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Read Introduction to Matthew

 

41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

 

In this section Jesus turned to those on His left hand—unbelievers.

25:41

Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

Unbelievers will join the devil and his angels in eternal separation from God.

25:42

for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;

Rejection of Christ leads to no heart for believers.

25:43

I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

Unbelievers do not have a heart for believers in material need.

25:44

Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’

Unbelievers have the same protest as believers in the previous section. They could not recognize when they had the possibility of meeting Jesus’ needs.

25:45

Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least [emphatic] of these, you did not do it to Me.’

Lack of concern for hurting believers is an evidence of those who are without Christ.

25:46

And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Note Jesus uses the same word for punishment as He does for life with God—“eternal.” Both alternatives are “eternal.” Unbelievers reject Christ so they will not be permitted into His kingdom.

The Olivet Discourse is now finished.

PRINCIPLE:

Eternal” (life with God or separation from God) is the end result of how we personally view Jesus.

APPLICATION:

Eternal life begins when a person accepts the death of Christ for his sins. To have eternal life we must accept:

That Jesus paid for our sins on the cross.

That God puts His very own righteousness to our account forever.

That God gives us eternal life.

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