Bible Strands
Matthew 25:43
I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me.’
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks to the condemned nations at the final judgment, addressing them directly after the separation of the righteous and the unrighteous. He delivers this rebuke during the eschatological scene where He identifies Himself with the marginalized.
The words — ξένος (xenos) means a foreigner or stranger, and συνηγάγετέ (sunēgagete) literally means you gathered or received into shelter. These terms highlight the specific failure to offer hospitality and physical refuge to the vulnerable.
The thread — The theme of neglecting the stranger and naked runs through Leviticus 19:34, Deuteronomy 10:18, and James 2:15–16. Jesus reinterprets these Old Testament commands by identifying Himself directly with the suffering.
Why it lands — The text demands concrete action toward those lacking basic necessities rather than abstract piety. It requires the reader to recognize service to the marginalized as direct service to Christ.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.