For I was hungry, and you gave me food: I was thirsty, and you gave me drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in:
All Commentaries on Matthew 25:35 Go To Matthew 25
John Chrysostom
AD 407
And here, however, it is of an equal; for he compares rich with rich, and poor with poor. And not in this way only does 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, says He, you 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 you gave me meat; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; and what follows.
