Mt 25:31-46
[Jesus said to his disciples,] 31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, 32and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’
37Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ 40And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’... 46And these will go off... to eternal life.
YOU DID FOR ME: In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the human person is not just one of the many creatures of God; the human person is a unique creature of God. God did not simply make the human person the high point, the crowning glory of creation; the human person—male and female—is made in God’s image and likeness. Hence, even in the Old Testament era, God identifies himself with the lowliest of human beings (see Prv 19:17).
Jesus brings this closeness of God and the human person to even more intimate levels. Jesus, though God with God, embraced our humanity sans our sinful nature (Jn 1). Jesus identifies himself with his disciples in their various experiences of mission and persecution (Mt 10:40; Lk 10:16; Acts 9:5). He identifies himself with the small and insignificant, such as the children (Mt 18:5; see Jas 2:14-17).
The parable of the Judgment of the Nations contains the most revealing passages about Jesus’ concern and identification with “the last, the lost, and the least.” One who does works of mercy towards these persons in need is saved not for the good works he does; he is saved because his good works are done for God who identifies himself with the person in need.
Salvation is not just being good and doing good. It is not earned by philanthropy. Salvation is acting out our faith in God in our relationships with others.