The Final Judgment
When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all of his angels, he
will sit on his royal throne. The people of all nations will be
brought before him, and he will separate them, as shepherds separate
their sheep from their goats. He will place the sheep on his right
and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his
right, "My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that
was prepared for you before the world was created.
When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was
thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you
welcomed me, and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When
I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited
me." Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, "When did we give
you something to eat or drink? When did we welcome you as a stranger
or give you clothes to wear or visit you while you were sick or in
jail?" The king will answer, "Whenever you did it for any of my
people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me."
Then the king will say to those on his left, "Get away from me! You
are under God's curse. Go into the everlasting fire prepared for the
devil and his angels! I was hungry, but you did not give me anything
to eat, and I was thirsty, but you did not give me anything to drink.
I was a stranger, but you did not welcome me, and I was naked, but you
did not give me any clothes to wear. I was sick and in jail, but you
did not take care of me."
Then the people will ask, "Lord, when did we fail to help you when
you were hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in
jail?" The king will say to them, "Whenever you failed to help any
of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you failed to do
it for me." Then Jesus said, "Those people will be punished forever.
But the ones who pleased God will have eternal life."
The Plot To Kill Jesus
When Jesus had finished teaching, he told his disciples, "You know
that two days from now will be Passover. That is when the Son of Man
will be handed over to his enemies and nailed to a cross." At that
time the chief priests and the nation's leaders were meeting at the
home of Caiaphas the high priest. They planned how they could sneak
around and have Jesus arrested and put to death. But they said, "We
must not do it during Passover, because the people will riot."
At Bethany
Jesus was in the town of Bethany, eating at the home of Simon, who
had leprosy. A woman came in with a bottle of expensive perfume and
poured it on Jesus' head. But when his disciples saw this, they
became angry and complained, "Why such a waste? We could have sold
this perfume for a lot of money and given it to the poor." Jesus
knew what they were thinking, and he said: Why are you bothering this
woman? She has done a beautiful thing for me. You will always have
the poor with you, but you won't always have me. She has poured
perfume on my body to prepare it for burial. You may be sure that
wherever the good news is told all over the world, people will
remember what she has done. And they will tell others.
