel Parables," Philip Culbertson,
The Christian Century, 1985. At Religion Online.
| "As Matthew 25 records the parable of
the wise and foolish virgins, it would have been total gibberish to
Jesus’ Jewish audience." |
|
|
"The
Enlightenment of a Goat: A Reflection on Matthew 25:31-46," Dr.
William R.G. Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
| "I
dreamt a dream. I dreamt a parable." |
|
|
"The
Vision of the Supreme Court," Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible
Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources. Includes detailed
textual notes. |
|
"The
Parables in the Olivet Discourse," by Hampton Keathley IV at the Biblical Studies Foundation.
| "The
works are the fruit that demonstrates the reality of the conversion of
one’s heart. The love shown by these deeds of mercy springs from true
faith. As Walvoord affirms, 'What
is presented here is not the basis or ground of salvation but the
evidence of it…. Accordingly, while works are not the ground of
justification for salvation, they can be the fruit or evidence of it.'" |
|
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| Articles & Background:
|
"The Sheep
and the Goats," wikipedia. |
|
"Matthew's Nonviolent Jesus and Violent Parables," Barbara E. Reid,
O.P., (other resources at)
"Parables," Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian
Ethics at Baylor University, 2006.
| "Jesus' Sermon on the Mount instructs us to not
return violence for violence; instead we should be like God, who
offers boundless, gratuitous love to all. But in the same Gospel
Jesus tells eight parables in which God deals violently with
evildoers. Which of the divine ways are we to imitate?" |
|
|
"Untamed Hospitality," Elizabeth Newman, (other resources at)
"Hospitality," Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian
Ethics at Baylor University, 2007.
| "While our culture reduces
'hospitality' to friendliness and private entertaining, Christian
hospitality remains a public and economic reality by which God
re-creates us through the places and people we are given." |
|
|
"Toward a Welcoming Congregation," Paul J. Wadell,
(other resources at)
"Hospitality," Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian
Ethics at Baylor University, 2007.
| "In a world that has grown
frighteningly guarded and harsh, Christian congregations are called
to imitate the 'table manners' of Jesus by being sacraments of God’s
hospitality in the world." |
|
|
"The
Disabled God," Burton Cooper, Louisville Presbyterian
Theological Seminary. Theology Today 1992.
| "I have learned some things
from listening to Christians with disabilities, and I am persuaded
that by thinking of God as disabled-metaphorically, of course-we can
deepen our understanding of the nature of God's creative and
redemptive love." |
|
|
"The Goat as Armed
Robber in the Ancient Land of Israel," Nogah
Hareuveni, Jewish Heritage Online Monthly.
| "An incident related in the Talmud
vividly illustrates how meticulous the sages were in
following the ruling concerning the raising of sheep and goats only in the
desert and thickets..." |
|
|
"On Exile:
Yoder, Said, and a Theology of Land and Return," Alain Epp Weaver,
Cross Currents, 2003.
| "The continuity of this exilic
vision with Yoder’s ecclesiology should be clear: the church is the
community called to go out into the world, into diaspora (Matt. 25), a
community which refuses to wield violent force, pointing instead to
God’s sovereignty and the conviction that Jesus has already triumphed
over the powers of death, a triumph which will ultimately be revealed to
all." |
|
|
"A
Mystery Story: Children, Cancer and Covenant," Diane M. Komp,
Yale University Medical School. Theology Today, 1992.
| "Several years ago, I was
visiting a Trappist monastery with a former brother of that
community. During the prayers of the people, my companion asked
prayer for "My friend Di and her ministry of healing." At
lunch, several other guests asked me about my work. They were
shocked to learn that I am a medical doctor. It is an interesting
reflection on the semantics of health and medicine in our times that
they did not expect a healer to be a doctor." |
|
| "Christ's
Realm," by Fr John Kavanaugh, SJ, in
Company: A Magazine of the American
Jesuits, Fall, 1996.
| "Matthew's great
apocalyptic parable presents the glorified Son of Man, in an entourage
of angels, rising in judgment before the world. The blessed and the lost
will be separated according to one principle: the care of others." |
|
|
| Articles in
ATLAS Journals. (Direct link when you are
subscribed and logged in to
ATLASerials online collection of Religion and Theology Journals.):
| Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, "The Coming of Jesus in Our Midst," The Living Pulpit, 1997.
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| Burghardt, Walter J., S.J., "A Just
King, A Just Kingdom," The Living Pulpit, 2006.
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| Culbertson, Philip, "The Pharisaic Jesus and His
Gospel Parables," The Christian Century, 1985.
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| Cooper, Burton, "The Disabled God," Theology Today,
1992.
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| Cope, Lamar, "Matthew 25:31-46, 'The Sheep and the
Goats' Reinterpreted," Novum Testamentum, 1969.
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| Donahue, John R., S.J.,
"The 'Parable' of the Sheep and the Goats: A Challenge to Christian Ethics,"
Theological Studies, 1986.
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| Dupuis, Jacques, "The Practice of Agape Is the
Reality of Salvation," International Review of Mission, 1985.
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| Edelman, Marian
Wright,
"A Parent, Community, and National Audit: Who Are Our Children Modeling?"
The Living Pulpit, 2003.
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| Erickson, Millard J., "Principles, Permanence, and
Future Divine Judgment: A Case Study in Theological Method," Journal
of the Evangelical Theological Society, 1985.
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| Gathje, Peter R., "Shalom and a
Consistent Ethic of Life," The Living Pulpit, 2006.
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| Heil, John Paul, "The Double Meaning of the Narrative
of Universal Judgment in Matthew 25:31-46," Journal for the Study of
the New Testament, 1998.
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| Johnson, Stephen C., "The 'Future' of Preaching:
Apocalyptic Eschatology and Christian Proclamation," Restoration
Quarterly, 2007.
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| Kelly, Geffrey B.,
"A 'Mysticism of Joy' in the Lord -- In Life As In Death," The Living
Pulpit, 1996. (see
Joy issue focus of The Living Pulpit 5.4, 1996.)
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| Krentz, Edgar, "Justice and Judgment," The
Christian Century, 1996.
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| Lovette, Roger,
"On Not Missing the Circus," The Living Pulpit, 1997.
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| Michaels, J Ramsey, "Apostolic Hardships and
Righteous Gentiles, A Study of Matthew 25:31-46," Journal of Biblical
Literature, 1965.
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| Nelson, Susan L.,
"Facing Evil: Evil's Many Faces,"
Interpretation, 2003. (See also,
"Evil," issue focus,
Interpretation, 2003.)
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| Neville, David J., "Toward a Theology
of Peace: Contesting Matthew's Violent Eschatology," Journal for the
Study of the New Testament, 2007.
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| Newman, Elizabeth, "Flannery O'Connor
and the Practice of Hospitality," Perspectives in Religious Studies,
2005.
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| Pond, Eugene W.,
"The Background and Timing of the Judgment of the Sheep and Goats,"
Bibliotheca Sacra, 2002.
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| Pond, Eugene W.,
"Who Are 'The Least' of Jesus' Brothers in Matthew 25:40?"
Bibliotheca Sacra, 2002.
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| Pond, Eugene W.,
"Who Are the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25:31-46?" Bibliotheca
Sacra, 2002.
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| Reid, Barbara E., O.P.,
"Violent Endings in Matthew's Parables and Christian Nonviolence,"
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2004.
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| Reynolds, Thomas E.,
"Welcoming without Reserve? A Case in Christian Hospitality,"
Theology Today, 2006.
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| Robinson, Anthony B., "At the Clothing Bank," The
Christian Century, 1993.
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| Senior, Donald, C.P.,
"Between Two Worlds: Gentile and Jewish Christians in Matthew's Gospel,"
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1999.
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| Shriver, Donald W., Jr.,
"Leave No Child Behind," The Living Pulpit, 2003.
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| Siker, Judith Yates, "Unmasking the
Enemy: Deconstructing the 'Other' in the Gospel of Matthew,"
Perspectives in Religious Studies, 2005.
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| Thomas, Robert L., "Jesus' View of
Eternal Punishment," Master's Seminary Journal, 1998.
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| Toussaint, Stanley D.,
"A Critique of the Preterist View of the Olivet Discourse,"
Bibliotheca Sacra, 2004.
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| Via, Dan Otto, Jr., "Ethical
Responsibility and Human Wholeness in Matthew 25:31-46," Harvard
Theological Review, 1987.
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| Walvoord, John F., "Christ's Olivet
Discourse on the End of the Age: The Judgment of the Nations,"
Bibliotheca Sacra, 1972./
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| Weaver, Alain Epp, "On Exile: Yoder,
Said, and a Theology of Land and Return," Cross Currents, 2003.
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| Weber, Kathleen,
"The Image of Sheep and Goats in Matthew 25:31-46," The Catholic
Biblical Quarterly, 1997.
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|
| Reviews:
| Review: Jacob Neusner, Rabbinic
Literature and the New Testament: What We Cannot Show We Do Not Know. (Trinity
Press International, 1994) Reviewed by J. Duncan M. Derrett in Higher Critical Review. |
| Wilson, Alistair I.,
When Will These Things Happen?: A Study of Jesus as Judge
in Matthew 21-25. PaterNoster Press, 2005.
Review
by Samuel Subramanian, Review of Biblical Literature, 2006.
|
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| Sermons:
|
"Heaven's Audit of One's Soul," the Rev. Dr. Wiley Stephens, Day
1, 2008. |
|
"Thoughts about Judging and Pleading," 31 December 2006, David Zersen, Göttinger Predigten im Internet: Every Sunday Sermons based on the
RCL by a team of Lutheran theologians/ pastors. |
|
"Our
Spiritual Bottom Line," the Rev. Dr. Kenneth Carter, Day 1, 2005. |
|
"Sheep or Goat,"
Last Sunday after Pentecost - 20 November 2005, Walter W. Harms, Göttinger Predigten im Internet: Every Sunday Sermons based on the
RCL by a team of Lutheran theologians/ pastors. |
|
"Going Incognito,"
"Our Final Day in Court,"
"Sheep and Goats," Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Sermons from Seattle. |
|
"Let Justice Roll," Jim Wallis and Ken Medema, 30 Good Minutes,
Chicago Sunday Evening Club, 1990. |
| "The
Light Never Turns Green," the Rev. Dr. Thomas Lane Butts, Day 1,
1996. |
|
"Seeing God in
Others," Jean Vanier, 30 Good Minutes, Chicago Sunday Evening
Club, 1995. |
|
"Be Compassionate," John Jewell,
1999. |
| |
