Matthew 25:39
in Matthew 25When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
KJV
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
⋯
This verse in Matthew 25
Commentary
10 notes on this verseOr when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? For though he bore the sicknesses of his people, yet we never read of his being sick himself, nor was he ever cast into prison; but this has been the case of many of his servants, as John the Baptist, Peter, and Paul, and multitudes of others, who have been tenderly and affectionately used by their fellow Christians.
This site's exposition
Lord, when saw we thee
on Matthew 25:37-40
Then shall the righteous answer him, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee shows genuine surprise, the righteous unaware that their ordinary acts of mercy carried this weight at all. The King shall answer and say unto them, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me identifies Christ with the overlooked and the needy so completely that mercy shown them is mercy shown him directly. The little ones thread the brief names, running from 10:42's cup of cold water through 18:6's millstone warning, arrives here at its fullest statement, my brethren naming the connection outright.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink." [Jesus mentions] many other things, which we have recited. Having been given the faith, the righteous say, "Lord, when did see you hungry and fed …
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 79 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
Then, in order that thou mayest see in another way also the justice of the sentence, He first praises them that have done right, and saith, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you before the foundation of the world. For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat," and all that follows. For that they may not say, we had it not, He condemns them by their fellow-servants; like as the virgins by the virgins, and the servant that was drunken and gluttonous by the faithful servant, and him that buried his talent, by them that brought the two, and each one of them that continue in sin, by them that have done right. And here, however, it is of an equal; for he compares rich with rich, and poor with poor. And not in this way only doth He show the sentence justly passed, by their fellow-servants having done what was right when in the same circumstances, but also by their not being obedient so much as in these things in which poverty was no hindrance; as, for instance, in giving drink to the thirsty, in looking upon him that is in bonds, in visiting the sick. And when He had commended them that had done right, He shows how great was originally His bond of love towards them. For, "Come," saith He, "ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." To how many good things is this same equivalent, to be blessed, and blessed of the Father? And wherefore were they counted worthy of such great honors? What is the cause? "I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink;" and what follows.
The Medieval Church3 voices
Lord, when sate we thee &c. This they say not because they distrust the Lord's words, but they are in amaze at so great exaltation, and at the greatness of their own glory; or because the good which they have done will seem to them to be so small according to that of the Apostle, For the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us. (Rom. 8:18.)
Then shall the just answer, saying. Here is set forth a mental response. It belongs to good minds to consider what they do for God's sake as small; Luke 17:10: when you shall have done all these things that are commanded you, say: we are …
By "the least brethren" He means either His own disciples or, simply, all the poor. For every poor man is Christ's brother for the very reason that Christ, too, spent His life in poverty. See also God's righteousness, how He acclaims the saints; and see …
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. That in general which is to be illustrated is, the kingdom of heaven, the state of things under the gospel, the external kingdom of Christ, and the administration and success of it. Some of Christ's parables had shown us what it is like now in the present reception of it, as ch. xiii.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
In these verses our Lord Jesus Christ describes the judgment day, and some of its leading circumstances. There are few passages in the whole Bible more solemn and heart-seaching than this. May we read it with the deep and serious attention which it deserves. Let us mark in the first place who will be the judge in the last day. We read that it will be “the Son of Man” Jesus Christ himself.
In these verses our Lord Jesus Christ describes the judgment day, and some of its leading circumstances. There are few passages in the whole Bible more solemn and heart-seaching than this. May we read it with the deep and serious attention which it deserves. Let us mark in the first place who will be the judge in the last day. We read that it will be “the Son of Man” Jesus Christ himself. That same Jesus who was born in the manger of Bethlehem and took upon him the very form of a servant; who was despised and rejected of men and often had not where to lay his head; who was condemned by the princes of this world, beaten, scourged and nailed to the cross—that same Jesus shall himself judge the world when he comes in his glory. To him The Father hath commited all judgment. ( John 5:22 ). To him at last every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that he is Lord ( Philippians 2:10–11 ). Let believers think of this and take comfort. He that sits upon the throne in that great and dreadful day will be their Saviour, their Shepherd, their High Priest, their elder Brother, their Friend. When they see him they will have no cause to be alarmed. Let unconverted people think of this and be afraid. Their judge will be that very Christ whose Gospel they now despise, and whose gracious invitations they refuse to hear. How great will be their confusion at last if they go on in unbelief and die in their sins! To be condemned in the day of judgment by anyone would be awful; but to be condemned by him who would have saved them will be awful indeed. Well may the psalmist say, “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry” ( Psalm 2:12 ). Let us mark in the second place who will be judged on the last day. We read that before Christ “shall be gathered all the nations.”
The words behind it
12 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| πότε | pote | When | G4219 → | 19 times |
| δέ | de | now | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| σε | se | You | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| εἴδομεν | eidomen | saw we | G1492 → | 374 times |
| ἀσθενοῦντα | asthenounta | ailing | G770 → | 33 times |
| ἢ | e | or | G2228 → | 342 times |
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| φυλακῇ | phulakea | prison | G5438 → | 47 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἤλθομεν | elthomen | came | G2064 → | 628 times |
| πρός | pros | to | G4314 → | 700 times |
| σε;¶ | se | You? | G4771 → | 2973 times |
πότεWhen
poteG4219 →19 times
δέnow
deG1161 →2765 times
σεYou
seG4771 →2973 times
εἴδομενsaw we
eidomenG1492 →374 times
ἀσθενοῦνταailing
asthenountaG770 →33 times
ἢor
eG2228 →342 times
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
φυλακῇprison
phulakeaG5438 →47 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἤλθομενcame
elthomenG2064 →628 times
πρόςto
prosG4314 →700 times
σε;¶You?
seG4771 →2973 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About Matthew
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Epiphanius Scholasticus, INTERPRETATION OF THE GOSPELS 38; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 79; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Rabanus Maurus, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.