Then
he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ “Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’ “Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Matthew 25:41-46
Matthew 25 [37.] “Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink? When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?’
Matthew 25 [40.] “The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
Matthew 25 [44.] “Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’
Matthew 25 [45.] “Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Matthew 26 [1.] When Jesus had finished all these words, he said to his disciples, “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”
Meaning:
The King has separated the nations as a shepherd separates sheep from goats (Matthew 25:31-33). He has welcomed those on his right hand into the Kingdom because they fed the hungry, welcomed strangers and visited the sick and imprisoned, and he has told them, “because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:34-40). Now he turns to those on his left. These verses mirror the first half of the scene almost line by line, but with the opposite outcome.
- “Depart from me, you cursed”
The words to the righteous began, “Come, blessed of my Father”. These begin, “Depart from me”. To be sent away from Jesus is the heart of judgement. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus warned that he would say to some, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity” (Matthew 7:23).
- “into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels”
Notice the difference. The Kingdom was “prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34), but the eternal fire was prepared “for the devil and his angels”. God did not create hell for human beings. People share the devil’s fate only when they refuse God’s way. Revelation describes the devil’s final end in the lake of fire: “They will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).
- “for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat”
The charge is not violence or theft but neglect. They saw people in need and did nothing. Through Isaiah God had said that true worship includes “to distribute your bread to the hungry” and to clothe the naked (Isaiah 58:7). Proverbs warns, “Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor, he will also cry out, but shall not be heard” (Proverbs 21:13). Jesus’ story of the rich man who ignored Lazarus at his gate makes the same point (Luke 16:19-25).
- “Lord, when did we see you hungry… and didn’t help you?”
Like the righteous, they are surprised, but for the opposite reason. They would gladly have helped the King himself. They never imagined that he was present in the poor, the stranger and the prisoner. Jesus identifies closely with his people. When Saul persecuted the church, the risen Lord asked him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:4).
- “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life”
The scene ends with two destinies, both described as “eternal”. Daniel had foretold that the dead would awake, “some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2). Jesus said that “those who have done good” would come out of the tombs “to the resurrection of life” (John 5:29). We are not saved by good works, but genuine faith in Christ shows itself in love for others. James asks what good it is if a brother or sister is “naked and in lack of daily food” and we offer only words (James 2:15-17).
The Significance of Matthew 25:41-46
- Neglect is a serious sin
We often measure ourselves by the wrong things we avoid. Jesus measures us also by the good we fail to do. John asks how the love of God can remain in someone who sees a brother in need and “closes his heart of compassion against him” (1 John 3:17).
- Seeing Christ in the needy
Every hungry, lonely, sick or imprisoned believer is someone Jesus calls his brother or sister. How we treat them is how we treat him.
- The urgency of the choice
Jesus’ final public words in Matthew set out two destinies. Now is the time to turn to him and let his love flow through us to others.
Cross-References:
Matthew 7:23: "I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity." Sent away from Christ.
Proverbs 21:13: "Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor, he will also cry out, but shall not be heard." The danger of ignoring the poor.
1 John 3:17: "But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and closes his heart of compassion against him, how does the love of God remain in him?" Love shown in action.
Daniel 12:2: "some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." Two eternal destinies.
Conclusion: In Matthew 25:41-46 the King sends those on his left away into the eternal fire prepared for the devil, because they did not feed, welcome, clothe or visit him in the least of his brothers. Surprised, they ask when they ever saw him in need. He answers that neglecting the least of these was neglecting him. The passage ends with two eternal destinies and calls us to a faith that shows itself in compassion.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible