Matthew 25:46

46 And these will go away ¹into eternal punishment, but the righteous ²into ³eternal life."

Matthew 25:46 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 25:46

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment
Their excuses will not be regarded, their pleas will be of no avail, their pretensions to interest in Christ, and love to him, will be set aside; the sentence will remain irrevocable, and there will be no appeal from it, for there is no higher tribunal to bring the cause before; judgment having passed, the execution of it immediately follows: these goats, or formal professors, shall be obliged, whether they will or not, to depart from the presence of Christ; the angels will be ordered to take and cast them into everlasting burnings; they will be driven by them into hell, the place appointed for them; where they shall endure (yxun vnwe) "everlasting punishment", as the Jews ^F16 also express it; and that both in soul and body, as the just desert of sin; which being committed against an infinite God, cannot be satisfied for by a finite creature; who therefore must ever bear the punishment of it, because its pollution and guilt will always remain:

but the righteous into life eternal;
such as are justified by the righteousness of Christ, and who, though they have done works of righteousness under the influence, and by the assistance of the grace of God, yet have not depended upon them, but upon Christ, for life and salvation: these shall go into heaven, the place appointed for them, to enjoy that eternal life in soul and body, which is the free gift of God, through Christ; and will be a life free from all the sorrows of the present one; a life of perfect holiness and knowledge, and inconceivable pleasure; a life of vision of God, and communion with him, and which will continue for ever; and which ascertains the eternity of the punishment of the wicked: for as the happiness of the righteous will be eternal, the punishment of the wicked will be so too; for no reason can be given why the word which is the same in both clauses, should be taken in the one for a limited time, and in the other for an eternal duration. The Jews have a saying ^F17 which agrees with this last clause, "the world to come is not made but for the righteous".

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FOOTNOTES:

F16 Caphtor, fol. 113. 1. Shalshelet Hakabala, fol. 71. 1.
F17 T. Bab. Yebamot, fol, 47. 1.

Matthew 25:46 In-Context

44 Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?'

45 Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'

46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Cross References

• 1. Daniel 12:2; [John 5:29; Acts 24:15]
• 2. Daniel 12:2; [John 5:29; Acts 24:15]
• 3. Romans 2:7; Romans 5:21; Romans 6:23