The great King and Judge of the whole earth had before given sentence for those on his right hand, who are now possessed of their kingdom, and sit with him to judge the world. He now comes to sentence the goats at the left hand, whose judgment is to eternal misery; lying in two things:

1. In a departure from God, so as never more to have any favour from him.

2. In a sense of pain and misery, exceeding that which fire causeth to a body consuming with it.

In this life wicked men are capable of some presence of God with them, and receive several favours from God, in gifts of common providence and common grace; which might serve either as encouragements to allure them, or means to help them, in turning to God: but having abused these, the righteous God in that day will totally depart from them, and they shall receive no more tokens of kindness and favour from him; and whereas, by the advantages they had from such a presence of Divine providence, as God was pleased in this life to allow them, they lived in some degrees of pleasure and liberty, which they were not thankful for, they shall at that day be condemned to eternal torments. Nor shall the justice of God be impeached for disproportioning eternal torments to temporary sinnings; for the infiniteness of the Majesty offended, to which satisfaction is due, is to be considered, and is so amongst men, who think it reasonable to recompense a prince or nobleman for an injury done to them with ten thousand pounds, which they would not recompense to an equal with so many shillings.

Beside that, every sinner hath sinned in suo infinito, to the utmost line of his time, and wanted nothing but more time to have sinned more, for he had a will to have sinned infinitely. This everlasting fire is said to be prepared for the devil and his angels; not because it was not also prepared for men, but the evil angels were condemned to it before man had sinned, so that man comes but into a share with the evil angels; and by this God also lets us know that they are the children of the devil by evil works, Joh 8:44; 1Jo 3:8. Having determined their punishments, and pronounced their sentence, he comes to justify himself in it: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat, &c. For here may be interpreted as a causal; for though none merits his own salvation, yet every sinners destruction is of himself, and he meriteth his condemnation. The mentioning only of sins of omission, and those only as to acts of charity, doth not only teach us that sins of omission are enough to damn us, but that omissions of acts of charity to the distressed members of Christ are such sins, as, if not repented of, and washed off with the blood of Christ, are enough to condemn us to the pit of hell; and such things as God doth keep in mind, and will in a more special manner reckon with men for. I cannot pass by a reflection which I find almost all interpreters make upon this text: If those in the day of judgment shall be sent to hell who do not feed the poor members of Christ, and give them to drink when they are thirsty, what shall be done to those who pluck the bread out of their mouths which they have got in the sweat of their face, and spill the drink which their own labours or others liberality hath given them to drink? If those shall have their portion with the devil and his angels who give not entertainment to them when they are banished and strangers, what shall become of them who are instruments of their banishment, and to make them strangers? If it shall go so hard with those that clothe them not when they are naked, what shall become of those who any way help to strip them naked? If those shall not escape the vengeance of God who do not visit them when they are sick, and in prison, where shall they appear who cast them into prisons, and are means of those diseases that shorten their lives, by their barbarous usages of them? Those that smite their fellow servants had need be sure that it be not for well doing. Our Lord here tells us, that the wicked in that day will say, When saw we thee an hungred, &c. they did not deny that they had refused to give bread to the hungry; but they deny that they ever saw Christ an hungred, and did not feed him. Persecutors have always ill names to give the servants of God, pretending still a great reverence for God and Christ. But mark our Lords answer, and that with an oath:

Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. It is no matter what you thought of or called those to whom you showed no mercy; you see they are here at my right hand. You might have known them to be my sheep, you saw them hear my voice, and following me: you, in casting them into prison, cast me; in starving them, you starved me; and in stripping them of their goods, you stripped me. Therefore, go, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

41.Then shall he say also unto themon the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, &c.As for youon the left hand, ye did nothing for Me. I came to you also, but yeknew Me not: ye had neither warm affections nor kind deeds to bestowupon Me: I was as one despised in your eyes.” “In oureyes, Lord? We never saw Thee before, and never, sure, behaved we soto Thee.” “But thus ye treated these little ones thatbelieve in Me and now stand on My right hand. In the disguise ofthese poor members of Mine I came soliciting your pity, but ye shutup your bowels of compassion from Me: I asked relief, but ye had noneto give Me. Take back therefore your own coldness, your owncontemptuous distance: Ye bid Me away from your presence, and now Ibid you from MineDepart from Me, ye cursed!“

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Then shall he also say unto them on his left hand,…. The goats, the foolish virgins, and slothful and wicked servants,

depart from me: a like expression is used by him to preachers of the word, and professors of religion, that are mere nominal ones. Mt 7:23 and such are intended here, who professed to be on Christ’s side, had been in his visible church, and hoped to have been with him for ever; but having nothing but the lamp of a profession, and some external works to trust to, they are bid to be gone from him; they are banished his presence, which is what is commonly called the punishment of loss; the loss of the presence of God, Father, Son, and Spirit, angels, and saints; and is thought to be greater than the punishment of sense, hereafter expressed. The character given of them, which is the reverse of the former, is,

ye cursed; for having sinned against God, and his righteous law, they are cursed by it, which curses everyone that is under its works, as these were, and do not perfectly fulfil whatsoever it requires; and so were justly rejected of God, and hated by him: and therefore are condemned and sent,

into everlasting fire: by which is meant, the wrath of God; and the phrase expresses the intolerable fierceness of it, and its perpetual continuance; the sense of which, without intermission, will ever be felt in the conscience; and is the punishment of sense, the wicked will for ever endure: it may also intend the pit and prison of hell, where these torments will be for ever inflicted; and so hell is called by the Jews k, the hell , “eternal fire”, or “everlasting burning”: and is here said to be

prepared for the devil and his angels; for Satan, or Beelzebub, the prince of devils, and all his principalities and powers under him: it is not said to be prepared for these persons, though it was, and who were foreordained to this condemnation, but for the devil and his angels; showing, that the same punishment will be inflicted on hypocrites and carnal professors, as on the devils themselves; and it is indeed of such, that the devouring fire, and everlasting burnings are spoken, in Isa 33:14, to which this passage seems to have some respect; for no where else is mention made of this everlasting fire: it is not said neither when it was prepared. It is a notion of the Jews l, that the angels were created on the second day; and it should seem by them, that they fell the same day; hence it is a prevailing opinion among them m, that hell was made on the second day of the creation; though at, other times, they reckon hell among the seven things which were created before the world was n, and which may be reconciled together: for as heaven, the place of the saints’ happiness, was prepared from the foundation of the world, or on the first day of its creation, though the happiness itself was provided long before; so hell, the place of the torments of the devils and wicked, though it was not made or prepared until the second day of the creation, when, according to this opinion, the angels were made and fell; yet the punishment they were to endure there, was appointed before the world was; and so hell is said to

, “be ordained from eternity”, because of their sins o.

k Targum in Isa. xxxiii. 14. l Targum Jon. in Gen. i. 26. Pirke Eliezer, c. 4. m Targum in Cant. viii. 6. T. Bab. Pesach. fol. 54. 1. Zohar in Gen. fol. 13. 3. & 30. 2. & in Exod. fol. 61. 4. & in Deut. fol. 120. 1. Bereshit Rabba, sect. 4. fol. 4. 1. & sect. 21. fol. 19. 1. Shemot Rabba, sect. 15. fol. 101. 4. Tzeror Hammor, fol. 1. 2. & 121. & 1. 2. & 130. 3. n T. Bab. Pesach. fol. 54. 1. & Nedar. fol. 39. 2. Zokar in Lev. fol. 14. 4. Targum Jon. in Gen iii. 24. o Targum in Isa. xxx. 33.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

41. Depart from me, you cursed. He now comes to the reprobate, who are so intoxicated by their fading prosperity, that they imagine they will always be happy. He threatens, therefore, that he will come as their Judge, and that he will make them forget those luxurious enjoyments to which they are now so entirely devoted; not that the coming of Christ will strike them with terror—for they think that they

have made a covenant with death, (Isa 28:15,)

and harden themselves in wicked indifference—but that believers, warned of their dreadful ruin, may not envy their present lot. For as promises are necessary for us, to excite and encourage us to holiness of life, so threatenings are likewise necessary to restrain us by anxiety and fear. We are therefore taught how desirable it is to be united to the Son of God; because everlasting destruction and the torment of the flesh await all those whom he will drive from his presence at the last day. He will then order the wicked to depart from him, because many hypocrites are now mixed with the righteous, as if they were closely allied to Christ.

Into everlasting fire. We have stated formerly, that the term fire represents metaphorically that dreadful punishment which our senses are unable to comprehend. It is therefore unnecessary to enter into subtle inquiries, as the sophists do, into the materials or form of this fire; for there would be equally good reason to inquire about the worm, which Isaiah connects with the

fire for their worm shall not die, either shall their fire be quenched, (Isa 66:24.)

Besides, the same prophet shows plainly enough in another passage that the expression is metaphorical; for he compares the Spirit of God to a blast by which the fire is kindled, and adds a mixture of brimstone, (Isa 30:33.) Under these words, therefore, we ought to represent to our minds the future vengeance of God against the wicked, which, being more grievous than all earthly torments, ought rather to excite horror than a desire to know it. But we must observe the eternity of this fire, as well as of the glory which, a little before, was promised to believers.

Which is prepared for the devil. Christ contrasts with himself the devil, as the head of all the reprobate. For though all the devils are apostate angels, yet many passages of Scripture assign thee highest authority to one who assembles under him, as in one body, all the wicked to perdition; in the same manner as believers assemble to life under Christ, and grow under him, till, having reached perfection, they are entirely united by him to God, (Eph 4:13; Col 2:19.) But now Christ says, that hell is prepared for the devil, that wicked men may not entertain the belief that they will be able to escape it, when they hear that they are involved in the same punishment with the devil, who, it is certain, was long ago sentenced and condemned to hell, without any hope of deliverance.

And his angels. By the devil’s angels some understand wicked men, but it is more probable that Christ speaks only of devils. And so these words convey an indirect reproach, that men, who had been called to the hope of salvation through the Gospel, chose to perish with Satan, and, rejecting the Author of salvation, voluntarily threw themselves into this wretched condition; not that they were not appointed to destruction as well as the devil, but because in their crime is plainly seen the cause of their destruction, when they reject the grace of their calling. And thus, though the reprobate were devoted to death, by a secret judgment of God, before they were born, yet, so long as life is offered to them, they are not reckoned heirs of death or companions of Satan, but their perdition, which had been formerly concealed, is discovered and made evident by their unbelief.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(41) Ye cursed.The omission of the words of My Father, which might have seemed necessary to complete the parallelism with Mat. 25:34, is every way significant. He is not the author of the curse. Those who have brought themselves under the curse by their own evil deeds He no longer acknowledges as His.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

41. Prepared for the devil and his angels Sad mistake of these men! A glorious kingdom was prepared and predestinated for them (see our comment on Mat 25:34) from the foundation of the world; but lo! they have missed that predestinated lot, and fallen into an everlasting fire not intended for them, but prepared for the devil and his angels! As if God had provided no hell for men! He had secured a Redeemer mighty enough, and a heaven capacious enough for all, and had made no other arrangements. So God’s plans of mercy are not accomplished, and his predestinations are not fulfilled. But as they had made themselves utterly unfit for heaven, he stows them away forever in the devil’s lake of fire.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

“Then will he say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels,’ ”

Then comes the judgment declared on ‘those on His left hand’. Notice the anonymity of the description. They are all who are not ‘the righteous, the blessed of the Father’. They are those who are indifferent to, or at odds with, Jesus Christ, as revealed by their attitude towards His followers. Only this could justify their sentence. In contrast to those who are ‘blessed’, these are ‘cursed’. And as a result they are to depart into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.

Of great interest here is Jesus’ emphasis on the fact that the eternal fire had not been prepared for mankind. Originally it had been prepared for spirit beings. This in itself reveals that it is not physical fire, which could not touch spiritual beings. But these out of mankind are to experience it also because they have sided with the Devil and his angels. They have rejected God and His Law in practise if not in theory, and above all they have rejected His Son. And thus their destiny is to share the fate of the main rebels against God. Thus originally God’s purpose was that all men should be righteous and enjoy eternal life. It was man who chose otherwise. The final realisation of the fate of all that is evil is described in Rev 19:20; Rev 20:10; Rev 20:14.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The sentence upon the unrighteous:

v. 41. Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.

v. 42. For I was an hungered, and ye gave Me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink;

v. 43. I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in; naked, and ye clothed Me not; sick and in prison, and ye visited Me not.

v. 44. Then shall they also answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee?

v. 45. Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me.

v. 46. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.

A fearful arraignment and a just of those on the left hand of the King: Instead of the “Blessed” which they expected a “Cursed,” instead of the “Come” a “Depart from Me. ” Several very important points: He does not say, Cursed of My Father, for they have brought the curse upon themselves. The everlasting fire was not prepared for them, but really only for the devil and his angels. And this fire was not prepared from the beginning of the world, God had no counsel according to which He willed the damnation of any man. They have no one to blame but themselves, this just sentence strikes them by no one’s fault but their own. By the same method of appraisal of values which Christ used in the case of the righteous, they have been weighed and found wanting. They have not spent their life in the activity of good works flowing from the love of Christ. They may have gloried in deeds which are accounted great in the sight of men, and which are wont to receive headline notices in the daily papers. But in the peculiar works of true charity, in the little deeds of service from day to day, in that life of kindness which is the natural outflow of a heart filled with faith and love toward Christ, they have been altogether deficient. Therefore all their works, even those upon which they have prided themselves, were evil, since they were not of faith. And who can picture the terror of the hypocrites among the Christians, “that had the form of godliness, but denied the power thereof, when on the Last Day their lack of mercy is reckoned against them! True, if Christ were to appear in person on earth, with a proper press-agent and manager, undoubtedly the world would be willing enough to dine Him and fete Him. But that is not the service He is looking for. What is done to one of the least of these, His brethren, in simple love, flowing like a pure stream, from a heart filled with faith in Him, that is recorded as being done to Him. As for the unrighteous, their doom is sealed: everlasting punishment is their lot, while the righteous, those justified through their faith in the Redeemer, will go into everlasting life. The former, by their own fault, have forfeited the happiness of Christ’s love and eternal glory; the latter, through the love and mercy of Jesus, which have become theirs by faith, will inherit the joys of everlasting blessing.

Summary. In order to emphasize the need of watchfulness and faithfulness, Jesus tells the parables of the ten virgins and of the talents, and gives a detailed description of the Last Judgment.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Mat 25:41-46. Depart from me, ye cursed What the wicked are here represented as answering, Mat 25:44 perhaps may only intimate that such will be the language of their hearts; which Christ perceiving, will reply to it, as in Mat 25:45. But there is no necessity for supposing that they will actually plead thus; multitudes, no doubt, will remember, that they have only heard what reply will be made to such a plea. God grant that none who read it here, may be in the number of those to whom it will be made! in this parable the absolution of the righteous is represented as happening before the condemnation of the wicked, to shew that God takes greater delight in rewarding, than in punishing mankind. Moreover it is remarkable, that the fire of hell is here said to be prepared, not for the wicked, but for the devil and his angels; whereas the kingdom of heaven is said to be prepared expressly for the righteous. Perhaps our Lord by this designed to teach us, that God’s original intention was to make men happy, and not to damn them. No sooner were we created, than a state of consummate felicity was formed for us. But the fire of hell was prepared for the devil and his angels, namely, after their fall; and because wicked men partake with devils, in their sin of rebellion against God, they are doomed to share with them in their punishment. Perhaps also the fire of hell is declared to be made for the devil and his angels, to intimate the greatness of themisery, to which men irreclaimably wicked shall be consigned. The punishment which they shall suffer is of the heaviest kind, being the punishment of devils. The condemnation of the wicked for having neglected to take pity on Christ’s brethren, does not imply that he would have our works of charity confined to good men; or that he does not disapprove of inhumanity and cruelty towards those who are bad. The circumstance is formed only to shew more effectually, the niggardly, merciless, selfish disposition of the wicked: for if a person be hard-hearted to a saint, he will be so to a sinner: so that it was needless to mention their cruelty to such. The issue of the judgment, as it is represented in this parable, is aweful beyond description. These shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. If the meaning of this short sentence were fully understood or duly considered, what an impression would it make upon the soul; everlasting punishment!everlasting life! What is there which is not comprehended in these words; and how miserable are they, who dare to venture their souls on the supposition, that the important word in the original [] which is the same in both places, signifies a limited duration in either!

It may seem strange, that in this representation of the judgment, the equity should be said to turn, not upon the commission of crimes, but upon the performance of duties. The reason may be, that, generally speaking, men look upon the neglect of duties as a trivial affair, but dread the commission of crimes: and hence it comes to pass, that while they keep themselves clear of the latter, they are apt to find many excuses for the former. Wherefore, as there is not a more pernicious error respecting religion and morality than this, it was highly becoming the wisdom of Jesus, to give such an account of the judgment, as should be the most solemn caution possible against it.

But since the enquiry is said to turn wholly upon the performance of duties, it may seem more strange still, that the offices of charity are mentioned, and not a word spoken of any search made into men’s conduct with regard to the duties of piety. To vindicate this part of the representation, let it be considered, that piety and love never can subsist separately: piety and its root, faith, always producing love andcharity; and love, wherever it subsists, necessarily pre-supposing piety. See on chap. Mat 22:37, &c.

The connection between piety and charity will clearly appear, provided this dictate of enlightened reason and experience is attended to: namely, that no man can be truly benevolent and merciful without loving those dispositions. If so, he must love benevolence in God, that is, he must love God himself:for piety, or the love of God, is nothing else but the regard that we cherish towards God, on account of his perfections; and, above all, on account of his love to us, manifested in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Piety and true charity being thus essentially connected together, to examine men’s conduct with respect to either of thesegraces was sufficient. In the parable the inquiry is represented as turning upon the duties of charity; perhaps because in this branch of goodness there is less room for self-deceit than in the other. Hypocrites, by shewing much zeal in the externals of religion, oftentimes make specious pretensions of extraordinary piety, and uncommon heights of the love of God; while in the mean time they are altogether defective in charity; are covetous, unjust, rapacious, and proud; consequently really void of the love of God.
The case is otherwise with the love of man. None can assume the appearance of this grace, but by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, relieving the distressed, visiting the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and performing the other friendly offices of love, according to their abilities and respective stations in life. Charity therefore does not so easily admit of self-deceit. It is true, works of charity may proceed from other principles than the holy root of a pious benevolent disposition,such as from vanity, or even from views of interest; but then it must be remembered, that an ordinaryhypocrisy will hardly engage men to undertake them in anyextensive degree. They are by far too weighty duties to be sustained by those hollow false principles which support bad men, and therefore are seldomer counterfeited in any large measure than acts of devotion.
This parable therefore teaches us, in the plainest manner, that pretensions to piety, however loud, will avail a man nothing at the bar of God, if he be deficient in works of charity. At the same time, taken in its true light, it gives no manreason to hope well either of himself, or of others, if they be wanting in their duty to God; even though they should not only be charitable but grateful also, and just,and temperate, and outwardly blameless in all their dealings with men. The reason of this is, the duty that we owe to God is no other than what is due to men, in the like circumstances, and which if we neglected, we should be unjust to them. It consists of dispositions and actions, the same in kind, but different in degree proportionably to the perfection of the ob
He who loves and admires holiness, justice, goodness, and truth in men, cannot but love these perfections in God; that is, he must love God: so likewise he that is truly grateful to an earthly benefactor, cannot be ungrateful to one, from whose bounty all the good things that he enjoys do flow. And since ingratitude in men consists in this, that the person obliged forgets the benefit he has received, never thinks of his benefactor, and is at no pains to make suitable returns; how can he acquit himself from the charge of ingratitude, who never thinks of God, nor of all the favours which he has received from him; has no sense of the obligations he lies under to him, and is not at the pains so much as to return him thanks; that is to say, wholly neglects the internal and external exercises of devotion. Since therefore the duty which we owe to God is the same in kind with that which men claimfrom us in like circumstances, it is unquestionable that true morality never can exist where there is no piety; and that for one to pretend to morality who is destitute of piety, is altogether ridiculous.
But if this parable gives persons no encouragement who are destitute of piety, although they make a fair shew of many moral virtues; it much less gives those any ground of hope, who are not only void of piety, but are faulty almost in every respect; unless it be that they have a lovely kind of tenderness and humanity in their disposition, which leads them on some occasions to do excellent acts of beneficence. For though there be nothing said of any enquiry made concerning the duties of justice, temperance, chastity, and fidelity, we are by no means on that account to fancy these virtues shall not be inquired afterat the judgment, and rewarded in the faithful; or that the contrary vices of falsehood, and fraud, and debauchery shall not be taken notice of and punished. Genuine holy love, frequently called charity, being the end of the commandment, so far as it respects our duty to men, is the higher branch, and therefore has for its supports justice, veracity, and the other social virtues; or rather is the fountain of them all: moreover, being connected with temperance, chastity, and self-government, it can never be without these attendant graces, the neglect of which is evidently a direct and gross breach of love. In a word, as among the vices, so among the graces and virtues, there is a natural affinity and close connection. They are somehow absolutely essential and necessary to each other, and so can in no case subsist separately. For which reason, if any of them be wanting, much more if so capital a virtue as the love of God be wanting, it is a sure proof that our charity, our justice, our temperance, or whatever other graces we may seem to have, are but the mimickry of those virtues, and not the virtues themselves. At the same time, it cannot be denied that the parable is formed so, as to give us the highest idea of works of charity; they are demanded at the judgment as the fruit of all the virtues, and loudly applauded wherever they are found flowing from right motives. On the other hand, hard-heartedness, cruelty, and uncharitableness, are branded with the blackest marks of infamy. And we may observe, in conclusion, that our Lord’s declarations on this occasion, open a very wide field for the exercise of charity by the poor as well as by the rich.

Inferences.The same great and important truth, that there is no such thing as negative goodness, is three times shewn in this chapter. In the parable of the virgins,in the much plainer parable of the servants who had received the talents,and in a direct declaration of the manner wherein our Lord will proceed at the last day. The several parts of these answer exactly to each other, only each rises above the preceding.

In the first parable we cannot fail to observe, that the virgins differ in no respect save one. They are called virgins; they all take lamps; they all go forth to meet the bridegroom; they all slumber and sleep; they are all awakened and arise, and prepare to trim their lamps. The great and only difference which so materially distinguishes them is,with the foolish, the want of oil in their vessels; with the wise, the possession of that oil; and this is the only thing that can distinguish true and formal professors: each is called by the name of Christ; each is baptized, and made a candidate for immortality; each dies, and slumbers in the grave; and each will be awakened by the last trump. But then the material difference will be found: these shall hear, “Come ye blessed; for I was hungry, and ye gave me meat, &c. and thus proved your faith by your living, holy works of mercy and of love;”while those shall hear, “Depart, ye cursed; for I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat, &c. professing my faith only, but destitute of that love and charity to your brethren, which is the sure characteristic of all my disciples.”

How careful should we be to provide for this decisive day; to see that we bear not an empty lamp only; are not Christians merely in name, but Christians in heart and life! To this purpose we should labour to obtain the divine oil of the Spirit; carefully examining ourselves, whether we be in the faith,whether we have redemption through the Blood of the covenant, even the forgiveness of sins? If we can answer these inquiries in the affirmative, to the glory of the grace of God, let us further examine, whether we love God more and more; whether we find the love of our neighbour more and more increased;whether we find our love of holiness, and our desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ, daily advancing and quickening into perfection? Thus should we be solicitous and careful in our inquiries after the supplies of grace; not content merely to stand still, to remain from year to year the same; but zealous through divine grace to pluck every evil from our hearts, and to implant there all the fair flowers of paradise, all the sweet graces and holy affections which make the soul indeed the kingdom of God, and transfuse an ineffable sweetness and happiness into our whole life and conversation. Giver of all good gifts! make us more than ordinarily zealous to increase in holiness and in all good works, that we may not only adorn the profession of our Lord and Saviour, but be found happily prepared, with our lamps trimmed and burning, when the blessed bridegroom calls, and gives us a glorious admission into his everlasting joy.

In the parable of the talents, our Saviour describes in a striking manner the judgment of his own servants,his apostles, ministers, and all who are in eminent stations of life; shewing, that though they are not blessed indeed with equal advantages, yet all the gifts, whether of nature or of grace, which they have enjoyed, are bestowed on them for their Master’s service, to whom they properly belong; and that they should be employed in promoting his interest, the interests of truth and righteousness, which he came to establish on earth:he, who esteems the most holy and useful life to be the most praise-worthy, and will reward it accordingly.

The behaviour of a good man in an eminent station of life is fitly enough compared to a course of merchandize; for as merchants, by laying out their money in trade, receive it again with profit, so the servants of God, by occupying the abilities and opportunities which he has put into their hands, improve, strengthen, and increase them; and whatever success they have in this spiritual merchandize, their Master is pleased to consider it as his own, and to think himself enriched thereby, rejoicing infinitely in the happiness of his creatures. Can we have a fairer or more amiable view of the Deity?
The excuse which the slothful servant made for himself, truly expresses the thoughts of wicked men. They look on Christ as a hard tyrannical master, who rigorously exacts what he has no title to, and who punishes with unreasonable severity things that are no faults at all, or but small ones; and they regard his laws as so many infringements of their liberty, by which they are secluded from much innocent pleasure. But the answer which the Judge is said to have returned, demonstrates that all the excuses which wicked men can make for themselves, will avail them nothing at the great day; and truly, it is not to be imagined how any man can produce before God a reason sufficient to justify his neglect of doing good, and improving those talents which are entrusted to him solely for that purpose.
The crime and punishment of this idle servant ought to be attentively considered by all; especially by persons addicted to pleasure, who imagine that there is no harm in giving themselves up to sensual gratifications, provided thereby they do no injury to others: for the Judge of the world here solemnly declares, that to have done no harm, will be by no means a sufficient plea at his bar; that a life spent in amusements will be severely punished; that it is highly criminal to suffer the divine grace to lie buried in idleness; and that all God’s servants must be actively good, exerting themselves to the utmost in promoting his interest, which is no other than the happiness of his creatures. By this indeed they acquire no merit; yet it is by this that they are qualified for the enjoyment of heaven, the gates of which Christ has set open by his blood.
But further we may reflect, that if the servant who hid his talent in a napkin was reckoned unfaithful to his trust, and punished accordingly, notwithstanding he delivered it up to his lord intire; what may they expect, who destroy the noble faculties bestowed on them, or use those temporal blessings as occasions of sin, which God intended as means for the exercise and improvements of grace? See more in the Reflections, and in the Inferences on Luke 19 and, for the latter part of this chapter, the note on the last verse.

REFLECTIONS.1st, Though the parable contained in the first part of this chapter may, as connected with the former chapter, have a particular reference to the destruction of the Jewish people, who had slighted the gospel-salvation, and neglected their day of grace; yet it may be well understood as of more general import, and including a warning and caution to men in every age and place.

The parable itself is taken from a common custom in those days, when the bridegroom used to go in the evening attended by his friends, to the house of the bride, who, on hearing of his approach, went out with lights, accompanied by a number of virgins, her companions, to welcome his arrival, and conduct him to the entertainment provided on that occasion; and such shall be the state of the gospel-church at the coming of Christ, as we see represented in this parable. See the Critical Notes. We have,
1. The persons spoken of, the virgins, who went out with their lamps to meet the Bridegroom. The Bridegroom is the Lord Jesus, who condescends to call his church his spouse; and to honour every member of it with that near and exalted relation. The virgins are those professors of religion, who appear desirous to present themselves to Christ, in the comeliness, beauty, and simplicity, which his grace puts upon them: they go forth to meet him, found in his ways and ordinances here on earth, expecting his coming from heaven, and if they are Christians indeed, loving and looking for the day of his appearing.

2. The characters of the virgins. They were very different, as their actions shewed. Five of them were wise; and as an evidence of their foresight and prudence, they took care to be well provided with oil, that they might have enough, if they should continue long in waiting. These represent the faithful souls made wise unto salvation, whose hearts are truly supplied with the oil of divine grace, and have not only the light of profession, but the real experimental knowledge of Jesus Christ, possess a living principle, and partake of a divine nature: but five were foolish, who, though in appearance associated with the others, were unacquainted with the life-giving truths of the Gospel, professors, but not possessors of the grace which is in Jesus Christ; shining to others in a name to live, but really dead and dark in their own souls: they have lamps; but no oil with them, destitute of spiritual life; careful only to make a fair show in the flesh, and recommend themselves to their neighbours as Christians, without a single eye to Christ, and a real desire in simplicity and godly sincerity to approve themselves to him. And they are foolish indeed, who, thus deceiving others, most fatally deceive and destroy their own souls.

3. The bridegroom not coming so soon as they expected, they all slumbered and slept; but as their state was different when awake, it was different also when asleep,at least with respect to their souls in the state of separate spirits.

4. At midnight, the cry of the bridegroom’s approach startled them from their slumbers, and instantly they were summoned to meet him with their lamps: thus suddenly surprised are we often by death. But does our Lord delay? Is this moment yet our own? Awake then, thou that sleepest, prevent this dire alarm.
5. Instantly they arose, and began to trim their lamps. The wise trimmed their lamps which were then flaming with love, and welcomed their Redeemer, confidently expecting to be found of him in peace. The foolish too essayed to prepare, but alas! too late; their lamps were gone out, and no oil to be procured: in vain they seek to beg from their companions, or buy from others; they have lost the moment which cannot be regained. While there is life, indeed, the market is still open to the latest moment; they who come to Christ may buy pardon, grace, and peace, without money and without price: but when death closes the scene, the lamp of hope is for ever extinguished; and as the tree falleth, it must lie.
6. While the foolish virgins went in buy, the bridegroom came. Many on their death-beds express deep concern for their neglected souls, and think by some extraordinary acts of devotion and charity still to purchase heaven; mistaking the market, and spending their labours on that which satisfieth not. Christ alone can save a sinking soul, and to the last; they who in this day of trial come humbly and sincerely to him, never find it too late.They that were ready went in with him to the marriage; all who are found justified through his infinite merit, and shining in the graces of his Spirit, are admitted to his eternal presence, and sit down with him in glory: and then the door was shut; they who are entered into the rest of the blessed, go out no more; and they who are once excluded, can never more gain admission: the great gulph is fixed, and despair has for ever barred the door of hope. Too late the foolish virgins came, importunately asking for admittance, but all entrance is refused them, and the Bridegroom utterly disowns them: verily I say unto you, I know you not; and woe to that sinner who is thus abandoned of God to his misery, and doomed never to enter into the rest which remains for the people of God.

7. The inference from the whole is, Watch therefore; the concerns of our souls are infinitely momentous, and will not admit of being trifled with; the time is short, eternity depends upon our improvement of it. We know neither the day nor the hour when we shall be summoned away; the sleeping virgins had a midnight call, and why not you or I? Watch therefore, that you may be always ready to go forth with joy to meet the Lord.

2nd, As a farther illustration of the method in which the Lord will deal with the visible members of his church, the parable immediately following the preceding is delivered. Christ is the great Master and Lord of all; we are all his servants in profession, and they especially who are put in trust with the Gospel: our great business therefore here below is, to make our profiting appear to the glory of our Lord. We are told,
1. Of the trust committed to the servants during their Master’s absence. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to the least a very considerable sum. (1.) These talents refer to the gifts that he bestowed on his disciples after his ascension, qualifying them with extraordinary miraculous powers, and furnishing them with ability for the discharge of the arduous trust committed to them while he went up to heaven, being in the fulness of time again to return, and call his servants to an account for the improvement of that which he had committed to their care. (2.) The talents especially refer in general to all the gifts of grace, nature, and Providence, of which we are possessed, and which are lent us of the Lord, purely to serve the purposes of his glory, and promote the interests of his kingdom; and for them we must be accountable to him in the great day of his appearing. Some have more than others, God being sovereign in his gifts; and, as we deserve nothing from him, it is a mercy that we should be entrusted with the least talent. They, who by their station, abilities, or possessions, are entrusted with much, whose capital is large, and influence most extensive, have the more to answer for, and need give the greater diligence: but all have something; the meanest have one immortal soul to care for, infinitely more precious than millions of silver and gold.
2. The improvement that each made of the talents committed to them. Two of them immediately set themselves to work, and by their diligence doubled their capital. Thus faithful ministers and Christians, laying out themselves in the Redeemer’s work and service, see the most abundant blessing attending their labours of love. Their own souls are enriched with knowledge and grace, while they are serving others; the church is edified and increased, and immortal souls are gained for Christ (in his account the richest treasure).One of the servants, and he that had least, was negligent and careless, instead of making use of his talent, he went and hid it in the earth; representing herein the character of those, whether ministers or professors of religion, who make no improvement of their natural abilities, providential endowments or spiritual gifts; but are so buried in earthly-mindedness, and attention to this world’s pursuits, that they have neither inclination nor leisure to serve the interests of Christ and of souls.
3. After a long time the Master of these servants came to reckon with them: for though the Lord Jesus waits long, he will assuredly come at last; and we must at his tribunal, every one of us, render up our account. Oh! that it may be with joy and not with sorrow!
(1.) The faithful servants with readiness appeared, and gave up their accounts, highly to their master’s satisfaction, who failed not abundantly to reward their diligence. He that had five talents, had gained other five: he that had two, had doubled them: both therefore are received with approbation, and gloriously rewarded. Thus in the day of Christ, the faithful ministers and disciples of Jesus acknowledging the trust committed to them as a matter of grace, will produce full evidence of their diligence and profiting; and whether it be less or more of the gifts of grace, nature, or Providence which they have possessed, their Lord will graciously accept the improvement that they have made, will commend their fidelity, and abundantly reward them; exalting them to a throne of glory in his eternal kingdom, and admitting them into a participation of those unspeakable and never-ending joys which are at his right hand for evermore,a reward indeed infinitely exceeding all their services. But as it was through grace that they received their talents, so it is of grace, not of debt, that they receive the recompense so far beyond all they could desire or deserve.
(2.) The slothful servant next appears, and fain would excuse his own negligence by the most unjust reflection upon his gracious Master; pretending apprehensions of his austerity and rigorous exaction, as if he expected to reap where he had neither manured the soil, nor sown the seed: producing therefore the talent, and pleading fear, he hopes his Lord will be satisfied with his own, and not disapprove his care in hiding it, that he might restore it intire at his return. Such are the sentiments, pleas, and excuses of the false and faithless disciple.
[1.] He has hard thoughts of God, and thinks his demands too rigorous and severe, desirous to lay the blame of his sins on him rather than himself. [2.] He is under the bondage of mere slavish fear; the little that he affects to do proceeds from that base principle alone; and where this only reigns, utterly void of genuine love, no acceptable service can be rendered to God. [3.] He depends for his acceptance with God on a negative religion, and thinks it very sufficient if he can plead that he has done no harm, has not been so bad as others, nor indulged in these excesses which they fell into; though he can produce neither the works of faith, nor the labours of love. [4.] He presumes on the validity of his plea, and sees not that there is a lie in his right hand.
(3.) Convicted out of his own mouth, judgment is pronounced upon him. His sloth and wickedness were evident; and to be idle in the service of God is highly criminal. His very excuse shewed self-contradiction; since, if he had so austere a person to deal with, at least he should have given the money into a banker’s hands where it would have been equally safe, and borne lawful interest. Note; The sinner’s excuses in the day of judgment will but prove his guilt more evident: if God were the hard master that he pretends, he ought to have been at more pains to please him, and more diligent to improve the measure of gifts or grace, however small, which was vouchsafed unto him. Justly therefore does sentence proceed, take the talent from him; for they who use not the gifts, means, and mercies, temporal or spiritual, which they enjoy, deserve to forfeit them; and give it unto him which hath ten talents; God thus graciously rewarding the fidelity and diligence of his servant with an increase of blessings, adding to the store that he had improved; while he often strips off even the profession of the hypocrites, and deprives them of the common gifts of nature, Providence, or gospel-privileges which they before enjoyed. Nor does the unprofitable servant’s punishment rest in the mere loss of what he possessed, but in the sufferings to which he shall be doomed, when he is cast into outer darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Note; (1.) Hell is the place of the sinner’s torment, and the direct expressions of human agony and distress can but faintly represent the miseries of that dismal mansion. (2.) If the slothful and unprofitable meet so fearful a doom, where will the extravagant and abandoned appear, who have squandered instead of hiding the talent, and abused it to the most immediate dishonour and injury of the Master that entrusted them therewith?

3rdly, Without a parable, our Lord proceeds to give a delineation of that awful process, which will be observed in the great day of final judgment: may it awaken our minds to prepare for it! We have,
1. The majesty of the eternal Judge displayed. The Son of Man, the incarnate Jesus, who once suffered on a cross, and is now exalted to the crown, all power being given him in heaven and in earth,at his bar shall the nations be assembled, and every individual of the sons of Adam must then appear before him, to receive, according to the decisions of his justice, everlasting happiness, or eternal torment. In the glory of Deity, with the peculiar dignity of Mediator, shall he be revealed; the myriads of bright angelic hosts shall grace his train, and stand the ready ministers to execute his orders; while seated on a throne of glory, brighter than the sun when he goeth forth in his strength, every eye shall see him, and from his lips expect their irrevocable doom. Shall I be there? my soul, tremble at the thought, and give all diligence to be found of him in peace!

2. The all-discerning eye of Jesus, incapable of mistaking the true characters of men, shall now make the final separation. His sheep, who in faith unfeigned, and love without dissimulation, followed him the true Shepherd, shall, in distinguished honour, be placed high at his right hand: while the goats, the hypocrites and impenitent, whose hearts remain uncleansed from their native filthiness, who lived and died in sin unpardoned, shall be degraded to the left with shame, the prelude to their approaching fearful sentence. Reader, consider, where shall thy place be?

3. The faithful shall be received with the most endearing welcome. Then when he shall have made the separation, and no one spot remains among the glorious host, addressing himself with every endearment of voice and aspect, the King, whose word is with power, and his sentence unchangeable, shall say unto them, Come, ye who have followed me in the regeneration; come, to be for ever with me, to behold and partake of my glory, ye blessed children of my Father; honoured with this distinguished title; though despised, abhorred of men, precious to the God of heaven, blessed now with his eternal favour; come, inherit the kingdom, as joint-heirs with me, a kingdom which cannot be moved, eternal in the heavens; compared with which, all earthly grandeur vanishes, as the glow-worm before the meridian sun; a kingdom of never-fading glory, prepared from the foundation of the world by the power and grace of the Almighty, to crown the felicity of his faithful saints. With what rapture and delight, with what joy unspeakable and full of glory, will the faithful redeemed hear this address from the mouth of their adored Judge, of their beloved Lord! Oh! that my lot may be among these saints in light!

4. Christ mentions the evidences of their relation to him as his people, clearly shewn in the regard paid for his sake to their brethren in affliction and distress: the destitute, hungry, and naked, their hands were open to relieve; the sick were cheered by their presence and sweet counsel; and all the horrors of a prison kept them not from visiting the faithful there confined for the testimony of Jesus Christ, supporting their wants, and not ashamed of their bonds. Works of genuine charity these, which, though not meritorious, Jesus remembers, and in the riches of his grace is pleased to mention to their honour, as undoubted tokens of their faith unfeigned. (See the Critical Notes for a more enlarged view of this subject.) Surprised to hear their Lord make mention of their poor insignificant services, and with deep humility conscious how little they deserved it at his hands, the righteous were ready to question and disclaim the works attributed to them. They never saw, at least the most of them, their Lord in the flesh, and cannot hear, without some confusion, his declarations with regard to their duties; when they ever blushed to think how defective they had been: but the King from his throne shall answer, with the strongest assurances of his kind approbation of their conduct, that he regards what they did for the meanest of his disciples, whom in his infinite condescension he is pleased to call my brethren, as done unto himself. He interprets our practice by our principles. The least deed of charity, even a cup of cold water, when bestowed with a desire to his glory, and proceeding from love to him, shall be remembered. And in the least of his poor people Jesus is still present with us; and what we bestow to relieve their wants will be equally acceptable to him, as if we had visited him in the days of his flesh, and ministered to him of our substance. What an engagement and encouragement this, to every work and labour of love!

5. Sentence is passed on those at the left hand. With terror in his voice, and frowns of terrible ire, the Judge shall pronounce the unchangeable decree. Depart from me, ye objects of my abhorrence, whose guilt and impenitence provoke my indignation; be for ever banished from my presence, and therewith from all bliss, and ease, and happiness for ever. Depart, ye cursed, on whom my wrath eternally abides, and all the penalties of a broken law; vengeance shall pursue you to the bottomless pit, thither must ye be driven, into everlasting fire, to dwell in flames which never can be quenched; where an agonizing body adds to the misery of the tortured soul; and as intolerable as the torment is, so eternal shall be the suffering; no ray of hope shall ever cheer the horrid gloom: there is neither prospect of an end, nor remission of the torture, but black despair adds bitterness inexpressible to every pang which the damned feel: and this not originally designed for you, but prepared for the devil and his angels whom ye have chosen to imitate, whose service ye have devoted yourselves to, whose works ye have followed; and therefore with them must suffer; alike in sin, alike in punishment. With such companions to spend eternity, how terrible! In such torments to lie down how intolerable! O, sin, sin, what hast thou done!

6. The reason for the sentence is given, and the criminals’ plea overruled. The instances of their guilt are produced, drawn from the omissions of those duties which the righteous practised, the sure evidence of the want of that faith which worketh by love. Engrossed with selfish considerations, negligent and at ease, they cared not for the distresses of the miserable, nor sought to alleviate them: were unconcerned what the faithful suffered for their Master’s sake; and if at any time mere humanity, sensibility to distress, ostentation, or self-complacence opened their purses to the relief of indigence, their gifts never flowed from the divine principle of love to Jesus and his brethren, nor were directed to his glory alone; therefore they were as reprobate silver. They object indeed to the charge; and because they never saw Christ in the flesh, presume that they cannot be accused of thus neglecting him: but the plea is frivolous. Christ is one with every member of his church, suffers in them and with them; and every insult, slight, or neglect shewn to them, he reckons as done to himself. And this should comfort the despised and suffering servants of Jesus; he feels and takes a part in all their troubles; and let those who treat them with indignity, tremble. They may pretend, indeed, that they mean to discountenance and discourage a deluded sect, to ridicule or oppress a company of enthusiastic religionists, and the like; but men need well consider what they do, and whether they act clearly on the authority of their Bibles, and under the influence of fervent divine love; lest a persecuted Jesus should rise up terribly to avenge his own and his people’s wrongs. If the doom of the negligent, the unmerciful, and uncharitable be so dreadful, what will be the case with the unjust, and the persecutors of God’s people?
7. The sentence is no sooner pronounced than executed. These shall go away into everlasting punishment; there is no appeal from Christ’s bar, nor escape from his judgment: the doom is irrevocable, the execution immediate. Driven from his presence, they are cast into the burning lake, and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever. But the righteous, who through his grace are approved as faithful, shall go into life eternal; to the enjoyment of God in his kingdom of glory; to partake of all the blessedness which the boundless love and power of an all-sufficient God can bestow on his glorified saints; their holiness and happiness consummated, and their bliss secured to eternity.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Mat 25:41 . ] opposite of . This consigning to everlasting destruction is also a reality, and the doing of God . But the words are omitted this time, because the idea of accords only with the loving act of blessing. The divine , is the effect of holy wrath and the consequence of human guilt.

] not this time ; this the hearer knew as matter of course. The Rabbins are not agreed as to whether Gehenna, any more than paradise and the heavenly temple, came into existence before or after the first day of creation. See the passages in Wetstein. From our passage nothing can be determined one way or another, especially as it is not the aorist participle that is made use of. Observe, however, that, in this instance, Jesus does not follow up . with , as in Mat 25:34 , but with , . . .; because the fall of the angels (Jud 1:6 ; 2Pe 2:4 ), which Scripture everywhere presupposes in its doctrine of the devil and his kingdom (Hahn, Theol. d. N. T . I. p. 313 ff.), took place previous to the introduction of sin among men (Joh 8:44 ; 2Co 11:3 ), so that it was for the former in the first instance that the everlasting fire was prepared; comp. Mat 8:29 . But as men became partakers in the guilt of demons, so now are they also condemned to share in their punishment. For ., comp. 2Co 12:7 ; Rev 12:7 .

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

DISCOURSE: 1398
THE DAY OF JUDGMENT

Mat 25:34; Mat 25:41; Mat 25:46. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

IT is scarcely needful in a Christian assembly to prove that there will be a Day of Judgment; because no one entertains a doubt respecting it: but to impress on our minds a consideration of the judicial process, and of the eternal consequences which will instantly ensue, is of the utmost importance. Taking for granted, therefore, that there is amongst us a certain and universal expectation of that day, we shall proceed to notice the description which the Judge himself has given of it, from its commencement to its termination.
Let us call your attention to,

I.

The preparatory solemnities

These are comprised under two heads:

1.

The coming of the Judge

[Our blessed Lord is ordained to be the Judge both of the quick and dead. It is of himself that he speaks, when he says, The Son of Man shall come [Note: ver. 31.]. As the Son of Man, he stood at the bar of Pilate: and, as the Son of Man, he will summon the universe to his tribunal. As the Son of Man, he himself was judged, condemned, executed: and, as the Son of Man, he will pass judgment on all, whether men or devils. At his first advent he appeared in the lowest state of degradation, a worm, and no man, a reproach of men, and despised of the people [Note: Psa 22:6.]: but in that day he will come with power and great glory, surrounded by myriads of his holy angels. The pomp and glory of his appearing will infinitely surpass either the lustre of Mount Tabor, or the more terrific splendour of Mount Sinai [Note: Mat 24:30-31. 2Th 1:7-8.]. His throne will be erected in the air; and the books, both the book of his remembrance, wherein the actions of men were recorded, and the volume of inspiration, whereby they are to be judged, will be opened before him [Note: Dan 7:9-10 and thrice mentioned Rev 20:12.].]

2.

The summoning of those who are to be judged

[Before him shall be gathered all nations. Every creature, from Adam to the last of his descendants, shall appear in one vast assembly. Not one shall be absent: not one will be able to withstand the summons of the Almighty, or to elude his search. The great and mighty of the earth shall then stand on a level with the meanest beggar [Note: Rev 6:15.]. Every one shall appear in his own proper body [Note: 1Co 15:38; 1Co 15:42.]. As for the difficulty of collecting the scattered atoms of every individual, atoms that have been transformed into ten thousand different shapes, this is no difficulty with God: he who created them out of nothing by a mere act of his will, can by a similar act of volition reunite the atoms that are necessary to constitute our personal identity: and he will do it in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: and when the dead are raised, then, and not till then, will he change the bodies of those who are alive upon the earth, that they also, together with those who are risen, may meet the Lord in the air [Note: 1Th 4:15-17.].]

The whole human race being come into the presence of their Judge, he will proceed to,

II.

The trial

There will be a strict inquiry into their respective works
[We do not suppose that their regard to him and his salvation will be overlooked [Note: Mar 16:16. Heb 2:3.]: but it will be ascertained by the fruits which they brought forth. If their faith was not productive of good works, it will be accounted only as the faith of devils. But what are the fruits which alone will be considered as just evidences of our love to Christ? O that this matter were duly weighed amongst us! It will not be asked merely, Whether we transgressed the law by grosser acts of sin, such as uncleanness, or drunkenness, or theft, or perjury, or murder; but whether we were active in doing good to our fellow-creatures for Christs sake? Whether we fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited the sick, and delighted ourselves in all offices of love to our fellow-creatures from a sense of love to Christ, and with a view to his glory [Note: ver. 35, 36.]? Yes, on this will the salvation or condemnation of men depend. Mark it well, my brethren. It is not for formal duties or empty professions that any will be applauded, but for active, diligent, unremitted exertions in the cause of Christ: nor is it for sins of commission merely that any will perish, but for sins of omission [Note: Compare Mat 7:21. with ver. 25, 27, 30 and ver. 42, 43.].]

Then will they be separated according to their true characters
[The characters of all will then be as easily discerned as sheep are discerned from goats; and they will be separated accordingly, the sheep on the right hand of their Judge, and the goats on his left hand. Then will be seen two wonderful sights; the righteous, however separated from each other by trifling forms or various sentiments on earth, all united in one body, and perfectly of one heart and mind. Nor will there be so much as one hypocrite found amongst them: the tares which now grow among the wheat will all be plucked up: the wolves in sheeps clothing will all be detected; and the whole collective mass be holy, even as God himself is holy. Then also will all the wicked be standing in one vast congregation together. Those who had mixed themselves with the saints on earth will have the mask taken away, and be made to appear in all their natural deformity: and those trembling saints who were wont to number themselves amongst them, will have had their integrity cleared, and their doubts removed: and all, whether righteous or wicked, will take their proper place, according as the evidence, adduced before their Judge, attested or disproved their piety.]
The trial closed, the Judge will proceed immediately to,

III.

The sentence

He will first address himself to those on his right hand
[Among the reasons which might be assigned for his first pronouncing sentence on the righteous, the principal seems to be, that they are to be his assessors in judgment, and to confirm the sentence which he will pronounce upon the ungodly [Note: Mat 19:28.]. But from the moment of their separation, what joy will till every breast! What mutual congratulations will resound on every side! How delightful will be their anticipation of the felicity that awaits them! What smiles too will beam forth in the countenance of their Judge, when he shall turn towards them!

In his address to them, though he mentions their good works, in order to manifest the equity of his procedure, yet he traces up all their blessedness to the sovereign grace of him, who had loved them from before the foundation of the world. It was the Father who had chosen them from all eternity [Note: Eph 1:4.], who had sent them a Saviour; who in due time had called them by his grace; and who was the true source of all the blessings they enjoyed [Note: Jam 1:17.]. Hence he calls them, Ye blessed of my Father. In bidding them to take possession of the kingdom prepared for them, he marks very strongly the same idea: for he tells them to inherit it: by which he clearly intimates, that it was neither earned nor purchased by them, but attained through their adoption into Gods family, and their consequent regeneration by the Spirit of grace.

Surely the sound of these gracious words must pour all heaven into the souls of all to whom they are addressed.]
Then he will turn unto those upon his left hand
[But how is his countenance now changed! What anger, what indignation flames in his eyes! And what terrible displeasure is conveyed in his voice! The grounds of their condemnation are explicitly declared. They had neglected to serve him, and to do the things that were pleasing in his sight; and therefore they are bidden to depart accursed. And it is worthy of observation, that they are not said to be cursed of his Father: no; though the saints owe their felicity to the election of the Father, the wicked do not owe their misery to any arbitrary act of reprobation: the righteous are blessed of the Father; the wicked are cursed of themselves; it is to their own neglect of duty that they must trace their eternal condemnation: they perish, not because there was any want of mercy in God the Father, or of merit in God the Son; but because they rejected the counsel of God, and would not accept his proffered salvation [Note: In this respect the text exactly accords with Rom 9:22-23. where the Apostle states that the vessels of mercy were prepared for it by God; but the vessels of wrath were fitted for it by themselves.]. In this world they had said to God, Depart from me; I desire not the knowledge of thy ways [Note: Job 21:14.]: and in that world their Judge will reply, Depart from me; I desire not the knowledge of your souls: I never knew you, ye workers of iniquity. The place into which they are to depart was not indeed prepared for them, as heaven was for the saints: it was prepared for the devil and his angels: but as the wicked are partakers of their guilt, they shall be also of their punishment.]

Then will come,

IV.

The execution

The righteous shall be borne up into the regions of eternal bliss
[On the pronouncing of the sentence, the heavens will be opened, and all the saints will ascend thither to take possession of their thrones. But who can conceive the happiness of those who are admitted into the presence of their God; who are placed beyond the reach of sin or sorrow, and have an eternity of blessedness before them? What praises, what adorations, and hosannahs will resound through all the courts of heaven!]
The wicked shall be cast down into the regions of eternal misery
[We attempt not to describe their misery; for it passes the power of words to express, or of imagination to conceive: but this we assert, that it will be truly and properly eternal. It shall co-exist with the felicity of heaven; for its duration is expressed by the very same word [Note: . It is in vain to say that signifies a limited period; for the duration of heaven and of hell are equal: and if we limit the one, we must limit the other also.]. If any doubt the eternity of hell-torments, I ask, What shall ever terminate them? Will the fire that is kindled there be extinguished? or the souls that are cast into it be consumed? Or shall they be purified in the fire, and be exalted at a future period to the regions of bliss? No one of these things shall be: The fire shall not be quenched: the worm of a guilty conscience shall never die [Note: Mar 9:43-48.]: and, instead of being improved by their misery, the sufferers will gnaw their tongues for anguish, and blaspheme that God who inflicts their punishment [Note: Rev 16:8-11.]. Besides, there is a gulf fixed betwixt them and the saints in glory; so that none shall ever pass from the one place to the other, or experience the smallest change in their condition [Note: Luk 16:26.]. How terrible will then be the state of the ungodly! How will they call upon the hills to fall upon them, and the rocks to cover them from the wrath of the Lamb! But, what they would not believe, they now feel to their cost; and shall feel, as long as God himself shall endure, even for ever and ever.]

Infer
1.

How desirable is it to be prepared for death and judgment!

[This is the time for preparation: the moment death arrives, our state is fixed for ever: As the tree falleth, so it lieth. What folly then is it to procrastinate, and to defer our preparation! If death would stay for us, and we could command the influences of the Spirit, and ensure repentance at the last, there were some reason for delay: but when we know not but that the next hour we may be summoned into the presence of our Judge, or that the grace we now despise shall never be offered us again, what madness is it to lose the present moment, and to trifle on the brink of such a precipice! Awake, brethren, from your stupor; and prepare to meet your God. Go to the Saviour, while yet there is hope concerning you: and let it be the one concern of your lives to flee from the wrath to come.]

2.

How important is it to form a just judgment of our own character!

[Suppose for a moment that we judge ourselves now with somewhat too great severity, what harm is done? We disquiet ourselves indeed a little more than is necessary for a few days; but we are stirred up to greater diligence and circumspection; and are stimulated to exert ourselves more earnestly for the securing of the prize. But what if we lean too much to the favourable side? It will be too late to remedy our error when once we pass into the eternal world. There is no repentance in the grave. It will be no excuse to say, Lord, I was mistaken; I did not think so much strictness was necessary; I thought that such characters as I were safe [Note: Mat 7:22-23.]. Now, therefore, judge yourselves, that ye be not judged of the Lord. Inquire now, what is the tenour of your life. Do not be contented to examine whether you have committed any gross sin; but inquire whether you are running as in a race, and striving to the utmost to glorify your God by all possible acts and offices of love? Examine particularly, whether all that you do is, not to purchase heaven, but to testify your love to Christ? If you bring yourselves to any lower standard than this, you will deceive yourselves to your eternal ruin. But, if, after a strict inquiry into these things, your conscience condemn you not, then have you a scriptural confidence towards God [Note: 1Jn 3:21.].] [Note: If this were the subject of a Charity Sermon, it would be proper here to recommend the charity, and to exhort them to beneficence; but at the same time to caution them against the idea of meriting heaven by their alms-deeds; and to remind them, that their love must spring from faith in Christ, and be exercised simply for his sake, and to his glory.]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Ver. 41. Then shall he say also, &c. ] Then: judgment as it begins here at God’s house, so shall it at the last day. The elect shall be crowned, and then the reprobates doomed and damned.

Depart from me, ye cursed, &c. ] A sentence that breathes out nothing but fire and brimstone, stings and horrors, woe, and, alas, torments without end and past imagination. Mercy, Lord, saith the merciless miser. No, saith Christ, Depart, be packing.

Yet bless me before I go.

“Depart, ye cursed.”

To some good place then.

To hell fire, not material fire, but worse in many respects.

But let me then come out again.

It is everlasting fire, eternity of extremity. This is the hell of hell; this puts the damned to their , as much as if they should say, , , Not ever, Lord, torment us thus. But they have a will to sin ever; and being worthless they cannot satisfy God’s justice in any time; therefore is their fire everlasting.

But let me have some good company in my misery.

“The devil and his angels.”

But who appointed me this hard condition?

It was prepared of old. The all-powerful wisdom did, as it were, sit down and devise most tormenting temper for that most formidable fire. And here it is hard to say, whether be more woeful, “Depart from me, ye cursed,” or that which followeth, “into everlasting fire;” pain of loss, or pain of sense. Sure it is, that the tears of hell are not sufficient to bewail the loss of heaven; the worm of grief gnaws as painful as the fire burns. If those good souls, Act 20:37-38 , wept because they should see Paul’s face no more, how deplorable is the eternal deprivation of the beatiful vision!

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

41 43. ] It is very important to observe the distinction between the blessing, Mat 25:34 , and the curse here. ‘Blessed of my Father :’ but not ‘cursed of my Father,’ because all man’s salvation is of God all his condemnation from himself . ‘The Kingdom, prepared for you ;’ but ‘the fire, which has been prepared for the devil and his angels ’ (notice . greater definiteness could not be given: that particular fire, that eternal fire, created for a special purpose) not, for you : because there is election to life but there is no reprobation to death : a book of Life but no book of Death ; no hell for man because the blood of Jesus hath purchased life for all : but they who will serve the devil, must share with him in the end .

The repetition of all these particulars shews how exact even for every individual the judgment will be. Stier excellently remarks, that the curse shews the termination of the High Priesthood of Christ , in which office He only intercedes and blesses. Henceforth He is King and Lord his enemies being now for ever put under his feet.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Mat 25:41-46 . , cursed, not the cursed ( wanting), and without . God has no cursed ones. , etc., the eternal fire is represented as prepared not for the condemned men, but for the devil and his angels. Wendt brackets the clause to suggest that as Jesus spoke it the passage ran: go away from me, for I was hungry, etc.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat 25:41-46

41″Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’44Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’45Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’46These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Mat 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me'” Hell’s worst aspect is the separation from fellowship with God (cf. Mat 7:23; Luk 13:27). God does not send humans to hell; they send themselves by their lifestyle choices.

“accursed ones” This is a perfect passive participle. This grammatical construction was used several times in this context. It speaks of that which happened in the past and the results of which have continued into the present. The action is done by an outside agent. These people’s rejection of God and His Christ in the past has been consummated into permanent blindness and rejection! This rejection revealed itself in lack of love for other human beings (Mat 25:42-43).

“into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels” Hell was not made for humans, but for angelic beings in rebellion. Satan has angels that serve him, possibly alluded to in Dan 8:10 and Rev 12:4. Matthew 25 mixes the metaphors of its darkness in Mat 25:30, and fire in Mat 25:41. The horrors and torments of hell are so far beyond human vocabulary and finite conceptions that the Bible used the most vivid imagery possible. Most of the metaphors come from the garbage dump outside Jerusalem in the valley of the sons of Hinnom called “Gehenna.” Jesus often spoke about it (cf. Isa 33:14; Isa 66:24; Mat 3:10; Mat 3:12; Mat 5:22; Mat 7:19; Mat 13:40; Mat 13:42; Mat 13:50; Mat 18:8-9; Jud 1:7; Rev 14:10; Rev 19:20; Rev 20:10; Rev 20:14-15; Rev 21:8). See SPECIAL TOPIC: ETERNAL at Mat 18:8.

Mat 25:45 “Truly I say to you” Literally “amen,” this was a Hebrew term meaning “to be firm.” It was used by biblical authors to affirm the reality and truthfulness of words, concepts and teachings. Jesus uniquely used it to begin sentences. Often He would double it for even more emphasis. See Special Topic: at Mat 5:1.

Mat 25:46 “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” The same term [ainos] that describes heaven as everlasting is applied to hell as everlasting (cf. Mat 18:8; Mat 19:16; Mar 3:29; Mar 9:48; Mar 10:17; Luk 18:18; Jud 1:7; Rev 20:10; also with “eternal judgment in 2Th 1:9 and Heb 6:2). Dan 12:2; Joh 5:29; and Act 24:15 describe a resurrection of both the righteous and wicked. Josephus states that the Pharisees believed in the immortality of all “souls” (cf. Antiq. 18.1,3), but only the resurrection of the righteous into a new body, while the wicked have eternal punishment (cf. Jewish Wars 2.8,14). The eternality and finality is the impetus of the urgency of gospel preaching, teaching, and witnessing!

An eternal hell is not only a tragedy for rebellious mankind, but also for God! God created humans as the apex of His creative event. We were made in His image and likeness for fellowship with Him (cf. Gen 1:26-27). God’s choice to allow mankind a choice resulted in a significant percentage of God’s creation being separated from Himself! Hell is an open, bleeding sore in the heart of God that will never be healed.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

say also unto them = say unto them also.

ye cursed = that are abiding under a curse.

everlasting fire = the fire, the age-abiding [fire]. See App-151.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

41-43.] It is very important to observe the distinction between the blessing, Mat 25:34, and the curse here. Blessed-of my Father:-but not cursed of my Father, because all mans salvation is of God-all his condemnation from himself. The Kingdom, prepared for you; but the fire, which has been prepared for the devil and his angels (notice . greater definiteness could not be given: that particular fire, that eternal fire, created for a special purpose)-not, for you: because there is election to life-but there is no reprobation to death:-a book of Life-but no book of Death; no hell for man-because the blood of Jesus hath purchased life for all: but they who will serve the devil, must share with him in the end.

The repetition of all these particulars shews how exact even for every individual the judgment will be. Stier excellently remarks, that the curse shews the termination of the High Priesthood of Christ, in which office He only intercedes and blesses. Henceforth He is King and Lord-his enemies being now for ever put under his feet.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Mat 25:41. , …, then, etc.) And then the righteous shall immediately, by virtue of the word come. sit on kindly thrones (regaliter) as assessors in the judgment on the cursed.- , which is prepared) Thus is Isa 30:33. At the time of this judgment the devil will be already in hell; see Rev 20:10-13; cf. 2Pe 3:7, fin.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

angels

(See Scofield “Heb 1:4”)

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

them: Mat 25:33

Depart: Mat 7:23, Psa 6:8, Psa 119:115, Psa 139:19, Luk 13:27

ye cursed: Deu 27:15-26, Deu 28:16-68, Psa 119:21, Jer 17:5, Gal 3:10-13, Heb 6:8

everlasting: Mat 25:46, Mat 3:12, Mat 13:40, Mat 13:42, Mat 13:50, Mar 9:43-48, 2Th 1:9, Rev 14:10, Rev 14:11, Rev 20:10-15

prepared: Joh 8:44, Rom 9:22, Rom 9:23, 2Pe 2:4, 1Jo 3:10, Jud 1:6, Rev 12:7-9

Reciprocal: Gen 4:14 – from thy Gen 9:25 – Cursed Gen 41:32 – established by Lev 13:57 – shalt burn Lev 22:3 – from my Lev 27:28 – no devoted Num 12:10 – the cloud Deu 11:28 – General Deu 15:9 – sin unto thee Deu 27:26 – Cursed Deu 29:21 – separate Jdg 5:23 – the angel 1Sa 18:12 – departed 1Sa 28:15 – God 2Ki 9:34 – this cursed woman 2Ki 13:23 – neither cast he 2Ki 17:20 – until he had cast Job 15:30 – the flame Psa 1:5 – sinners Psa 5:5 – thou Psa 9:17 – The wicked Psa 21:9 – Thou Psa 28:3 – Draw Psa 37:22 – cursed Psa 138:6 – afar off Psa 145:20 – all the wicked Pro 21:13 – at Ecc 8:12 – surely Isa 9:18 – wickedness Isa 26:11 – fire Isa 30:33 – ordained Isa 33:14 – everlasting Isa 34:5 – the people Jer 23:39 – cast Zec 5:3 – the curse Mat 5:22 – hell Mat 5:26 – Thou Mat 7:13 – that Mat 13:30 – burn Mat 18:8 – everlasting Mat 25:34 – Come Mar 9:44 – the fire Mar 11:21 – General Luk 8:31 – the deep Luk 12:5 – power Luk 12:9 – shall Luk 12:59 – thou shalt Luk 13:25 – I know Luk 16:24 – for Joh 8:21 – whither Joh 14:24 – that Act 1:25 – go 1Co 6:3 – judge 1Co 16:22 – Anathema Gal 1:8 – let Phi 3:19 – end 2Th 1:8 – flaming 1Ti 5:21 – the elect Heb 2:14 – the devil Heb 10:27 – fiery Jam 2:13 – he 1Pe 5:8 – the devil 2Pe 2:14 – cursed 2Pe 3:7 – the heavens 1Jo 3:18 – let Rev 20:15 – was cast Rev 22:3 – there

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

5:41

The extent of this everlasting fire will be explained at verse 46. But for the present it should be noted that it was not originally designed for man, but for the devil and his angels. These angels evidently mean the fallen angels who had sinned and were cast down from heaven (2Pe 2:4; Jud 1:6).

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Mat 25:41. Accursed. Of my Father (Mat 25:34) is omitted, for though the curse comes from God, it is through their own fault

Which is prepared; from the foundation of the world is not added, but for the devil and his angels, prepared for him as a devil (his personal existence being evidently assumed). All these differences show that God is ever merciful, and that the punishment on those accursed is a just one, that they go to torment prepared for the devil and his angels, because they have prepared themselves for itThat the word eternal means never-ending, scarcely admits of a doubt; it is used in Mat 25:46 of the life of the righteous (see below). The word fire may not be literal, but whatever the punishment previous to the general judgment, after that the bodies of the wicked, then raised, shall partake in it; and this is not obscurely hinted here.

Mat 25:42-43. For. The evidence of their state of heart follows. Only sins of omission are mentioned; the absence of good works, the destitution of love, or the dominion of selfishness is sufficient, even without positive crimes, to exclude from heaven.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Here we have the sentence of condemnation denounced against the wicked.

Where observe, 1. The posture in which they are found; at Christ’s left hand. this doth not so much denote the ignominy of the place (though placing at the left hand is less honourable) as the impiety of their choice; they took up with left-handed mercies, the mercies of the footstool, wealth and riches, dignity and honour. As for the good things which are at God’s right hand for evermore, they never sought after these. Verily a man may know his future state by his present choice.

Observe, 2. The title given to wicked men, Ye cursed. Not cursed of my Father, because cursing is God’s strange work; we force him to it, he delights not in it.

Observe, 3. The sentence itself.

Where note, 1. The punishment of loss, Depart from me.

Learn thence, 1. That it is the hell of hell to the damned, that they must everlastingly depart from, and lose the comfortable fruition and enjoyment of, God in Christ: it is to be deprived of an infinite good. Hell is a deep dungeon, where the sunshine of God’s presence never cometh.

2. The punishment of sense, Depart into everlasting fire.

Where note, Its severity it is fire: its eternity, it is everlasting fire.

Learn thence, That there are everlasting torments in hell prepared for the wicked; there is a state of torment, and a place of torment, provided by God. All princes have not only their palace, but their prison. God has the palace of heaven, for the enjoyment of himself and his friends; and the prison of hell, for punishing his enemies. The nature of the damned’s misery is set out by fire; the whole man, body and soul, shall be tormented in it.

1. The body in all its members, their eyes with affrighted spectacles, the devil and his angels, and their old companions in sin: every time they behold these, it revives their guilt, and enrages their despair. Their ears are filled with yellings and howlings, and hideous outcries.

2. The soul shall suffer in hell, by reflecting upon its own choice, by remembering time sinfully wasted, seasons of grace sadly slighted, the mercies of God unworthily abused.

Lord! how will the rememberance of past mercies aggravate present miseries!

Note farther, 1. That Christ saith not of the punishment, as he doth of the blessing, that it was prepared from the beginning of the world, lest it should be thought that God designed men’s punishment before they sinned.

Note, 2. That although Christ saith, Come, ye blessed of my Father, he saith not, Go, ye cursed of my Father, because God is the Author and Procurer of men’s happiness, but man only is the author of his own misery.

Note, 3. That Christ speaks of this eternal misery by fire, as designed originally not for man, but for the devil and his angels; but man, by giving up himself to the power and thraldom of sin and Satan, and working himself down to the infernal regions, becomes like unto him in torments, whom he so much resembled in manners and qualities.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Mat 25:41-43. Then shall he say to them on the left hand In this account of our Lords proceedings at this awful time, the absolution of the righteous is represented as taking place before the condemnation of the wicked, to show that God takes greater delight in rewarding than in punishing. Depart from me In this world they were often called to come to Christ, to come for life and rest; but they turned a deaf ear to his calls; justly, therefore, are they bid to depart from him, who would not come to him. Depart from me, the Fountain of all good; from me, the Saviour, and therefore from all hope of salvation; I will never have any thing more to say to you, or do with you. But if they must depart from Christ, might they not be dismissed with a blessing? with one kind and compassionate word at least? No: Depart, ye cursed They that would not come to Christ to inherit a blessing, must depart from him under the burden of a curse, the curse of the law, due to every one that breaks it; and that of the gospel, which belongs to all that disobey it. But observe, Christ calls the righteous the blessed of his Father; for their blessedness is owing purely to the grace of God: but the wicked are called only, ye cursed, for their damnation is entirely of themselves. Into everlasting fire, prepared Not originally for you: you are intruders into this everlasting misery; but for the devil and his angels This declaration of our Lord, compared with Mat 25:34, where the kingdom of heaven is expressly said to be prepared for the righteous, seems to have been intended to teach us that Gods original design was to make men happy, and that their becoming miserable is the effect of their own voluntary iniquity and perverseness, in rejecting the counsel of God against themselves. No sooner was man created, than a state of consummate felicity was formed for him and his posterity. But the fire of hell was prepared for the devil and his angels, namely, after their fall: and because wicked men partake with devils in their sin of rebellion against God, they are doomed to share with them in their punishment. Perhaps, also, the fire of hell is here said to be made for the devil and his angels, to intimate the greatness of the misery to which sinners dying in sin shall be consigned. The punishment which they shall suffer is of the heaviest kind, being the punishment of devils.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Ver. 41. Then shall He say to those on the left, &c. Note the antithesis: Christ says to the elect, “Come to Me and to My glory.” But to the reprobate, “Depart from Me, to the devil and hell, because in life ye clave to the devil, and not to Me.” The word depart denotes the pain of loss (pna damni), which is the deprivation of the glory of Heaven for ever. But the word fire denotes the pain of sense; for the fire of hell burns continually, not only the bodies, but the souls of the wicked, and yet does not consume them. This punishment is very dreadful. For to be banished from God, from Christ, from Heaven, from the Saints, from everything that is good, is horrible torment. Wherefore S. Chrysostom (Parn. 1, ad Theodor. lapsum) thinks that the deprivation of the vision of God is a greater torment to the damned than the fire of hell. Others entertain the opposite opinion. Isaiah says, “The wicked shall not behold the glory of the Lord” (xxvi. 10). Cursed, those whom God will curse as His enemies. Into the fire, therefore there is real fire in hell, and that far fiercer and of a different nature and quality from earthly fire. This is the teaching of S. Ambrose (in cap. 14, S. Luc.), S. Jerome (in Isa. chaps. 65., 66), Damascene (lib. 4, cap. ult.).

Moreover, this fire is fed by sulphur, which also God will preserve for ever, that it may continually burn the wicked. This is the fire with which Moses threatened the Jews in Deu 32:22, “A fire is kindled in My fury, and it shall burn unto the lowest hell.” Hear what S. Chrysostom says, “They shall be thrust into the river and the sea of fire, a sea which can never be crossed, in which the waves of fire rise mountains high. Fire, I say, but not earthly fire, but far more terrible than any here, whose flames fill the great abyss, so that on every hand the fire seems ready to overwhelm, like some immense wild beast. If we cannot describe in language the most bitter torments of that fire and those flames, what shall we say of them? especially when we consider that a man placed for one moment in earthly fire would die; but there they are burnt and suffer, and never will that which is burnt be consumed” (Hom. 44 in loc.)

Everlasting. Origen, therefore, is in error in thinking that the pains of hell shall cease, and that the wicked shall be delivered out of them on the completion of the Platonic year, that is, after several thousands of years. For the eternity of punishment in hell is here expressed. So Bede, Theophylact, and others passim. This will be the awful punishment, which will drive the damned to despair, fury, madness, to blaspheming God, their parents, comrades, and all creatures, because so long as Heaven shall last, so long will there be a hell. It shall last as long as God Himself and the universe shall endure. So long shall the reprobate endure, “and shall be tormented day and night for ages of ages” (Rev 20:10). Think of this fire when lust, or ambition, or any other temptation entice thee, and say to thyself, “I will not purchase everlasting fire at the price of a little pleasure.”

S. Hippolytus the Martyr enlarges upon these words of Christ in a very moving manner in his Treatise on the End of the World. He introduces Christ as reproaching the wicked for their abuse of His benefits, “It was I who formed you, and ye clave to another. I created the earth, the sea, and all things for your sakes, and you misused them to My dishonour. Depart from Me, ye workers of iniquity, I know you not. Ye have become the workmen of another master, even the devil. With him possess darkness, and the fire which shall not be quenched, and the worm which sleepeth not, and the gnashing of teeth.” After an interval he adds, “I formed your ears that you should hear the Scriptures, and you applied them to songs of devils, to harps, and jokes. I created your eyes that ye might behold the light of My commandments, and follow them; but ye opened them for adultery, and immodesty, and all uncleanness. I ordained your mouth for the praise and glory of God, and to sing psalms and spiritual songs; but ye applied it for the utterance of revilings, perjuries, and blasphemies. I made your hands, that you should lift them up in prayers and supplications; ye have stretched them out in thefts and murders.” And thus he proceeds.

After He has pronounced this sentence, Christ will drive them from Him by means of the demons into hell. Yea, all the elements, together with the heavens, shall rise against them. For, as it is said in Wisdom (Wis 6:18), “He shall arm the creatures to take vengeance upon His enemies, and the whole world shall fight for Him against the foolish ones. The right aiming thunderbolts shall go forth. The water of the sea shall race against them, and the rivers shall flow together upon them. A spirit of strength shall stand against them, and like a whirlwind shall divide them.”

Prepared for the devil and his angels, that is, for their chief prince and his armies, Arab. From hence it is plain that the fire of hell was primarily, and per se, prepared by God for the demons, but as a consequence was prepared for men who imitate the disobedience of the devils. Moreover, this fire was prepared by God from everlasting, after the foreseen sin of Lucifer and the demons. For their God decreed to form it for their punishment. But it was actually made, in time, by God at the commencement of the universe, before the creation of man.

The Syr. instead of devil has accuser, which is the meaning of the Gr. , for such is Lucifer, who accuses holy men, and even their just works, before God. Hence in the Acts of S. Montanus and his companions, martyrs, the accuser and criminator of the martyrs is called diabolus, because he acted his part before the tribunal of the heathen judges.

Vers. 42, 43. For I was an hungered, &c. The word for gives the reason why they are condemned to the fire prepared for the devil, because, that is, they imitated his mercilessness. “For,” as Theophylact says, “they who are without compassion are devils.” These men are condemned for the omission of the works of mercy, both because every one is bound to the performance of these works when he sees his neighbour in need, as well as because they neglected to expiate their other sins by almsdeeds, according to the saying of Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar, “Redeem thy sins by almsgiving, and thy iniquities by mercy to the poor” (Dan 4:24, Vulg.). Whence S. Augustine asserts that some men cannot be saved without almsgiving. Now, if he who is convicted of not having given alms shall suffer so great a punishment, says S. Gregory, what shall be the penalty of him who has committed murder or adultery, or who has blasphemed God and His saints?

Every word is emphatic, and reproaches the reprobate with peculiar ingratitude. I was an hungered, I, who am your God, your Lord, and your Redeemer, and ye gave not unto Me, that which I had given you, to eat, not partridges and capons, which ye ate yourselves, but simply bread. “Each circumstance,” says S. Chrysostom, “suffices for their condemnation; as the simple nature of the request and the power to grant it: for bread is asked; then there is the misery of the petitioner, poor and a beggar: the greatness of the reward to be obtained, for a kingdom is promised: the dread of the punishment, for hell is threatened: the dignity of the receiver, for God receives, through the hands of the poor: the right which there is to bestow, for it is the highest form of justice to render unto God His own. Yet from all these things they were held back by covetousness.”

Ver. 45. Then He shall answer them, saying, &c. Learn from hence how greatly to be esteemed are the mean and poor, especially Saints and Religious, whom Christ here calls His own property, as it were. Wherefore S. Francis sharply rebuked one of his Friars for finding fault with a certain beggar, and saying that, perchance, he was proud in his mind, and ordered him to ask his pardon on his knees. And he gave his reason. “My son,” he said, “thou hast not sinned against the beggar so much as against Christ. Forasmuch as Christ is offered to us in the person of the poor, as it were in a glass. As often therefore as the poor and infirm meet thee, think of and humbly venerate the poverty and infirmities which Christ deigned to endure for us.”

Ver. 46. And these shall go; Gr. shall go away, &c … punishment, that is, of fire and burning. Whence S. Augustine reads (Tract. 21, in Joan.), into burning. It means, they shall be burnt in hell, but not burnt up, nor consumed, so as to he annihilated, which the lost will desire.

Everlasting, because they have most grievously offended the Eternal God. For mortal sin, because it is an injury against the Infinite God, has in it an infinite wickedness, therefore it deserves an infinite punishment. But, forasmuch as punishment infinite in intensity can neither be given nor yet endured by man, there shall be given to the reprobate a punishment of infinite duration which shall last for ever and ever. The author of the book on the Spirit and the Soul, in the works of S. Augustine, forcibly depicts the dreadfulness of this punishment. He says, there is to these miserable beings death without death, end without end, consumption without being consumed. For death also shall always live, and the end shall always be beginning. Death shall destroy, and not annihilate. Pain shall torment, and not put fear to flight. The flame shall burn, but shall not disperse the darkness. For there shall be darkness in the fire, fear in the darkness, and pain in the burning. Thus shall the reprobate be tormented without hope of pardon or mercy, which is the misery of miseries. For if, after as many thousands of years as they had hairs upon their heads, they might hope for an end of their punishment, they would sustain it with far greater ease; but because they neither have nor will have any hope, they will fall into despair, and will have no strength to support their torments. Hence S. Cyprian (Lib. de Laud. Martyr. cap. 5), “Paradise flourishes by the witness of God; hell embraces, the eternal fire consumes those who deny it. It is a dreadful place whose name is hell, with a great murmuring and groaning of those that wail, and with flames bursting out through the horrible night of thick darkness.”

From what has been said, we may consider and imagine how bitter and how sad must be the future everlasting separation between the lost and the saved,-when the one shall ascend up into Heaven to everlasting, happiness, and the others shall go down into hell to everlasting fire. Never again, to all eternity, shall they behold the Saints-not even their friends, their brothers, or their parents. For there is a great gulf fixed between the two, as Abraham said to the rich glutton. Thou, therefore, who art wise, ascend daily into Heaven, and descend into hell, that from thence thou mayest gain incentives to flee from vice and pursue virtue. Truly does S. Chrysostom say (Hom. 2 in Epist. 2 ad Thessal.), “No one who has hell before his eyes will ever fall into hell. No one who despises hell will escape it.” We may say with S. Diethelmus, in Ven. Bede’s History of the English, “I have seen worse and more dreadful things in hell.” By this means we shall bravely sustain and overcome all temptations, persecutions, infirmities, and tribulations through fear of the judgment and of hell.

Life eternal. By these words is meant the receiving of all health, all strength, all honour, all glory, all pleasure, all joy, and everything that is good. For these are the things which those enjoy who truly live; for to live in hunger, thirst, disease, ignominy, pain, is not so much to live as to die continually.

1 Gratum facientis. But for a criticism in the Tablet, I should have thought it unnecessary to observe that, in translating gratum by grateful, I use the word in the classical and theological sense. (Back to the place).

2 This would seem to be a mistake for two. (Back to the place).

Fuente: Cornelius Lapide Commentary

Jesus will banish the goats and send them into eternal fire (cf. Mat 13:24-43; Mat 13:47-50; Rev 14:11; Rev 19:15). Jesus’ descriptions of hell were familiar to the Jews of His day (cf. Mat 3:10; Mat 3:12; Mat 5:22; Mat 7:19; Mat 13:40; Mat 13:42; Mat 13:50; Mat 18:8-9; Jud 1:7; Rev 20:10-15). Only the righteous will enter the kingdom (Mat 25:34). The fact that the goats will address Jesus as "Lord" (Mat 25:44) does not show they are believers since everyone will acknowledge Him as Lord then (cf. Php 2:11).

The sheep and the goats will not express surprise because they anticipated a different fate. They will express surprise because of the evidence by which Jesus will judge their condition, namely, their treatment of His brethren. Normally a person’s works demonstrate his faith or lack of it.

"The King’s messengers, immediately before He appears in glory, will go forth preaching the gospel of the kingdom everywhere; and when the King takes His throne, those that received the gospel of the kingdom among the nations are recognized as ’sheep,’ and the despisers perish as ’goats.’" [Note: Kelly, p. 485.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)