WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE JESUS? [1]

This series on Jesus is being presented like a mosaic, or jigsaw. Hopefully the pieces will fit, eventually. I'm ignoring for the moment the particular situation of the Matthean church which 'produced' the document we call the Gospel according to Matthew, and I will also face issues of redaction criticism etc. in future articles.

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Matthew's climactic discourse (25:31-46) follows six warnings/parables about how to live responsibly so as to be ready for the coming of 'the Son of Man'. This Last Judgment scene, unique to Matthew, 'is not a parable, but an apocalyptic drama'. Parables begin with this-worldly scenes 'which modulate into new dimensions of meaning. This scene, in contrast, begins with an other-worldly depiction of the parousia - the coming of the Son of Man with his angels and the gathering of all nations before his throne - and modulates into affirmations of the ultimate importance of ordinary, this-worldly deeds.' 'This is the only scene with any details picturing the last judgment in the New Testament.'[1]

And if Jesus is right, you'll be there. So, first, let's read it:

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"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his left hand, "You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' Then he will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

(Matthew 25:31-46 NRSV)

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The questions fall over themselves:

1. Who does Jesus think he is? He assumes the messianic title 'Son of Man' (Daniel 7:13 sq.), owns legions of angels, is King over everything, Shepherd of all humanity, Judge/dispenser of eternal life or judgment to every human being on behalf of God his 'Father', and exists-by-proxy in the lives of all the 'wretched of the earth'. The history of this planet reaches its denouement when he wraps it up..

2. Is this passage saying that the criterion of judgment is *not* 'receiving Jesus as your personal Savior': it has nothing to do with grace, 'justification' or the forgiveness of sins? It's not about being credally correct, believing all the 'right doctrines'? Is it saying that care for the poor is not a matter of 'extra credit', but is the raw decisive criterion of who's 'in' and who's 'out'? So it's not a matter of faith, as classic Christianity has posited, but love?

3. Who are 'all the nations' ('panta ta ethne')? Corporate structures or individuals?

4. If individuals, who? Specifically Christians, or Christian missionaries? Or the world's needy generally?

5. Is Jesus actually saying that when people respond to human need they're serving him, personally? (Again, who does he think he is?)

6. Is this partly a political statement: those who are 'outsiders' and rejected by the world's powerful will experience a grand reversal at the climax of history?

7. Why is all this a surprise to both groups - the care-givers, and the selfish?

[1] The New Interpreter's Bible, 1995, Vol VIII, p. 455

-- Shalom! Rowland Croucher http://jmm.aaa.net.au/

'We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.' - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Phenomenon of Man