Many New Testament texts are misunderstood because they refer to the truth that faithful believers will co-reign with Christ in His Kingdom. Among other places, this truth is clearly stated in such passages as 2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 2:26, 27 and 3:21. It is elaborately dealt with in the famous parable about the minas (or pounds) in Luke 19:11-27. In the last issue of The Kerugma Message, we considered Matthew 5:5. The series continues in this issue with Matthew 25:34-36.
“‘Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’” — Matthew 25:34-36
The scene which surrounds the words quoted above is the inauguration of the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The first phase of that kingdom, the Millennial Kingdom, is about to begin (see Mt 25:31).
The occasion which Jesus is describing (prophetically) is the event we often call the Judgment of the Sheep and Goats. It should not be confused with the Great White Throne Judgment, which takes place a thousand years later and involves the unsaved dead (see Rev 20:11-15).
Neither should it be confused with the Judgment Seat of Christ, where only the saved appear (1 Cor 3:11-15; 2 Cor 5:9, 10). Uniquely, the judgment of Matthew 25:31-46 is attended by both the saved and lost of “all the nations” (25:32 with vv. 41, 46). There is no mention of resurrection at all nor any mention of non-Gentiles (that is, Jews) who undergo the Judge’s examination.
Our Lord does mention “My brethren” (v. 40) and it is natural to conclude that these are Jews. Thus, the King is identifying Himself racially with God’s people of Israel, and the judgment pertains to all members of other races. Since the King is just now ascending the throne of His father David (Luke 1:32), this racial identification is deliberate and meaningful. Thus, this is a judgment of Gentiles by the King of the Jews (see Mt 2:2).
In the light of Matthew 12:46-50, where Jesus identifies His true brothers and sisters as “whoever does the will of My Father in heaven,” we must think here only of Jews obedient to Him during the Great Tribulation that precedes this scene. In fact, no other kind of Jew will survive the Tribulation (see Amos 9:9-12). But since it is His “brethren” (Mt 28:10), whom He summons to Galilee, and to whom He gives the Great Commission (28:18-20), it seems likely that the phrase “My brethren” has special reference to a special group of Jews.
This group, I suggest, are the Jewish evangelists who will carry the Gospel message worldwide during the final 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation. In Revelation, they are described as “the rest [=remnant] of her [=Israel’s] offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev 12:17). It is they who fulfill the prophecy of Matthew 25:14 that “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then will the end come.”
Clearly, these Jewish preachers of the Tribulation fully fit the expression “My brethren” in Matthew 25:40, even if it does not refer exclusively to them. But what the King says about the services rendered to His brethren fits almost uniquely the experiences the preachers will have as they travel worldwide to preach in the King’s name.
We know that the bulk of believers in Israel during the Tribulation will go into hiding in the Judean wilderness (see Rev. 12:6 and 13-17). There, God will protect them from the efforts of Satan, through his agent the Beast, to find and destroy them. Meanwhile “the remnant” of Israel’s seed will brave worldwide opposition in order to make Christ known.
Those days will certainly be the toughest times in all of human history to preach the Gospel. A new world government is in place which is openly hostile to Christianity (Rev 13:5-8). A new religion has been introduced which demands universal adherence (Rev 13:11-15). The claims of this new religion will be enforced by both political and economic means. There may well be at this time a cashless society in which all economic participation depends on the bearing of a personal identification number printed (perhaps invisibly) on the forehead or on the right hand or wrist (Rev 13:16, 17). This number, which will include the digits 666, will probably be the means by which high-tech scanners determine what bank account is to be credited or debited for every financial transaction.
In this highly charged and strictly regulated environment, a traveling evangelist will face enormous difficulties in sustaining himself. With no cash that can be carried from place to place, such servants of Christ will have no means of purchasing the basic necessities of life. Like all believers in that day, they will reject the number of the Beast (see Rev 14:9-11) and will thus be effectively shut out of the commercial system.
Among Christians in Gentile lands there will probably be a virtual return to the communal form of living which characterized the early Christian Church in Jerusalem (Acts 2:44, 45). Mutual interdependence will be essential. Those who farm will no doubt supply food, those who sew or weave will make or repair clothing, and so on. The Christian populace among the Gentiles will be sizable according, to Revelation 7:9, 14. But it is also likely to be desperately poor, living often on a day-to-day basis from hand to mouth. That they will often hunger and often live out-of-doors is hinted at in Revelation 7:16.
Nevertheless, the God who feeds the birds and clothes the lilies will supply their needs (Mt 6:25-34).
Yet, when a traveling Jewish evangelist reaches a certain locale, his very presence will constitute an extra burden on the already-limited resources of local believers. The temptation to give him nothing is likely to be strong. Especially is this likely to be so because the evangelist will be a visible target for political persecution. Not infrequently, such preachers will wind up in jail. Not a few, we learn, will be martyred (Rev 6:9; 12:11, 12; 20:4). Having failed to stamp out the fleeing body of Jewish believers who withdraw to the Judean wilderness, Satan will turn his hatred toward these preachers (Rev 12:13-17).
Thus, under Satanic inspiration, the new world government evidently will exert the fullest pressure to both arrest and execute these enemies of “the new world order”. It is in this environment that Gentile believers will confront the challenge of supporting the Jewish preachers, their Lord’s “brethren.” Should they assist these men when their own resources are so meager? Should they dare to be identified with these religious “outlaws”? Would they not be endangering other believers by doing so? And if one of them falls sick, or if they are even in prison, would it be foolhardy to try and help or visit them?
Clearly, this pressing situation, which is unique to the end times, will confront potential heirs of God’s Kingdom with a choice that deeply tests their commitment to Christ.
(The discussion of Matthew 25:31-46 will continue in the next issue of The Kerugma Message.)