Matthew 25:45 Themes and Topics

Verse Concepts

Then the King will say to those at His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For when I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, when I was thirsty you gave me something to drink, when I was a stranger you welcomed me to your homes, when I needed clothes you put them on me, when I was sick you looked after me, when I was in prison you came to see me.' read more.
Then the upright will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and give you something to eat, or thirsty, and give you something to drink? When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you to our homes, or needing clothes, and put them on you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and come to see you?' And the King will answer them, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you did a good deed to one of these most insignificant brothers of mine, you did a good deed to me.' "Then He will say to those at His left, 'Be gone from me, you who are now cursed, to the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For when I was hungry you gave me nothing to eat, when I was thirsty you gave me nothing to drink, when I was a stranger you did not welcome me to your homes, when I needed clothes you did not put them on me, when I was sick and in prison, you did not look after me.' Then they will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or needing clothes, or sick, or in prison, and did not wait on you?' Then He will answer, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you failed to do a good deed to one of these most insignificant people, you failed to do a good deed to me.'

Jesus answered: "A man was on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell into the hands of robbers, who both stripped him and beat him till he was half dead, and then went off and left him. Now a priest happened to be going that way, but when he saw him, he went by on the other side of the road. So a Levite likewise came down to the place, but when he saw him, he went by on the other side. read more.
But a Samaritan, while on a journey, came down to him, and when he saw him, his heart was moved with pity for him. So he went to him and dressed his wounds by pouring oil and wine upon them, and then he put him on his donkey and brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out a half dollar and handed it to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him, and on my way back I will repay you.' Which one of these three do you think proved himself a real neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?" He said, "The one who took pity on him." Jesus said to him, "Go and practice it yourself."

So, if there is any appeal in our union with Christ, if there is any persuasive power in love, if we have any common share in the Spirit, if you have any tenderheartedness and sympathy, fill up my cup of joy by living in harmony, by fostering the same disposition of love, your hearts beating in unison, your minds set on one purpose.

must have a reputation for doing good deeds, as bringing up children, being hospitable to strangers, washing the feet of God's people, helping people in distress, or devoting herself to any sort of doing good. Verse Concepts

Is any one of you suffering ill-treatment? He should keep on praying. Is anyone in a happy mood? He should keep on singing praise to God. Is anyone sick among you? He should call in the elders of the church, and they should pray over him, and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer that is offered in faith will save the sick man; the Lord will raise him to health, and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

Then you must practice dealing with others as you would like for them to deal with you, for this is the summing up of the law and the prophets. Verse Concepts

Verse Concepts

Then the King will say to those at His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For when I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, when I was thirsty you gave me something to drink, when I was a stranger you welcomed me to your homes, when I needed clothes you put them on me, when I was sick you looked after me, when I was in prison you came to see me.' read more.
Then the upright will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and give you something to eat, or thirsty, and give you something to drink? When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you to our homes, or needing clothes, and put them on you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and come to see you?' And the King will answer them, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you did a good deed to one of these most insignificant brothers of mine, you did a good deed to me.' "Then He will say to those at His left, 'Be gone from me, you who are now cursed, to the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For when I was hungry you gave me nothing to eat, when I was thirsty you gave me nothing to drink, when I was a stranger you did not welcome me to your homes, when I needed clothes you did not put them on me, when I was sick and in prison, you did not look after me.' Then they will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or needing clothes, or sick, or in prison, and did not wait on you?' Then He will answer, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you failed to do a good deed to one of these most insignificant people, you failed to do a good deed to me.' Then these will go away to everlasting punishment, but the upright to everlasting life."

Just then an expert in the law got up to test Him by asking, "Teacher, what shall I do to get possession of eternal life?" And He answered him, "What is written in the law? How does it read?" Then he answered, "You must love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole strength, and your whole mind, and your neighbor as you do yourself." read more.
He said to him, "You have answered correctly. Continue to do this, and you will live." But he, as he wished to justify his question, said, "But who is my neighbor?" Jesus answered: "A man was on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell into the hands of robbers, who both stripped him and beat him till he was half dead, and then went off and left him. Now a priest happened to be going that way, but when he saw him, he went by on the other side of the road. So a Levite likewise came down to the place, but when he saw him, he went by on the other side. But a Samaritan, while on a journey, came down to him, and when he saw him, his heart was moved with pity for him. So he went to him and dressed his wounds by pouring oil and wine upon them, and then he put him on his donkey and brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out a half dollar and handed it to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him, and on my way back I will repay you.' Which one of these three do you think proved himself a real neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?" He said, "The one who took pity on him." Jesus said to him, "Go and practice it yourself."

"A curse on you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees! For you pay tithes on mint and dill and cummin, and yet leave out the more vital matters of the law, justice, love and fidelity. These latter especially you ought to have done, but ought not to have left out the former. Verse Concepts

That slave who knows his master's wishes and does not get ready or act upon them will be severely punished. Verse Concepts

So when a man knows what is right but does not do it, he is guilty of sin. Verse Concepts

Then He will answer, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you failed to do a good deed to one of these most insignificant people, you failed to do a good deed to me.' Verse Concepts

But a curse on you Pharisees, because you pay tithes on mint, rue, and every tiny garden herb, but neglect justice and the love of God! These latter especially you ought to have done, but ought not to have neglected the former. Verse Concepts

Then they will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or needing clothes, or sick, or in prison, and did not wait on you?' Then He will answer, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you failed to do a good deed to one of these most insignificant people, you failed to do a good deed to me.'

Do you not know that wrongdoers will not have a share in the kingdom of God? Stop being misled; people who are sexually immoral or idolaters or adulterers or sensual or guilty of unnatural sexual vice or thieves or greedy graspers for more or drunkards or slanderers or swindlers will not have a share in the kingdom of God. And these are just the characters some of you used to be. But now you have washed yourselves clean, you have been consecrated, you are now in right standing with God, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God.

I mean this: Practice living by the Spirit and then by no means will you gratify the cravings of your lower nature. For the cravings of the lower nature are just the opposite to those of the Spirit, and the cravings of the Spirit are just the opposite of those of the lower nature; these two are opposed to each other, so that you cannot do anything you please. But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. read more.
Now the practices of the lower nature are clear enough: Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, quarreling, jealousy, anger, intrigues, dissensions, party-spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I now warn you, as I have done before, that those who practice such things shall not be heirs of the kingdom of God.

"When the Son of Man comes in His splendor, and all the angels with Him, He will take His seat on His splendid throne, and all the nations will be gathered before him, and He will separate them from one another, just as a shepherd separates his sheep from his goats, and He will put the sheep at His right hand and the goats at his left. read more.
Then the King will say to those at His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For when I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, when I was thirsty you gave me something to drink, when I was a stranger you welcomed me to your homes, when I needed clothes you put them on me, when I was sick you looked after me, when I was in prison you came to see me.' Then the upright will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and give you something to eat, or thirsty, and give you something to drink? When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you to our homes, or needing clothes, and put them on you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and come to see you?' And the King will answer them, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you did a good deed to one of these most insignificant brothers of mine, you did a good deed to me.' "Then He will say to those at His left, 'Be gone from me, you who are now cursed, to the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For when I was hungry you gave me nothing to eat, when I was thirsty you gave me nothing to drink, when I was a stranger you did not welcome me to your homes, when I needed clothes you did not put them on me, when I was sick and in prison, you did not look after me.' Then they will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or needing clothes, or sick, or in prison, and did not wait on you?' Then He will answer, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you failed to do a good deed to one of these most insignificant people, you failed to do a good deed to me.' Then these will go away to everlasting punishment, but the upright to everlasting life."

For you may be absolutely sure that no one who is sexually impure, immoral or greedy for gain (for that is idolatry) can have a part in the kingdom of Christ and God. Stop letting anyone deceive you with groundless arguments about these things, for it is because of these very sins that God's anger comes down upon the disobedient. So you must stop having anything to do with them.

Just then an expert in the law got up to test Him by asking, "Teacher, what shall I do to get possession of eternal life?" And He answered him, "What is written in the law? How does it read?" Then he answered, "You must love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole strength, and your whole mind, and your neighbor as you do yourself." read more.
He said to him, "You have answered correctly. Continue to do this, and you will live."

"When the Son of Man comes in His splendor, and all the angels with Him, He will take His seat on His splendid throne, and all the nations will be gathered before him, and He will separate them from one another, just as a shepherd separates his sheep from his goats, and He will put the sheep at His right hand and the goats at his left. read more.
Then the King will say to those at His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For when I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, when I was thirsty you gave me something to drink, when I was a stranger you welcomed me to your homes, when I needed clothes you put them on me, when I was sick you looked after me, when I was in prison you came to see me.' Then the upright will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and give you something to eat, or thirsty, and give you something to drink? When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you to our homes, or needing clothes, and put them on you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and come to see you?' And the King will answer them, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you did a good deed to one of these most insignificant brothers of mine, you did a good deed to me.' "Then He will say to those at His left, 'Be gone from me, you who are now cursed, to the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For when I was hungry you gave me nothing to eat, when I was thirsty you gave me nothing to drink, when I was a stranger you did not welcome me to your homes, when I needed clothes you did not put them on me, when I was sick and in prison, you did not look after me.' Then they will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or needing clothes, or sick, or in prison, and did not wait on you?' Then He will answer, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you failed to do a good deed to one of these most insignificant people, you failed to do a good deed to me.' Then these will go away to everlasting punishment, but the upright to everlasting life."

And a man came up to Him and asked, "What is there good that I can do to possess eternal life?" And He answered him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only One who is perfectly good. But if you want to get into that life, you must practice keeping the commandments." He asked Him, "What sort of commandments?" Jesus answered, "You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not lie, read more.
You must practice honoring your father and mother. And you must love your neighbor as you do yourself." The young man said, "I have kept all these commandments; what more do I lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell everything you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come back here and follow me."

"When the Son of Man comes in His splendor, and all the angels with Him, He will take His seat on His splendid throne, and all the nations will be gathered before him, and He will separate them from one another, just as a shepherd separates his sheep from his goats, and He will put the sheep at His right hand and the goats at his left. read more.
Then the King will say to those at His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For when I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, when I was thirsty you gave me something to drink, when I was a stranger you welcomed me to your homes, when I needed clothes you put them on me, when I was sick you looked after me, when I was in prison you came to see me.' Then the upright will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and give you something to eat, or thirsty, and give you something to drink? When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you to our homes, or needing clothes, and put them on you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and come to see you?' And the King will answer them, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you did a good deed to one of these most insignificant brothers of mine, you did a good deed to me.' "Then He will say to those at His left, 'Be gone from me, you who are now cursed, to the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For when I was hungry you gave me nothing to eat, when I was thirsty you gave me nothing to drink, when I was a stranger you did not welcome me to your homes, when I needed clothes you did not put them on me, when I was sick and in prison, you did not look after me.' Then they will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or needing clothes, or sick, or in prison, and did not wait on you?' Then He will answer, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you failed to do a good deed to one of these most insignificant people, you failed to do a good deed to me.' Then these will go away to everlasting punishment, but the upright to everlasting life."

Then why should you criticize your brother? Or, why should you look down on your brother? Surely, we shall all stand before God to be judged, for the Scripture says: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall make acknowledgment to God.'" So each of us must give an account of himself to God.

For the Father passes sentence on no one, but He has committed all judgment to the Son, Verse Concepts

For we must all appear before the judgment-bar of Christ, that each may get his pay for what he has done, whether it be good or bad. Verse Concepts

"When the Son of Man comes in His splendor, and all the angels with Him, He will take His seat on His splendid throne, and all the nations will be gathered before him, and He will separate them from one another, just as a shepherd separates his sheep from his goats, and He will put the sheep at His right hand and the goats at his left. read more.
Then the King will say to those at His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For when I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, when I was thirsty you gave me something to drink, when I was a stranger you welcomed me to your homes, when I needed clothes you put them on me, when I was sick you looked after me, when I was in prison you came to see me.' Then the upright will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and give you something to eat, or thirsty, and give you something to drink? When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you to our homes, or needing clothes, and put them on you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and come to see you?' And the King will answer them, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you did a good deed to one of these most insignificant brothers of mine, you did a good deed to me.' "Then He will say to those at His left, 'Be gone from me, you who are now cursed, to the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For when I was hungry you gave me nothing to eat, when I was thirsty you gave me nothing to drink, when I was a stranger you did not welcome me to your homes, when I needed clothes you did not put them on me, when I was sick and in prison, you did not look after me.' Then they will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or needing clothes, or sick, or in prison, and did not wait on you?' Then He will answer, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you failed to do a good deed to one of these most insignificant people, you failed to do a good deed to me.' Then these will go away to everlasting punishment, but the upright to everlasting life."

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it, from whose presence earth and sky fled away, no more to be found. I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened; it was the book of life, And the dead were judged by what was written in the books in accordance with what they had done. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and the underworld gave up the dead that were in them, and they were all judged in accordance with what they had done. read more.
Then death and the underworld were hurled into the fiery lake, This is the second death -- the fiery lake. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was hurled into the fiery lake.

"Blessed are those who feel poor in spiritual things, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. Verse Concepts

Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ have obtained the same precious faith that we have: spiritual blessing and peace be to you in increasing abundance through a full knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; because His divine power has given us everything that is needful for life and piety, through our full knowledge of Him who through His glory and excellence has called us to Him. read more.
It is through these that He has given us His precious and glorious promises, so that through them, after you have escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires, you may come to share in the divine nature. Now for this very reason you must do your level best to supplement your faith with moral character, moral character with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with patient endurance, patient endurance with piety, piety with brotherly affection, brotherly affection with universal love. For if you have these qualities and they continue to increase in you, they will make you neither idle nor unproductive in attaining a full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is blind -- or short-sighted-- and forgetful of the cleansing that he has received from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more in earnest to make certain to yourselves God's call and choice of you. For if you cultivate these qualities, you will never slip, for it is in this way that to you will be generously granted a triumphant admittance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will get into the kingdom of heaven, but only those who practice doing the will of my Father in heaven. Verse Concepts

Then He fixed His eyes upon His disciples, and began to speak. "Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours! Verse Concepts

"When the Son of Man comes in His splendor, and all the angels with Him, He will take His seat on His splendid throne, and all the nations will be gathered before him, and He will separate them from one another, just as a shepherd separates his sheep from his goats, and He will put the sheep at His right hand and the goats at his left. read more.
Then the King will say to those at His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For when I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, when I was thirsty you gave me something to drink, when I was a stranger you welcomed me to your homes, when I needed clothes you put them on me, when I was sick you looked after me, when I was in prison you came to see me.' Then the upright will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and give you something to eat, or thirsty, and give you something to drink? When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you to our homes, or needing clothes, and put them on you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and come to see you?' And the King will answer them, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you did a good deed to one of these most insignificant brothers of mine, you did a good deed to me.' "Then He will say to those at His left, 'Be gone from me, you who are now cursed, to the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For when I was hungry you gave me nothing to eat, when I was thirsty you gave me nothing to drink, when I was a stranger you did not welcome me to your homes, when I needed clothes you did not put them on me, when I was sick and in prison, you did not look after me.' Then they will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or needing clothes, or sick, or in prison, and did not wait on you?' Then He will answer, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you failed to do a good deed to one of these most insignificant people, you failed to do a good deed to me.' Then these will go away to everlasting punishment, but the upright to everlasting life."

Verse Concepts

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who wash their robes, so as to have a right to the tree of life and to enter the gates of the city.

Then they will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or needing clothes, or sick, or in prison, and did not wait on you?' Then He will answer, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you failed to do a good deed to one of these most insignificant people, you failed to do a good deed to me.'

For when I was hungry you gave me nothing to eat, when I was thirsty you gave me nothing to drink, when I was a stranger you did not welcome me to your homes, when I needed clothes you did not put them on me, when I was sick and in prison, you did not look after me.' Then they will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or needing clothes, or sick, or in prison, and did not wait on you?' read more.
Then He will answer, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you failed to do a good deed to one of these most insignificant people, you failed to do a good deed to me.'

For when I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, when I was thirsty you gave me something to drink, when I was a stranger you welcomed me to your homes, when I needed clothes you put them on me, when I was sick you looked after me, when I was in prison you came to see me.' Then the upright will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and give you something to eat, or thirsty, and give you something to drink? read more.
When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you to our homes, or needing clothes, and put them on you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and come to see you?' And the King will answer them, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you did a good deed to one of these most insignificant brothers of mine, you did a good deed to me.' "Then He will say to those at His left, 'Be gone from me, you who are now cursed, to the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For when I was hungry you gave me nothing to eat, when I was thirsty you gave me nothing to drink, when I was a stranger you did not welcome me to your homes, when I needed clothes you did not put them on me, when I was sick and in prison, you did not look after me.' Then they will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or needing clothes, or sick, or in prison, and did not wait on you?' Then He will answer, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you failed to do a good deed to one of these most insignificant people, you failed to do a good deed to me.' Then these will go away to everlasting punishment, but the upright to everlasting life."

"When the Son of Man comes in His splendor, and all the angels with Him, He will take His seat on His splendid throne, and all the nations will be gathered before him, and He will separate them from one another, just as a shepherd separates his sheep from his goats, and He will put the sheep at His right hand and the goats at his left. read more.
Then the King will say to those at His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For when I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, when I was thirsty you gave me something to drink, when I was a stranger you welcomed me to your homes, when I needed clothes you put them on me, when I was sick you looked after me, when I was in prison you came to see me.' Then the upright will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and give you something to eat, or thirsty, and give you something to drink? When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you to our homes, or needing clothes, and put them on you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and come to see you?' And the King will answer them, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you did a good deed to one of these most insignificant brothers of mine, you did a good deed to me.' "Then He will say to those at His left, 'Be gone from me, you who are now cursed, to the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For when I was hungry you gave me nothing to eat, when I was thirsty you gave me nothing to drink, when I was a stranger you did not welcome me to your homes, when I needed clothes you did not put them on me, when I was sick and in prison, you did not look after me.' Then they will answer, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or needing clothes, or sick, or in prison, and did not wait on you?' Then He will answer, 'I solemnly say to you, every time you failed to do a good deed to one of these most insignificant people, you failed to do a good deed to me.' Then these will go away to everlasting punishment, but the upright to everlasting life."

He told them another story, as follows: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed seed in his field. But while the world was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed wild wheat seed in the midst of the good seed, and went away. And when the wheat plants grew up and yielded their ripened grain, the wild wheat plants appeared too. read more.
And the farmer's slaves came up to him and said, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Then where did the wild wheat plants come from?' He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' Then they said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them?' And he said, 'No, never, for while you are gathering the wild wheat plants you might root up the good ones with them. Let them both grow together until harvest time, and at the harvest time I will order the reapers, "Gather first the wild wheat plants and tie them into bundles to be burned up, but get the wheat into my barn."'" He told them this story, as follows: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it is grown it is the largest of plants; yea, it grows into a tree, so that the wild birds come and roost in its branches." He told another story: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to yeast which a woman took and worked into a bushel of flour until it all had risen." Jesus told the crowds all this in stories, and without a story He told them nothing, to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth in stories, I will utter truths concealed since creation." Then He left the crowds and went into His house. And His disciples came up to Him and said, "Explain to us the story of the wild wheat in the field." And He answered: "The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world; the good seed are the members of the kingdom; the wild wheat seed are the followers of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the close of the age, the reapers are angels. Just as the wild wheat plants are gathered and burned up, so it will be at the close of the age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all those who cause wrongdoing, and the wrongdoers, and will throw them into the furnace of torturing punishment; there they will wail and grind their teeth. Then the upright will shine out like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let him who has ears listen! "The kingdom of heaven is like a pot of gold which was buried in a field, which a man found and buried again; and for joy over it he went and sold all he had and bought that field. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a gem-dealer who was looking for beautiful pearls. One day he found a very costly pearl, and he went and sold all he had and bought it. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was let down into the sea, and gathered fish of every kind, which, when it was full, the fishermen drew up on the shore, and sat down and picked out the good fish for their baskets and threw the bad away. So it will be at the close of the age; the angels will go out and separate the wicked from the upright, and will throw them into the furnace of torturing punishment. There they will wail and grind their teeth.

when I was a stranger you did not welcome me to your homes, when I needed clothes you did not put them on me, when I was sick and in prison, you did not look after me.' Verse Concepts