NIV, Faithlife Study Bible | Page 221

MattheW 26:3 | 1585

34

“ Then the King will say to those on his right , ‘ Come , you who are blessed by my Fa ther ; take your in her i tance , the king dom pre pared for you since the cre a tion of the world . 35 For I was hun gry and you gave me some thing to eat , I was thirsty and you gave me some thing to drink , I was a strang er and you in vit ed me in , 36 I need ed clothes and you clothed me , I was sick and you looked af ter me , I was in pris on and you came to vis it me .’

37

“ Then the righ teous will an swer him , ‘ Lord , when did we see you hun gry and feed you , or thirsty and give you some thing to drink ? 38 When did we see you a strang er and in vite you in , or need ing clothes and clothe you ? 39 When did we see you sick or in pris on and go to vis it you ?’

40

“ The King will re ply , ‘ Tru ly I tell you , whatev er you did for one of the least of these broth ers and sis ters of mine , you did for me .’

41

“ Then he will say to those on his left , ‘ De part from me , you who are cursed , into the eter nal fire pre pared for the dev il and his an gels . 42 For I was hun gry and you gave me noth ing to eat , I was thirsty and you gave me noth ing to drink , 43 I was a strang er and you did not in vite me in , I need ed clothes and you did not clothe me , I was sick and in pris on and you did not look af ter me .’

44

“ They also will an swer , ‘ Lord , when did we see you hun gry or thirsty or a strang er or needing clothes or sick or in pris on , and did not help you ?’ 45

“ He will re ply , ‘ Tru ly I tell you , what ev er you did not do for one of the least of these , you did not do for me .’

46

“ Then they will go away to eter nal pun ishment , but the righ teous to eter nal life .”

The Plot Against Jesus

26:2-5pp — ​Mk 14:1,2 ; Lk 22:1,2

When Jesus had fin ished say ing all these things , he said to his dis ci ples , 2 “ As you know , the Pass over is two days away — ​and the Son of Man will be hand ed over to be cru ci fied .”

3

Then the chief priests and the el ders of the peo ple as sem bled in the pal ace of the high priest ,

25:34 your inheritance , the kingdom prepared for you The Jewish worldview of Jesus ’ day envisioned the present age ending with a time of tribulation , followed by divine judgment . Then God ’ s kingdom — ​the age to come — ​would be fully inaugurated . This schema also is reflected in the books of Daniel and Revelation . 25:35 For I was hungry The actions described here ( and in the next verse ) reflect obedience to the command to love one ’ s neighbor — ​and thereby demonstrate love for God , as well ( 22:37 – 39 ). 25:40 the least of these Jesus ’ remarks here call for Chris tian care to reach all the way to the bottom of the social structure , thus inverting earthly values . 25:41 eternal fire Refers to divine wrath . See note on Lk 3:9 .

26:1 – 5 At this point , Matthew ’ s narrative shifts from Jesus ’ ministry and teaching to the events that lead to his death .

26:2 Passover An annual Jewish feast commemorating the Israelites ’ deliverance from slavery in Egypt ( Ex 12 – 13 ; see note on Lk 2:41 ). 26:3 chief priests and the elders of the people Refers to members of the Sanhedrin , the Jewish ruling body in Jerusalem . Caiaphas The acting high priest . John ’ s Gospel indicates that Caiaphas ’ predecessor and father-in-law , Annas , still held some authority at this time ( Jn 18:12 – 13,19 – 24 ). See the table “ Political Leaders in the New Testament ” on p . 1916 .