³¹When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all of his angels, he will sit on his royal throne. ³²The people of all nations will be brought before him, and he will separate them, as shepherds separate their sheep from their goats.  ³³He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. ³⁴Then the king will say to those on his right, “My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created. ³⁵When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, ³⁶and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me.”  ³⁷Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, “When did we give you something to eat or drink? ³⁸When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear ³⁹or visit you while you were sick or in jail?” ⁴⁰The king will answer, “Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.”  ⁴¹Then the king will say to those on his left, “Get away from me! You are under God’s curse. Go into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels! ⁴²I was hungry, but you did not give me anything to eat, and I was thirsty, but you did not give me anything to drink. ⁴³I was a stranger, but you did not welcome me, and I was naked, but you did not give me any clothes to wear. I was sick and in jail, but you did not take care of me.” ⁴⁴Then the people will ask, “Lord, when did we fail to help you when you were hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in jail?”  ⁴⁵The king will say to them, “Whenever you failed to help any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you failed to do it for me.”  ⁴⁶Then Jesus said, “Those people will be punished forever. But the ones who pleased God will have eternal life.”

There are a number of observations that deserve to be made when responding to this passage.

• The Son of Man seems to have been the self-designation of Jesus’ choice; that is to say, he called himself ‘Son of Man’ more than anything else.
• The Son of Man is envisaged in this passage as a heavenly judge.

• This idea of the Son of Man being a heavenly figure picks up on Old Testament passages like Daniel 7. This is developed in other Jewish literature, for example 1 Enoch. The Son of Man figure in Daniel comes from earth to heaven to be presented before God after suffering.

¹³As I continued to watch the vision that night, I saw what looked like a son of man ^[f] coming with the clouds of heaven, and he was presented to the Eternal God. ^{[g] 14}He was crowned king and given power and glory, so that all people of every nation and race would serve him. He will rule for ever, and his kingdom is eternal, never to be destroyed. (7:13-14)

• For Matthew the Son of Man who is shortly going to be handed over to the might of Imperial rule is one day going to rule as king.

⁸The rulers of this world didn’t know anything about this wisdom. If they had known about it, they would not have nailed the glorious Lord to a cross (1    Corinthians 2: 8)

• It is worth taking a moment to reflect on what sort of kingship is to be exercised here. The first role undertaken by the king in the passage is to separate the sheep from the goats. Shepherds and Kingship are put together quite frequently in the Old Testament, and Jesus uses the term ‘Good Shepherd’ in John 10. In Palestine, sheep and goats were frequently grazed together, with them being separated at night. Goats being kept indoors because they were less hardy, which is surprising to those of us with only western eyes and ears. The king also exercises judgement. Matthew does not envisage a trial with counsels for the prosecution and for the defence; but a simple judgement.
• The sheep and goats are not separated on the basis of faith, but because of action. The reason that the righteous are blessed is because of the ordinary mundane actions that they have undertaken

– hungry are fed

– thirsty are given something to drink

– people are visited

The righteous appear surprised that such things are being rewarded. 

What does such a story have to say to our 21st Century culture?

In a world of glamour, celebrity culture and instant success, it might point out that simple acts of charity ore items of lasting value. To a church, where education, numerical increases, and charismatic acts (whether personality or the miraculous) can bring particular  rewards, acts of charity which cannot so easily be counterfeited are the real hallmarks of the kingdom of God. Acts of genuine charity flow out of a contrite heart, which decides to have the same humility that Jesus himself showed.

⁵and think the same way that Christ Jesus thought: ^{[a] 6}Christ was truly God.   But he did not try to remain ^[b] equal with God. ⁷Instead he gave up everything ^[c] and became a slave, when he became like one of us.  ⁸Christ was humble. He obeyed God and even died on a cross.  ⁹Then God gave Christ the highest place and      honoured his name above all others. ¹⁰So at the name of Jesus everyone will bow down, those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. ¹¹And to the glory of God the Father everyone will openly agree,  “Jesus Christ is Lord!” (Philippians 2: 5-11)

Nevertheless, we still need to return to the thorny issue of          judgement, and for 21st Century people, the idea of someone     sitting in judgement seems beyond the pale. What are we judged for in Matthew’s passage? Judgement is executed because we have failed to see God in others. For when we do not visit, feed and provide shelter, we fail to recognise that each one of us is made in the image of God. Such a failure is a chilling thought and the only response is silence and sorrow.