How Do You Serve Christ?

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

WITH THE FAITHFUL overcomers of the Gospel Age exalted in glory and with Jesus on his throne, the divine plan of redemption and restoration moves into its final phase—the offering of restitution blessings to “all the families of the earth.” The parable states that the people of all nations are gathered before God for judgment.

We are informed that the Judgment Day will be a time when the people will learn righteousness. (Isa. 26:9) But those who are evil at heart, who willfully persist in continuing in the way of disobedience, will not learn righteousness in that “land of uprightness,” nor will they “behold [recognize] the majesty of the Lord.” (Isa. 26:10) These are the ones in the parable who are represented by the ‘goats’.

To the ‘sheep’ class of the parable, the king said, “I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: … I was an stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me.” (vss. 35,36) The ‘sheep’ were surprised at this, and inquired when had they rendered all these good services?

The king’s reply 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 referred to those on the scene. They are the restored world of mankind at the close of the 1000-year Judgment Day.

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 Millennial Age. He is also Jesus’ Father. From this standpoint the ‘sheep’ will be the ‘least’ of Jesus’ brethren, while his followers of the present 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. This becomes part of their character, and they do not realize they are performing deeds so pleasing to the king. They practice the way of love, and so discover that they are worthy of inheriting the dominion of earth which our first parents forfeited through their disobedience.

The ‘goats’ do not display the qualities of divine love. Their outlook is entirely selfish; they do not enter into the spirit of the kingdom age, nor cooperate with the kingdom agencies for the general welfare of all people. They do not “learn righteousness,” but continue in the evil ways of the selfish world in which they had formerly lived, and so they are cut off from life.

Jesus is the ‘great king’ of the parable, who, together with his bride, will administer the just laws of the kingdom—the future Judgment Day. We know there will be justice for all individuals then. No mistakes will be made. The Prophet Isaiah wrote:

“The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might; … 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.”—Isa. 11:2-4

The ‘sheep’ of the parable hear the king say, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (vs. 34) This is the kingdom mentioned in Genesis 1:26-28, that was lost because of sin.

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