Gospel of Matthew Chapter 25 Vs. 31

 The Final Judgment

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:”

When the Son... When—immediately after the tribulation (Mat. 24:29-31; Rev. 19:11-21).

of his glory... Mat. 24:30; 2Thes. 1:7-10; 2:8.

angels with him... Literal angels accompany Him to earth (2Thes. 1:7-10) to gather Israel (Deut. 30:4; Isa. 11:11-12) and separate the tares from the wheat (Mat. 13:38-50). See, Mat. 24:31.

then shall he... Then—at the second coming (Mat. 24:29). See Mat. 25:34, 25:37, 25:41, 25:44, 25:45.

of his glory... Mat. 25:31; 19:28; Jer. 14:21. This speaks of the earthly reign of Christ described (in Rev. 20:4-6). The judgment described here (in verses 32-46), is different from the Great White Throne judgment of (Rev. 20:11-15).

This judgment precedes Christ’s millennial reign, and the subjects seem to be only those who are alive at His coming. This is sometimes referred to as the judgment of the nations, but His verdicts address individuals in the nations, not the nations as a whole (verse 46).

This Scripture is speaking of Jesus’ return to the earth when He will be King of kings and Lord of Lords. He will rule with an iron hand.

The Final Separation

As in the Sermon on the Mount, and again in the last discourse in the Temple, so here, the language rises into a strain of great majesty and sublimity as the prophecy draws to a close. No one can fail to recognize it. This vision of judgment is the climax of the teaching of the Lord Christ. Alike for magnificence and for pathos it is unsurpassed in literature. There is no departure from His wonted simplicity of style. As little here as everywhere else do we recognize even a trace of effort or of elaboration; yet as we read there is not a word that could be changed, not a clause that could be spared, not a thought that could be added with advantage. It bears the mark of perfection, whether we look at it from the point of view of the Speaker’s divinity or from the point of view of His humanity. Divine in its sublimity, it is most human in its tenderness. Truly this was the Son of God. Truly this was the Son of man.

The grandeur of the passage is all the more impressive by contrast with what immediately follows: And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said unto His disciples, Ye know that after two days is the feast of the Passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.

Into such an abyss was the Son of man looking when in language so calm, so confident, so majestic, so sublime, He spoke of sitting on the throne of His glory as the Judge of all mankind. Did ever man speak like this Man?

It is significant that even when speaking of the coming glory He still retains His favorite designation, the Son of man. In this we see one of the many minute coincidences which show the inner harmony of the discourses recorded in this Gospel with those of a different style of thought preserved by St. John: for it is in one of these we read that He the Father hath given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of man. Thus, the judgment of humanity proceeds out of humanity itself, and constitutes as it were the final offering up of man to God. This on the God-ward side; and, on the other side, there is for those who stand before the Judge, the certainty that as Son of man He knows by experience all the weaknesses of those He judges and the force of the temptations by which they have been beset.

Nothing could be more impressive than the picture set before us of the throne of glory, on which is seated the Son of man with all the angels around Him and all nations gathered before Him. It is undoubtedly the great assize, the general judgment of mankind. No partial judgment can it be, nothing less than the great event referred to in that passage already quoted from St. John’s Gospel, where after speaking of judgment being committed to the Son of Man, it is added: Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth: they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

When the Lord returns in His glory, He will judge not only the nation Israel as in the Parable of the 10 Virgins Mat. 25:1-13. and the Parable of the Talents Mat. 25:14-30 but also the Gentiles.