And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. - Matthew 25:40 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, Jesus said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. - Matthew 12:49 – 50 By far the best interpretation is that Jesus’ brothers are His disciples (12:48; 23:8; 28:10). The fate of the nations will be determined by how they respond to Jesus’ followers, who (missionaries or not) are charged with spreading the gospel and do so in the face of hunger, thirst, illness and imprisonment. Good deeds done to Jesus’s followers… reflect where people stand in relation to the kingdom. - Donald Carson The likely meaning of the scene, then, is that those who have not followed Jesus the Messiah will be judged in terms of how they have treated the people whom He counts as His family. - Tom Wright Sermon Outline: The Son of Man in His Glory (25:31) The Separation of the People (25:32 – 33) The Ones Gathered on His Right (25:34 – 40) The Ones Gathered on His Left (25:41 – 46) Discussion Questions: Imagine the scene that is presented in verses 31 – 32. What emotions does this prompt? Who is Jesus referring to as His ‘brothers’ (vs. 40, 45)? (cf. Mt. 12:49 – 50; Gal. 6:9 – 10) The Bible clearly teaches that God is concerned about justice for the oppressed and He will right the wrongs one day (Deut. 15:11; Mt. 22:37 – 40; Rom. 12:19; Gal. 2:10). But if this is NOT the primary teaching of Matthew 25:31 – 46, then what is this passage about? How much do you know about the persecuted church around the world? Where are some of our brothers and sisters suffering most? Application: Take a moment to pray with others about fellow believers in Jesus Christ around the world who are suffering for their faith. Do you know any of them? Go online or pick up a copy of the ‘World Watch List’, published by Open Doors.