Matthew 25:44

And they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — The condemned reply to the King after He has pronounced judgment on their failure to minister to the least. They speak in response to His direct accusation of neglect.

The words — ἀποκριθὴσονται (apokrithēsontai) = will answer, and πότε (pote) = when. These terms frame their response as a genuine inquiry rather than a denial of facts.

The thread — The pattern of claiming religious authority while ignoring practical obedience appears in Matthew 7:22. The struggle to define who qualifies as a neighbor surfaces in Luke 10:29, while self-justification before divine judgment echoes Jeremiah 2:35.

Why it lands — The text records their literal question about never having seen or helped the vulnerable. It demands direct self-examination regarding whether one has actually served Christ through tangible care for others.

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

Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

Cross-references

Matthew 7:22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
Luke 10:29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jeremiah 2:35 you say, ‘I am innocent. Surely His anger will turn from me.’ Behold, I will judge you, because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
Malachi 1:6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?” says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise My name. “But you ask, ‘How have we despised Your name?’
Malachi 2:17 You have wearied the LORD with your words; yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?” By saying, “All who do evil are good in the sight of the LORD, and in them He delights,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”
Malachi 3:13 “Your words against Me have been harsh,” says the LORD. “Yet you ask, ‘What have we spoken against You?’
Matthew 25:24 Finally, the servant who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.
1 Samuel 15:13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said to him, “May the LORD bless you. I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”
1 Samuel 15:20 “But I did obey the LORD,” Saul replied. “I went on the mission that the LORD gave me. I brought back Agag king of Amalek and devoted the Amalekites to destruction.
Jeremiah 2:23 “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals’? Look at your behavior in the valley; acknowledge what you have done. You are a swift young she-camel galloping here and there,