Scripture: St. Matthew 25:31-46 (NKJV)
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him,
then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be
gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd
divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right
hand, but the goats on the left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink;
I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was
sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37 Then the
righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed
You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take
You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison,
and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I
say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren,
you did it to Me.’
41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you
cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for
I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;
43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe
Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44 Then they also will answer
Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or
naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will
answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to
one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away
into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Devotion
From Luther’s Church Postils, 1544, for the Twenty Sixth Sunday after Trinity
Sunday: Matthew 25:31-46:
The words of this Gospel are in themselves clear and lucid. They have been
given both for the comfort and encouragement of believing Christians, and for
the warning and terror of others, if perchance, they might be of help to them.
While most lessons almost exclusively teach and inculcate faith, this one
treats only of the works, which Christ will examine at the last day, that it
may be seen that he wishes them to be remembered and performed by those who
wish to be Christians and be found in his kingdom.
And Christ himself gives this admonition here in the strongest terms that can
be given, both in the consoling promise of a glorious, eternal reward, and in
the most terrible threatenings of eternal wrath and punishment upon all who
despise the admonition; so that whoever is not moved and aroused by these words
can certainly never be moved by anything. For Christ says, he will himself come
visibly in his majesty, at the last day, with all the angels, and that he will
transplant all who have believed in him and have exercised love toward his
followers, into his Father’s kingdom of eternal glory all who believe in him
and love his saints; and that he will also cast into Hell forever all who live
not as Christians, and who separate themselves from him and all his saints.
The Lutheran Herald is a publication of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of
North America. These daily devotions are authored by the bishop, pastors, and
deacons of the diocese. Daily posts are provided by The Reverend Jeffrey A.
Ahonen.
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