The Disciples’ Future

KEY VERSE: “Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” —Matthew 25:40

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Matthew 25:31-46

TO THE sheep class of the parable, the king said, “I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me. I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison and ye came unto me.” (Matt. 25:35,36) The ‘sheep’ are surprised at this, and inquire when they had rendered all these good services. The king’s reply to their inquiry is, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (vs. 40) The expression, ‘these my brethren’, denotes that the king is speaking of those right there on the scene. These would be the people of the restored world of mankind at the close of the thousand-year Judgment Day.

The parable of the sheep and the goats is the conclusion of Jesus’ reply to his disciples’ question pertaining to the signs of his return and second presence. (Matt. 24:3) “When the Son of man shall come in his glory,” are the opening words of the parable, and they clearly establish it to be one of the signs of his presence, or parousia, as it is in the Greek text.

The coming of the Son of man in ‘glory’ is in contrast with his first advent, which was in humiliation and suffering. When Jesus was raised from the dead he announced that “all power” had been given to him “in heaven and in earth.” (Matt. 28:18) He was then exalted to the right hand of “the throne of God.” (Heb. 1:3; 12:2) It is this divine, glorified Jesus who returns and rewards his followers, and establishes his kingdom for the blessing of all the people.

While Jesus will be instrumental in awakening the dead world of mankind from the sleep of death, and in restoring the willing and obedient to human perfection, the Heavenly Father will become the father of the restored world of mankind when the kingdom is turned over to him at the close of the Millennium. He is also Jesus’ father. From this standpoint the ‘sheep’ will be the least of Jesus’ brethren, while his followers of this age, exalted to divine glory with him, will be the greatest.

The sheep of the parable demonstrate their worthiness of everlasting life by their loving interest in and solicitude for those about them. Hunger, thirst, loneliness, nakedness, sickness, and imprisonment, symbolize a fairly complete cross section of human needs. The sheep sense these needs of their fellows, and do what they can about them. It becomes part of their character to do this, and they do not realize that they are performing deeds so pleasing to the king. They learn and practice the way of love, and at the end discover that they are worthy of inheriting the dominion of earth which our first parents forfeited through their disobedience to divine law.

The ‘goats’, on the other hand, do not display the qualities of divine love. Apparently, their outlook is entirely selfish, so they do not enter into the spirit of the kingdom age, and do not cooperate with the kingdom agencies for the general welfare and blessing of the people. They do not “learn righteousness,” so continue in the evil ways of the selfish world in which they had formerly lived. Consequently they are cut off from life.

Jesus, of course, is the great ‘king’ referred to in the parable, the one who, together with his joint-heirs, the church class of the present age, will administer the just and righteous laws of the kingdom period, the future Judgment Day. And we know that there will be no misjudging of the people. No mistakes will be made. Concerning the king who sits upon “the throne of his glory,” the Prophet Isaiah wrote:

“The Spirit of the Lord shall be upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; … and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: … And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.”—Isa. 11:2-5

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