November 19, 2025
Sheep and Goats - Part 3
Matthew 25:37-40
11/19/2025
37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying,
``Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome
you, or naked and clothe you?
39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and
visit you?''
40 And the King will answer them, ``Truly, I say to
you, as you did it to one of the least of these my
brothers, you did it to me.'' (ESV)
The Gospel reading for this week, the Second Last Sunday of
the Church Year, concerns the judgment, when Christ returns and
the angels separate all people into two groups. On His right
hand are the sheep, on His left the goats. Jesus invited the
sheep on His right to enter into the kingdom prepared for them
from before the foundation of the world.
Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ``Lord,
when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and
give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and
welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we
see you sick or in prison and visit you?'' And the
King will answer them, ``Truly, I say to you, as you
did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you
did it to me.''
We do not earn our salvation from sin, death, and the power
of the devil. Those on the right protest that they are not
worthy of heaven, that they did not do the good works attributed
to them.
Jesus, however, says that the way they treated His brothers,
the ones He sent to proclaim the forgiveness of sins for the sake
of His suffering, death, and resurrection, is the same as doing
it directly to Him. Earlier in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus said
essentially the same thing: ``Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.''[1]
Good works, the way we respond to the message of God's love,
grace, and mercy, are the result of our faith in Christ Jesus.
We are declared holy and righteous in God's sight for the sake of
Christ. How we support the Office of the Ministry reflects God's
love for each of us.
May our Lord grant that we hear His word and grow in faith
towards Him. Amen.
____________________
1. Matthew 10:40 (ESV)