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Matthew 25:40
ESV And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
NIV "The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
NASB And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it for Me.’
CSB "And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
NLT And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
KJV And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
NKJV And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

What does Matthew 25:40 mean?

The group described as "righteous" will respond to Jesus' approval with questions. As this judgment occurs in the end times, many of these people will likely have never seen Jesus in person. How, then, can they have provided for His needs (Matthew 25:35–39)?

Christ, depicted rightfully as the King (Matthew 25:31) answers their confusion. When a believer in Christ shows love for Him by obedience (John 14:15), that reflects their service and devotion to Him (Matthew 10:40–42). Love for other believers is a sign of true faith (1 John 3:11; John 13:31–35). In other words, Jesus sees the loving care believers give to each other as if it was being done directly for Him.

It's important to note that the reason these people did these good works was because they were living faithfully for Jesus. Their works followed their faith (Titus 3:5) in Him as the chosen ones of His Father. Jesus calls all who are sons and daughters of His Father, His brothers and sisters. He is their King, yes, but He is also their spiritual brother since they are all children of God. Jesus is loyal to His family and receives good, done for them, as good done for Him.

This praise stands in stark contrast to the judgment of the second group (Matthew 25:32–33), as shown in the following verses.
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