Matthew 25: Works of Mercy are Rewarded/Final Judgment

 

The Final Judgment

31 ⁱ“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, ^jthen he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him ^kwill be gathered ^lall the nations, and ^mhe will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates ⁿthe sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then ^othe King will say to ^pthose on his right, ‘Come, you ^qwho are blessed by my Father, ^rinherit ^sthe kingdom ^tprepared for you ^ufrom the foundation of the world. 35 For ^vI was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you ^wgave me drink, ^xI was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 ^vI was naked and you clothed me, ^yI was sick and you ^zvisited me, ^aI was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And ^bthe King will answer them, ^c‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these ^dmy brothers,⁶ you did it to me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ^e‘Depart from me, you ^fcursed, into ^gthe eternal fire prepared for ^hthe devil and his angels. 42 For ⁱI was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, ^jyou did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away ^kinto eternal punishment, but the righteous ^kinto ^leternal life.

Source: ESV.org

Jesus speaks here of the final judgement. We will be judged based on whether or not we obeyed him in helping others. 

• feeding the hungry
• giving drink to the thirsty 
• welcoming strangers
• clothing the naked
• visiting those in hospitals
• coming to those who are in prisons 

How can we do this? There are plenty of charities already doing this great work 

Feeding the Hungry 

Nourish Phoenix "From the 1960s until present day, Nourish Phoenix, formerly ICM Food and Clothing Bank, has had a rich history in providing services for the working poor in Phoenix.

NourishPHX (fka ICM Food & Clothing Bank) is the trusted community hub serving vulnerable individuals and families by offering resources to satisfy immediate needs and to provide pathways to self-sufficiency.

To read our full history, click here and see how Nourish Phoenix has grown in the past 40 years.  We are volunteers. We are working moms and dads, teens and retirees, we are the people who believe in caring for others during their tough times and giving them a helping hand up in the face of poverty.

We believe that no matter the situation, each individual should have hope and dignity when facing the extreme adversity that life hands us. We believe that each piece of clothing, each piece of food, each item received is one-by-one changing the world for good."

Feeding America 

"Everyone needs nutritious food to thrive. And, while people are working hard to provide for themselves and their families, approximately 49 million people—that's one in six people in the U.S.—still relied on food assistance from charities like Feeding America in 2022."

Rise against Hunger 

"We target remote, last-mile communities within hunger pockets designated “serious” or higher on the Global Hunger Index, which are the hardest places to reach and are often difficult to access, lack communication and have poor infrastructure. With the support of our global impact partners, we practice locally-led development by providing expertise vital to empower local communities and providing meals through local schools to incentive attendance and enable kids to obtain an education. Our work starts with a meal."