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“Further,1 when the glorious Son of Humankind returns2 with all his angels,3 at that time he will sit down upon his glorious throne [of judgment].”4
| 1 | Further: The Greek is the connective DE HOTAN. It is an elaboration on the previous parable. |
| 2 | Returns: The Greek is ELTHE and related to the ELTHEN at Daniel 7:22. See technical notes elsewhere. It may be rendered arrive, came, return, or leave. It is the parousia which first involves judgment. In fulfillment of Daniel 7:13 the Son of Humankind ascended back to his Father (John 6:62; John 14:1, 2). In fulfillment of the angels’ promise he is to return visibly in the same manner (Acts 1:9-11). |
| 3 | With all his angels: We note right away that in this scene the King arrives “with his angels.” Nothing is said about his “saints” (Revelation 17:14) who are the judges of the world (1 Corinthians 6:2). This is the earliest hint that this is the parousia-judgment on the Realm of Heaven, the realm of profession of the Christian church. It is time for the King to judge his own Household (1 Corinthians 4:5; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 John 2:28; 4:17; 1 Peter 4:5, 17). See how the angels do the harvesting in Matthew 13:41. |
| 4 | He will sit down upon his glorious throne [of judgment]: This is not the beginning of his rule. He is already King when he returns (Luke 19:11, 12; 1 Corinthians 15:24; Ephesians 1:19-22). The throne here is the “judgment-seat” of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10). This is not the same “throne” of Revelation 20:12. All of thee parables are about judgment. |
Dear Friends of the Nazarene,
We choose Matthew 25:31 as the theme verse of chapter twenty-five – Parousia-Judgment. Jesus continues to answer the questions of his four apostles on the Mount of Olives. He begins with a parable comparing the Christian Church [“the kingdom [domain or territory] of the “kingdom of the heavens” to a bridegroom [Christ] and ten virgins – five wise and five foolish. [1-12] He moral or principle is “keep on the watch”. [13] The Nazarene continues with another parable about staying occupied with the Master’’ business interests. [14-30]
The final parable regarding the parousia or return of the King to judge his Household is the illustration of the sheep and the goats. [31-46] When Christ returns he will first judge his own followers – the righteous sheep and the wicked goats within his own Church. The “sheep” are those who were kind, charitable and hospitable to even the humblest Christian. The “goats” are those who simple did nothing in this regard, but were uncaring and lacked empathy.
Abba our Father bless the caring sheep.
[17 November 2002]
