Matthew 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
The judgment is hard to understand. There are two resurrections and two judgements. All people will be judged. We know from this that nations are gathered with the sheep on the right hand and the goats on the left. Sheep are those who chose Jesus in this life. Goats are those people who did not choose Jesus. Jesus is involved with both judgements, the Judgement Seat of Christ (for the saved) and the Great White Thone Judgment (for the lost). Jesus will tell unbelievers they could have chosen him but they chose to serve themselves.
Unsaved people do good things, but the service of those who are not saved doesn’t reward them with a place in heaven. We, as Christians, do things listed in scripture to please the Lord. There will be a judgment for service. That’s what is going on here. It’s broken down: to the hungry, thirsty, strangers, sick, prisoners. This is reaching out to others. After Jesus told them this, they asked when they did these things. Jesus told them Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. This is a wonderful explanation of our primary mission.
We are told in the Great Commission to go to all the world. Jesus commissioned us for this mission. When we read the Great Commission our minds automatically go to “the uttermost parts of the earth.” It starts at Jerusalem, goes to Samaria and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. Jerusalem was their beginning place. Our primary place, the beginning for our being mission minded is at our Jerusalem–where we are. It’s our neighbors, our workplace and our family and friends. We are to be faithful to it.
Are we willing to help a neighbor in need or go to the lost in our community? We start with those nearest to us. Don’t lose sight of those you know. It’s easy to give money to someone you don’t know, a missionary in another part of the world. That’s great but the greater opportunity is the witness right where we live. The primary mission is our local vicinity. It is our Jerusalem and our responsibility.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 