Gospel of Matthew Chapter 25 Vs. 44

 The Final Judgment

Matthew 25:44 “Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?”

Then shall they... As well as the righteous, being likewise astonished at what he had said, but on a different account.

when saw we... Saying, Lord, when did we see thee an hungry or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to thee? Question 151. Next, Mat. 26:8.

Hence it is clear again, that these men were nominal Christians, who had made a profession of Christ: they own him as Lord; and suggest that they had seen him, and known him, though never in such circumstances.

For if they had, such was their love to him, and great respect and veneration for him, as they pretend, they would, to be sure, have ministered unto him; and if ever they had seen him in such a case, which they could not call to mind, they could not believe, but they must have supplied him with all things necessary and convenient.

You see, they too never saw Jesus in person, so they did not understand this statement. This is the picture of a very selfish person. Someone who has no feeling for the infirmities of others. This person lives just for himself, not caring what destitute condition their neighbors are in.

This person is caught up in self and has gone so far as to make a God of Himself alone. What a pitiful sight. Then in the next verse, Jesus told them of their error.

While there is no encouragement here for those who hope to make up for the rejection of Christ by deeds of kindness to poor people, there is abundant room left for the acceptance at the last of those who had no means of knowing Christ, . but who showed by their treatment of their fellowmen in distress that the spirit of Christ was in them. To such the King will be no stranger when they shall see Him on the throne; nor will they be strangers to Him. He will recognize them as His own; and they will recognize Him as the very King of Love for Whom their souls were longing, but Who not till now has been revealed to their delighted gaze. To all such will the gracious words be spoken Come, ye blessed of My Father; but they too, as well as all the rest, will be received not on the ground of works as distinguished from faith, but on the ground of a real though implicit faith which worked by love and which was only waiting for the revelation of their King and Lord to make it explicit, to bring it out to light.

In this extended prophetic sermon, Jesus answered His disciples’ questions about the sign of His coming and the end of the Age (Mat. 24:4-31). He also presented practical lessons for those who will be living at that time (Mat. 24:32-51), encouraging them to faithfulness, watchfulness, and preparedness.

Book of Hosea Chapter 11 Vs. 4

 The Lord's Love for Israel

I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them. Hos. 11:4

I drew them... Wanton heifers such as was Israel, are drawn with ropes; but although Ephraim struggled against Me, I would not draw him as a beast, but I drew him as a man, (not a servant, but a son), with cords of love.

with bands of... The first and chief commandment of the law is not of fear, but of love, because He willed those whom He commanded, to be sons rather than servants.

I was to... As a careful husbandman doth in due season take the yoke from his laboring oxen, and takes off the muzzle with which they were kept from eating when at work, gives them time of rest and feeding: so did God with Israel.

I laid meat... Brought them provision in their wants, as the careful husbandman brings fodder and provender for his wearied laboring oxen. By which plain simile God doth inform Israel in Hosea’s time what ancient, tender, constant, and vigilant love he had showed to Israel, to their predecessors, and to them also. And hereby discovers their unheard-of ingratitude and wickedness, which began in their fathers, and hath continued with increase to the days of their final ruin.

These cords of a man mean that God had a hold on their guidance. God kept them close enough, that they could not completely wander away. All of this control that God kept over them was done in love. We see that even though God had controls on Ephraim, He still lifted the yoke, so that it would not be too heavy to bear.

Matthew 11:30 "For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light.”

Notice, I laid meat unto them. He blessed them with plenty to eat. God provided all their needs.

Which of us has not known this fatherliness of the Most High, exercised upon us, as upon Israel, throughout our years of carelessness and disregard? It was God Himself who taught and trained us then; -

When through the slippery paths of youth

With heedless steps I ran,

Thine arm unseen conveyed me safe,

And led me up to man.

Those speedy recoveries from the blunders of early willfulness, those redemptions from the sins of youth-happy were we if we knew that it was, He who healed us. But there comes a time when men pass from leading-strings to harness when we feel faith less and duty more-when our work touches us more closely than our God. Death must be a strange transformer of the spirit, yet surely not stranger than life, which out of the eager buoyant child makes in time the slow automaton of duty. It is such a stage which the fourth of these verses' suits, when we look up, not so much for the fatherliness as for the gentleness and humanity of our God. A man has a mystic power of a very wonderful kind upon the animals over whom he is placed. On any of these wintry roads of ours we may see it, when a kind carter gets down at a hill, and, throwing the reins on his beast’s back, will come to its head and touch it with his bare hands, and speak to it as if it were his fellow; till the deep eyes fill with light, and out of these things, so much weaker than itself, a touch, a glance, a word, there will come to it new strength to pull the stranded wagon onward. The man is as a god to the beast, coming down to help it, and it almost makes the beast human that he does so. Not otherwise does Hosea feel the help which God gives His own on the weary hills of life. We need not discipline, for our work is discipline enough, and the cares we carry of themselves keep us straight and steady. But we need sympathy and gentleness-this very humanity which the prophet attributes to our God. God comes and takes us by the head; through the mystic power, which is above us, but which makes us like itself, we are lifted to our task. Let no one judge this incredible. The incredible would be that our God should prove any less to us than the merciful man to his beast. But we are saved from argument by experience. When we remember how, as life has become steep and our strength exhausted, there has visited us a thought which has sharpened to a word, a word which has warmed to a touch, and we have drawn ourselves together and leapt up new men, can we feel that God was any less in these things, than in the voice of conscience or the message of forgiveness, or the restraints of His discipline? Nay, though the reins be no longer felt, God is at our head, that we should not stumble nor stand still. Upon this gracious passage there follows one of those swift revulsions of feeling, which we have learned almost to expect in Hosea. His insight again overtakes his love. The people will not respond to the goodness of their God; it is impossible to work upon minds so fickle and insincere.

In Hos. 11:4 Israel is compared to a work animal (cf. Hos. 10:11). The Lord is likened to a master who gently (in kindness and love; cf. Hos. 11:1) leads his animal and removes (or perhaps re-positions) its yoke so that it might eat with greater ease the food he kindly provides. The Lord treated Israel with compassion and love.

Gospel of Matthew Chapter 25 Vs. 43

The Final Judgment

Matthew 25:43 “I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.”

I was a... If men were sure that Jesus Christ was actually somewhere in the land, in great personal distress, hungry, thirsty, naked, and confined, they would no doubt run unto and relieve him.

Now Christ assures us that a man who is hungry, thirsty, naked, etc., is his representative, and that whatever we do to such a one he will consider as done to himself. Yet this testimony of Christ is not regarded! Well, he will be just when he judges, and righteous when he punishes.

While there is no encouragement here for those who hope to make up for the rejection of Christ by deeds of kindness to poor people, there is abundant room left for the acceptance at the last of those who had no means of knowing Christ, but who showed by their treatment of their fellowmen in distress that the spirit of Christ was in them. To such the King will be no stranger when they shall see Him on the throne; nor will they be strangers to Him. He will recognize them as His own; and they will recognize Him as the very King of Love for Whom their souls were longing, but Who not till now has been revealed to their delighted gaze.

With all wickedness removed in the various judgments at the Second Advent, the kingdom will begin on earth with only saved individuals in physical bodies constituting the earthly kingdom as the King’s subjects. Glorified saints from Old Testament times and the church, the bride of Christ, will also be present to share in the reign of the King of kings.

Book of Hosea Chapter 11 Vs. 3

 The Lord's Love for Israel

I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them. Hos. 11:3

I taught Ephraim... I directed the feet of Ephraim. In this time of Ephraim’s childhood, I supported and directed his steps, as a mother or nurse those of a child whom she is teaching to walk.

taking them by... To guide them that they might not stray from the right way; and to hold them up, that they might not stumble and fall (see Deut. 1:31; 32:11-12; Isa. chapter 63). Thus did God deal with Israel in the wilderness; and thus he directs and supports the steps of his spiritual Israel, amidst all their difficulties and dangers.

but they knew... They did not acknowledge this or my care over them and kindness to them.

Ephraim had received the spiritual blessing of the right hand. God had gone to extra trouble to teach Ephraim His ways. Part of the reason for the 40 years of wandering, was to teach them His ways. God healed their unfaithfulness over and over. God forgave them and gave them another chance. He tried to lead them and guide them, but they did not learn their lesson well. God acted as a loving parent.

Yet I taught Ephraim to walk, holding them on My arms; but they knew not that I healed them presumably when they fell and hurt themselves.

The Lord’s goodness to Israel is further illustrated. Like a father patiently teaching a young child to walk, the Lord had established and sustained Israel (cf. Deut. 1:31; Isa. 1:2). He also restored (healed) the nation’s strength after times of judgment, though she failed to acknowledge His intervention.

Gospel of Matthew Chapter 25 Vs. 42

The Final Judgment

 

Matthew 25:42 “For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:”

For I was... Hence it appears, that these were such as dwelt among Christians, and professed the Christian name, and yet disregarded the poor members of Christ in distress, when it was in the power of their hands to help them. But when they were hungry and ready to starve for want of food, these professing to be Christians did not communicate to them for Christ’s sake.

Which showed that they had no true faith in him, and love to him. Therefore, are justly condemned by him; whereas such who never knew Christ, or any of his people, or any obligation they were under to regard any for Christ’s sake, these will never be condemned for the non-performance of these things.

I was thirsty...  As not the least morsel of bread to eat, so not so much as a cup of cold water to drink. Which with what follows, are manifest tokens and evidences, that they did not belong to Christ, were not true believers in him, nor had they any real love to him.

The grace of God was not in them, and therefore had neither right unto, nor fitness for, the kingdom of heaven. But were righteously banished from the presence of the Lord, and sent to dwell among everlasting burnings. For righteous it was, that such as they who would not show any love to him here, should not dwell with him forever hereafter.

The dividing line is one entirely new. All nations are there; but not as nations are they divided now. This is strikingly suggested in the original by the change from the neuter (nations, εθνη) to the masculine (them, αυτους), indicating as by a sudden flash of unexpected light that not as nations, but as individuals, must all be judged. The line is one which crosses all other lines that have divided men from one another, so that of all ranks and conditions of men there will be some on the right and some on the left. Even the family line will be crossed, so that husband and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters, may be found on opposite sides of it. What, then, is this new and final line of separation? The sentence of the King will mark it out for us.

In answer to such a perversion of our Lord’s language it should surely be enough to call attention to the fact that all is made to turn upon the treatment of Christ by the one class and by the other. Kindness to the poor comes in, not as in itself the ground of the division, but as furnishing the evidence or manifestation of that devotion to God as revealed in Christ which forms the real ground of acceptance, and the want of which is the sole ground of condemnation.

Again, The basis of their judgment will be their failure to extend mercy to the remnant of Jewish believers during the Tribulation. Their lack of righteous works will evidence their unconcern (Mat. 25:42-44.

Book of Hosea Chapter 11 Vs. 2

 The Lord's Love for Israel

As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images. Hos. 11:2

As they called... Again, we have some reasons for the judgment upon Ephraim—idolatry and the failure to appreciate and serve God (Hos. 11:3-4). That is, the prophets of the Lord, the true prophets, called Israel to the worship and service of God. But they turned a deaf ear to them, and their backs upon them. And the more they called to them, the further they went from them, and from the way of their duty (see Hos. 11:7).

so they went... Israelite's, called and entreated, especially they of that age when the division was made, and ever since.

went from them... Contrarily and most disingenuously apostatized more and more, as the prophet, (Isa. 1:5). Horrible ingratitude so to requite God! From the prophets’ counsel and commands, delivered as they came from God.

they sacrificed unto... In the desert they began this apostasy, joined themselves to Baal-peor (Num. 25:3), and worshipped the calf (Exo. 32:4-6) and held on with obstinacy in it.

to graven images... Images of their gods, before which they performed another part of religious worship, burning incense before them.

It seemed, that even from the beginning, they would fall away and worship false gods. God would forgive them and start them again on the right path. It seemed; they could not handle good times. Each time they would fall away to worship other gods. It is a possibility that they began practicing the worship of false gods in Egypt, and never completely got rid of those bad habits. They were unfaithful from the beginning.

But we cannot be loved by God and left where we are. Beyond the grace there lie the long discipline and destiny. We are called from servitude to freedom, from the world of God-each of us to run a course, and do a work, which can be done by no one else. That Israel did not perceive this was God’s sore sorrow with them. "The more I called to them the farther they went from Me. They to the Ba’alim kept sacrificing, and to images offering incense.

However, when God subsequently called them (Hos. 11:2) to covenant obedience through His prophets, the people rejected Him (cf. Jer. 7:25-26) and turned instead to false gods (cf. 2Kgs. 17:13-17) including the Baals (cf. Hos. 2:13, 2:17). 11:2 is literally, the more they i.e., the prophets called them, the more they the Israelite's went from them and the Father. (NASB; cf. KJV, NIV marg.).

Gospel of Matthew Chapter 25 Vs. 41

 The Final Judgment

Matthew 25:41 “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”

Depart from me... These words are from the king to the sinners; and contain the reason why they are to be separated from blessedness. Ye are cursed, because ye have sinned, and would not come unto me that ye might have life. No work of piety has proceeded from your hand, because the carnal mind, which is enmity against me, reigned in your heart; and ye would not have me to reign over you.

Into everlasting fire. This is the punishment of sense. Ye shall not only be separated from me, but ye shall be tormented, awfully, everlastingly tormented in that place of separation.

prepared for the... The devil and his angels sinned before the creation of the world, and the place of torment was then prepared for them. It never was designed for human souls; but as the wicked are partakers with the devil and his angels in their iniquities, in their rebellion against God and His order, so it is right that they should be sharers with them in their punishment.

We see here plainly, why sinners are destroyed, not because there was no salvation for them, but because they neglected to receive good and do good. As they received not the Christ who was offered to them, so they could not do the work of righteousness which was required of them.

They are cursed, because they refused to be blessed; and they are damned, because they refused to be saved.

As I said before, there are only two destinies that we can choose from. The right leads to heaven, and the wrong (left), leads to hell. Hell has been prepared from the foundation of the world, as well. God does not want anyone to go there, but He is just. If that is the choice one makes, that will be one’s home for eternity.

We make the choice. We cannot blame God. It is our choice to make. He just carries out our decisions.

To those on the left there remains the word, a stranger to His lips before, the awful word, Depart from Me. All the horror of the doomed-Depart from Me, ye cursed. Into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.

To the goats on His left hand (cf. Mat. 25:33) the King will pronounce judgment. They will be told, Depart… into the eternal fire prepared not for men but for the devil and his angels (cf. the kingdom prepared, Mat. 25:34). The basis of their judgment will be their failure to extend mercy to the remnant of Jewish believers during the Tribulation. Their lack of righteous works will evidence their unconcern (Mat. 25:42-44; cf. 25:35-36). Such individuals will sympathize with the world dictator and support his cause. They will be removed from the earth and will be cast into eternal fire (Mat. 25:41).