John Calvin Commentary Matthew 25:34

"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:" — Matthew 25:34 (ASV)

Come, you blessed of my Father. We must remember Christ’s design, for he instructs his disciples to rest satisfied now with hope, so that with patience and tranquility of mind they may look for the enjoyment of the heavenly kingdom. Next, he instructs them to strive earnestly and not become weary in the right course.

To this latter instruction he refers when he promises the inheritance of the heavens to none but those who by good works aim at the prize of the heavenly calling.

But before speaking of the reward of good works, he points out, in passing, that the beginning of salvation flows from a higher source; for by calling them blessed of the Father, he reminds them that their salvation came from the undeserved favor of God.

Among the Hebrews, the phrase blessed of God means one who is dear to God, or beloved by God. Moreover, this form of expression was not only used by believers to praise the grace of God towards humanity, but those who had fallen away from true godliness still held this principle.

Enter, thou blessed of God, said Laban to Abraham’s servant (Genesis 24:31). We see that nature suggested this expression to them, by which they attributed to God the praise for all that they possessed.

There can be no doubt, therefore, that Christ, in describing the salvation of the godly, begins with the undeserved love of God, by which those who, under the guidance of the Spirit in this life, aim at righteousness, were predestined to life.

What he says a little later also relates to this: that the kingdom, to the possession of which they will be appointed on the last day, had been prepared for them from the beginning of the world. For though it may be easy to object that the reward was reserved in consideration of their future merits, anyone who will candidly examine the words must acknowledge that there is an implied commendation of the grace of God. Furthermore, Christ does not simply invite believers to possess the kingdom as if they had obtained it by their merits, but expressly says that it is bestowed on them as heirs.

Yet we must observe another purpose which our Lord had in view. For though the life of the godly is nothing other than a sad and wretched banishment, so that the earth can hardly bear them; though they groan under hard poverty, insults, and other afflictions; yet, so that with fortitude and cheerfulness they may overcome these obstacles, the Lord declares that a kingdom is elsewhere prepared for them.

This is a strong encouragement to patience, when people are fully convinced that they do not run in vain. Therefore, lest our minds should be cast down by the pride of the ungodly, who give themselves unrestrained indulgences—lest our hope should even be weakened by our own afflictions—let us always remember the inheritance that awaits us in heaven.

For it depends on no uncertain event, but was prepared for us by God before we were born—prepared, I say, for each of the elect, for the persons Christ addresses here are the blessed of the Father.

When it is said here only that the kingdom was prepared from the beginning of the world, while it is said in another passage that it was prepared before the creation of heaven and of earth (Ephesians 1:4), this is not inconsistent. For Christ does not here establish the precise time when the inheritance of eternal life was appointed for the sons of God. Instead, he only reminds us of God’s fatherly care, with which he embraced us before we were born, and confirms the certainty of our hope by this consideration: that our life can sustain no injury from the turmoil and disturbances of the world.