“Then He will answer them, saying,
‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these,
you did not do it to Me.’
And these will go away into eternal punishment,
but the righteous into eternal life.'”
– Jesus, to the disciples (Matthew 25:45-46)
As Jesus concludes His description of the coming Judgment Day, we see just how closely He identifies with His people. Those placed to the left of the throne are astonished to discover that they neglected the King in His time of need. Jesus informs them that whenever they turned their backs on one of His followers, they were essentially turning their backs on Him.
The “least of these” mentioned here most likely refer to Jesus’ disciples, which means that people are being judged based on their treatment of Jesus within His people. Yet, Jesus’ teaching clearly calls us as Christians to care for the “least of these” among our neighbors as well. We cannot turn our backs on the poor and needy of our world, because our obeying Jesus in this matter stands as one of the proofs that we are among God’s chosen people.
Once we grasp how closely Jesus identifies with His followers, we come to grips with another profound implication: our treatment of our brothers and sisters in Christ applies to Jesus Himself. Christ is hidden within His people, those chosen by God to reflect His glory into a dark and fallen world. If we turn away and neglect our Christian family, we are ultimately declaring through our actions that we are not family members.
The apocalyptic scene ends with the righteous and wicked departing to their respective destinations: the wicked face eternal punishment while the righteous rejoice to take part in the new heavens and new earth promised by God for His people. Before Jesus’ throne on the Last Day, there will only be two kinds of people and only two final destinations. Some will inherit the Kingdom that was prepared for them from the beginning of time. Others will be sent to an everlasting judgment never intended to be theirs.
