NOTE.—The real subject under consideration in this scripture is the coming of the Lord, and the execution of the judgment. The investigative judgment, the decision of each individual’s standing, according to his works (Matt. 16:27; Rom. 2:6), must of necessity be closed before the separation of the two classes can be effected. Then the coming of the Lord the second time can not be until after probation has ended. Trial and verdict must always precede execution. The reasons given in the lesson scripture for the reward of the “blessed,” and the condemnation of the “cursed,” show that the standing of both classes is decided, and that feature of the judgment has passed, before the glorious appearing of the King. This is further shown in the fact that he is here called King (verse 34), whereas in the judgment before the Father, he is High Priest, or Advocate.
31 “But when the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then shall He sit on the throne of His glory; and before Him shall be gathered all the nations; and He shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats; and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 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; for I was an hungered, and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me in; naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me; I was in prison, and ye came unto Me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, and fed Thee? or athirst, and gave Thee drink? And when saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? or naked, and clothed Thee? And when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these My brethren, even these least, ye did it unto Me. 41 Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was an hungered, and ye gave Me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink; 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. Then shall they also answer, 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? Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto Me. And these shall go away into eternal punishment; but the righteous into eternal life.”
Golden Text: “He shall reward every man according to his works.” Matt. 16:27.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) With what demonstration, and in what capacity, will Christ come the second time? Verse 31. Note 1. (2) What will take place at His coming? Verses 32, 33. Note 2. (3) What will the King say to them on His right hand? V. 34. Note 3. (4) What reason is assigned for bestowing this reward? Verses 35, 36. Note 4. (5) How will the recipients of such honor reply to the King? Verses 37-39. Note 5. (6) How will the King answer their humble, surprised questions? Verse 40. Note 6. (7) What will the King say to them on the left hand? Verse 41. (8) What reason is given for this dreadful sentence? Vs. 42, 43. (9) How will the doomed impenitents reply to this charge of neglect? Verse 44. (10) And how will the King answer them? Vs. 45, 46.
NOTES.
1. Regarding this event the Lord has given us due caution to beware of deception. “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” Matt. 24:4, 5. “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” Verse 11. There is no reason for being deceived; for the Word of the Lord is very plain on the subject. The event will be a very conspicuous one; for “the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him.” Sinful man has never yet witnessed such a spectacle all over the earth. It will be “as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west.” The apostle John says, “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him.” Rev. 1:7.
2. The manner and character of the separation is more specifically set forth in other scriptures: “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the13Lord.” 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. “But the rest of the dead [the dead who are not in Christ] lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power.” Rev. 20:5, 6. We learn from these scriptures and their contexts that the effect of the coming of Christ in glory will be to destroy the living wicked, and to raise to life the righteous dead. The living righteous will be translated, and with the resurrected ones be taken up with the Lord. Thus the separation between the “sheep” and the “goats” will be complete. The wicked dead will not be raised until a thousand years have passed, the earth being desolate. The confining of Satan on the desolate earth constitutes his being bound for a thousand years. This is made very clear in Revelation 20.
3. Inherit the kingdom.—The New Jerusalem is the capital of the kingdom of God. The Lord takes His people there to “reign with Him a thousand years.” Rev. 20:4, 6. After this period the apostle says: “I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.” Chap. 21:2, 3. Again, in the tenth verse, John says of the angel who showed him these things, “And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.” The New Jerusalem is the “camp of the saints” mentioned in chapter 20, around which Satan leads the wicked inhabitants of the earth after their resurrection, at which time they meet their second and everlasting death.
4. The reason given in verses 35, 36, why those on the right hand inherit the kingdom, is a very practical one. It is because they have worked out Christian charity in Christian humility. In this they have shown their faith by their works. Here is the demonstration of what it is to “love thy neighbor as thyself.” This feature of Christian life comes prominently into the judgment, so much so that those who neglect to provide for the needy will be lost. It also represents the very last work to be done for perishing souls, namely, “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.” Luke 14:21.
5. The righteous stand amazed that the Lord should so highly estimate their small service. They have so lightly esteemed their own efforts that they have not reckoned them of any special merit.
6. The person of Christ in the poor.—Christ has not ceased to put Himself in the place of suffering mankind. While on earth He demonstrated that the poor and needy were ever on His mind. He “is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.” All that is done for suffering humanity in His name is done for Him, and even the giving of a cup of cold water will not lose its reward.
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23 “So on the morrow, when Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp, and they were entered into the place of hearing, with the chief captains, and the principal men of the city, 24 at the command of Festus Paul was brought in. And Festus saith, King Agrippa, and all men which are here present with us, ye behold this man, about whom all the multitude of the Jews made suit to me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying that he ought not to live any longer. 25 But I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death; and as he himself appealed to the emperor I determined to send him. 26 Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my lord. Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, King Agrippa, that, after examination had, I may have somewhat to write. 27 For it seemeth to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not withal to signify the charges against him.
1 “And Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth his hand, and made his defense:
2 “I think myself happy, King Agrippa, that I am to make my defense before thee this day touching all the things whereof I am accused by the Jews; especially because thou art expert in customs and questions which are among the Jews; wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently. My manner of life then from my youth up, which was from the beginning among mine own nation, and at Jerusalem, know all the Jews; 4 having knowledge of me from the first, if they be willing to testify, how that after the straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand here to be judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers; 7 unto which promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain. And concerning this hope I am accused by the Jews, O king! 8 Why is it judged incredible with you, if God doth raise the dead? 9 I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And this I also did in Jerusalem; and I both shut up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they were put to death, I gave my vote against them. 11 And punishing them oftentimes in all the synagogues, I strove to make them blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto foreign cities. 12 Whereupon as I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, 13 at mid-day, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them that journeyed with me. 14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying unto me in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? It is hard for thee to kick against the goad. 15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. 16 But arise, and stand upon thy feet; for to this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both of the things wherein thou hast seen Me, and of the things wherein 17 I will appear unto thee; delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom I send thee, to open their eyes, 18 that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in Me. 19 Wherefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision; but declared both to them of Damascus first, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance. 21 For this cause the Jews seized me in the temple, and assayed to kill me. 22 Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand unto this day testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but 23 what the prophets and Moses did say should come; how that the Christ must suffer, and how that He first by the resurrection of the dead should proclaim light both to the people and to the Gentiles.
QUESTIONS.
(1) Relate all the circumstances that led Paul to appeal to Cæsar. (2) Who was Agrippa, and how did it happen that Paul appeared before him? (3) Was this appearance anything in the nature of a trial? Give proof. (4) What sort of assembly was it before which Paul appeared on this occasion? Verse 23. (5) How did Festus introduce Paul to them? (6) What had the Jews declared? Verse 24. (7) Yet what had he himself found? Under what difficulty did Festus say he had labored in the matter? Verse 25. (8) What, therefore, did he wish to gain by the present examination before these dignitaries? Verses 26, 27. (9) What permission was then given Paul? By whom? Chapter 26:1. (10) Whom did Paul address? How did Paul say he regarded this privilege? Why? Verses 2, 3. (11) At what point did he begin his narrative? What did he say as to his manner of life from his youth? By whom could this be proved? Verses 4, 5. (12) For what did he say he was now judged? V. 6. (13) What did he say was the relation of the twelve tribes to this promise? Nevertheless, by whom was he accused on account of that same hope? Verse 7. (14) What question did he put to Agrippa? Verse 8. (15) What did Paul say that he himself had thought? Verse 9. (16) How about his action? What did he do to the saints at Jerusalem? How did he stand related to their death? Verse 10. (17) How vigorously did he carry on the persecution? What did he compel the disciples to do? How did he feel towards them? How did he show his madness? Verse 11. (18) What further showed that it was not because he had been prejudiced in favor of Christianity that he accepted it? Verse 12. (19) What did Paul again relate in detail? Verses 13–15. How many times has the story of Paul’s conversion been told? (20) From this narrative what do we learn as to the purpose of the Lord’s appearance unto Paul? Verse 16. (21) What did Jesus say He would do for Paul? To whom had he been sent? For what purpose? What great work was Paul intrusted with? What was he to be instrumental in bringing to the Gentiles? Verses 17, 18. (22) What did he do on receiving this vision from heaven? Verse 19. (23) Where had he first preached? Where next? What had been the burden of his preaching to both Jews and Gentiles? Verse 20. (24) For what cause was it that the Jews sought to kill him? Verse 21. (25) By what means had he been able to continue his preaching so long? To what classes of people had he testified? To what had he confined his testimony? Verse 22. (26) What had Moses and the prophets said should come? What had they said that Christ should do by the resurrection from the dead? Verse 23.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) What does this lesson show as to the fulfilment of the promise made to the fathers? (2) What was, and is, the great feature of that promise? (3) Who only, then, ever had any ground for hope in the promise? (4) What does this lesson teach us as to the distinguishing characteristic of those who really constitute the twelve tribes? (5) What does Paul elsewhere say of some who are nominally Israel? Give reference. (6) Compare Acts 26:6–8 with Acts 23:6 and 25:19. (7) What does the statement in verse 10, “I gave my voice against them,” show as to Paul’s standing among the Jewish people before his conversion? Revised Version, “I gave my vote against them.” (8) What do we learn as to the Gospel in the writings of Moses? Can the Gospel be preached if Moses is discredited or ignored? Give proof.
“And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.” Acts 26:29.
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