WHAT IS HEAVEN LIKE?
Matthew 25:31-46
31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44 "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45 "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
When we study scripture, we should not take it out of its context for interpretation,
Or see part of the message as the message.
If we look at the text starting at verse 31 we could get the impression that getting
into heaven has something to do with our generosity toward others. If you look
carefully you will find that it is only one of the characteristics of a Christian
After a discussion of the sins of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law
starting in chapter 23 and, His second coming in chapter 24,
Jesus begins to talk about the kingdom of heaven and the wisdom of His chosen who will
be there using parables in Chapter 25.
Starting in verse 1 of chapter 25 He compares heaven to 5 wise virgins and to 5
foolish virgins. The 5 wise virgins await the coming of the bridegroom with
their lamps lighted and the anointing oil of the Holy Spirit. The five
foolish virgins fall asleep and have no anointing oil of the Holy Spirit.
When the bridegroom shows up the virgins with anointing of the Holy Spirit
enter into the bridal banquet hall. The 5 virgins without oil go looking but
when they come back, the door to the banquet hall is closed.
Jesus second parable illustrates heaven with stewardship of talents given to the
servants by the master. He gives 5 to one, 2 to another, and, one to another based
on their ability. The master goes away entrusting his talents to his servants.
He returns to see what has been done with his property.
The one with 5 invested and made 5 more. The one given 2, invested and made
2 more. The one given one did nothing and returned the one given him. The one
given one is punished for his do-nothing attitude.
In this third parable, Jesus describes the judgment of His second coming as the
separation of the sheep from the goats.
Sheep He describes as being generous to the poor. The goats He describes as
ignoring the needs of the poor.
In all three cases one could conclude that getting into heaven has to do with our
own efforts. This conclusion would be wrong. The parables only indicate Christian characteristics
The first parable describes the wisdom of a Christian. They study and are obedient to God’s Word.
The second describes a Christian as being a good steward of the gifts and talents given him.
The third parable describes the unselfish sacrificial work of a Christian.
Those prepared to enter into the kingdom of heaven when Jesus returns
are filled with the wisdom of the Lord and are obedient to God’s
commands. They were good Stewart of the Lord and unselfish in their
attitude toward others.
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