Commentary on Matthew

Chapter Twenty-Eight

267 CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT hen the Son of Man comes in his majesty and all the angels with him,1 and the rest. The Lord himself clarified the complete meaning of this statement. He is mindful of the time of judgment and the moment2 when he will separate the faithful from the unfaithful,3 and distinguish between the fruitful and the unfruitful, removing the goats from the sheep, placing each on his right and on his left.4 He will establish those on his throne who are worthy according to their goodness or wickedness. He shows that he is with the least of his children: those who serve him with the attitude5 of his humility, who feed him with those who hunger, who give him a drink with those who thirst, who invite him among the strangers,6 and who clothe him with those who are naked, and who visit him with those who are sick, and who comfort him with those who are distressed.7 He is transfused8 into the bodies and minds of believers everywhere such that these devoted services to humanity may deserve grace, whereas their refusal provokes rejection.9 2. After this instruction, when he revealed the coming of a glorious return, he now told his disciples that he was going to suffer10 so that they might learn of the close connection between the sacrament of his cross and the glory of his eternity. Integral to this occasion, the Jews took counsel on how to kill him. Once the chief priests assembled together, they waited for an opportunity to commit such a crime.11 1. Mt 25.31. 2. adventu. 3. Mt 25.32. 4. Mt 25.33. 5. exspectatione. 6. Mt 25.35. 7. Mt 25.36. 8. transfunditur. Cf. supra, 10.27; 12.15; infra, 33.6; Tertullian, De carne Chr. 17.3. 9. Mt 25.41–46. 10. Mt 26.1–2. 11. Mt 26.3–4. ...