2026 Special Lecture 2 February 1, 2026

The Way We Love Jesus: Loving the Least

Matthew 25:31-46

Key Verse: 25:40

1. In this parable, how is the coming of the Son of Man described (31, 34)? What will he do? How is the universality of this final judgment expressed? What two kinds of people are there (33)?
2. What does the King say to the sheep on his right hand (34)? What is their inheritance and why do they receive the inheritance (35-36, Rev 21:1-5)? Does the King use different criteria for the salvation (35, Eph 2:8)? Why does Jesus call those on his right-the sheep “the righteous” (37)?
3. What questions did they ask the King (37-39)? What truth does he reveal to them (40)? Why did the King identify our love for his brothers and sisters as love towards him (Gal 2:20, John 14:20)? How can we love Jesus? Who are “the least of these”? What shows that their inner lives have been changed?
4. What is the sad news the King tells those on his left–the goats (41-43)? Why must they depart and why were they cursed (42)? Why didn’t they even know what they had failed to do? What reveals their unchanged hearts–their selfishness (1 John 4:20)?