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. 32All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then 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: 35for 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; 36I 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? 38When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40And 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: 42for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43I 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?' 45Then 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.' 46And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
The Son of Man will judge the nations. This text makes it apparent that what you do or don’t do to others, you are actually doing to Him. As those being judged asked, how can this be?
Jesus often talks of His father in heaven, but still refers to himself as the Son of Man. Shouldn’t he instead be referring to himself as the Son of God? The people were waiting for the Son of David. Jesus was born to Mary, became man. But I believe the title of Son of Man means so much more than his human birth. What does he reveal to us about the Son of Man? Here is a list of all the times He talks of the Son of Man in the Book of Matthew:
| Matthew 8:19-21: And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Matthew 9:5-7: But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- then He said to the paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." Matthew 10:22-24: When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. Matthew 11:18-20: The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children." Matthew 12:7-9: For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." Matthew 12:31-33: Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man , it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. Matthew 12:39-41: For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Matthew 13:36-38: He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. Matthew 13:40-42: The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, Matthew 16:12-14: When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" Matthew 16:26-28: For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. Matthew 16:27-29: Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." Matthew 17:8-10: Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead." Matthew 17:11-13: But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands." Matthew 17:21-23: Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, Matthew 18:10-12: For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. Matthew 19:27-29: So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Matthew 20:17-19: "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, Matthew 20:27-29: just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Matthew 24:26-28: For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Matthew 24:29-31: Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Matthew 24:36-38: But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Matthew 24:38-40: and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Matthew 24:43-45: Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 25:12-14: "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. Matthew 25:30-32: "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. |
What does all this say about the Son of Man? He came to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. He has the power to forgive sins, including sins against Him. He is the Lord of the Sabbath, the day given for man to rest. He is the sower of the good seed.
The people would not understand Him or His actions. He would be betrayed and condemned to death. He would suffer at the hands of man. He would be dead 3 days and nights, and would be risen from the dead and come into His kingdom.
At an unexpected day and hour, His sign will appear in heaven and He will return on the clouds of heaven with His angels with power and in the Glory of His Father. His coming will be swift as they remove those that offend, and reward each according to his works.
But the interesting part of this is that it starts with saying that He has nowhere to lay his head. I don’t believe He was just referring to having no place to call home while He walked this earth. For today’s text says when He comes in His glory, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. Even though He will come into His kingdom upon his resurrection, He will not rest till He comes in His glory.
Everything that He does is for us, for man. Everything about Him is for man. That is what I believe He means by being called the Son of Man. He is so much a part of us and we a part of Him that everything we do and don’t do to man, we do to Him.
His work is endless. His work is tireless. He has nowhere to rest till we come to our intended home in heaven. It isn’t until then that He will sit on the throne of glory. But unfortunately, it is at that time that we will also face our final judgment.
And what of the kingdom? Jesus says it is “the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of time”. It was prepared for man. From the foundation of the world, it was intended that man would one day inherit the kingdom. But even with all this work that Jesus is doing for man, there will be those who do not listen to Him, who will be cast into everlasting fire, a fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. Jesus has a place prepared for us. Don’t throw it all away. For our only other alternative is not what was originally intended for us.