“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:”
My Notes
What Does Matthew 25:31 Mean?
Jesus describes his own return: the Son of man coming in glory, with all the holy angels, sitting on the throne of glory. The language is royal, cosmic, and unmistakable.
The glory is mentioned twice — his glory, the throne of his glory. This is not a quiet return. It is a display of divine majesty that fills the sky and commands the attention of every living being.
"All the holy angels with him" — the escort is not a small retinue. It is the entire angelic host. Every angel in existence accompanies this arrival.
The throne of glory is the seat of judgment. What follows (the sheep and goats judgment) determines the eternal destiny of every person based on how they treated the least. The one who sits on the throne is the same Jesus who washed feet — now evaluating whether his followers did the same.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How does the scale of Jesus' return — all angels, throne of glory — change your view of the second coming?
- 2.Why does the king on the throne of glory judge based on compassion rather than theology?
- 3.How does knowing the one on the throne also washed feet change your understanding of glory?
- 4.What practical acts of compassion is this passage pressing you toward?
Devotional
When the Son of man shall come in his glory. Not if. When. The return of Jesus is not speculative. It is certain. And it will not be subtle.
All the holy angels with him. Every angel. The entire heavenly host accompanying one person. The scale of the arrival matches the significance of the one arriving.
Then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. The same Jesus who sat at a well with a Samaritan woman, who sat on a hillside teaching crowds, who sat with sinners at dinner — sits on the throne of glory. The carpenter from Nazareth occupies the highest seat in the universe.
What follows this arrival is the most consequential evaluation in history: did you feed the hungry? Did you clothe the naked? Did you visit the imprisoned? The criteria for judgment are not theological. They are practical. The king evaluates based on compassion.
The throne of glory is occupied by someone who washed feet. And the standard he applies is whether you washed any.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
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Cross References
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