The Wicked and The Righteous

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

THE WICKED AND THE RIGHTEOUS

Matt 13:47-50

47 "Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

NIV

The key is the difference between the wicked and the righteous. What sets the two apart is very interesting because there is no one who is absolutely free of some kind of sin. In order words, it does not matter how righteous we may look, such as how the Pharisees presented themselves, we still are unable to be perfect and therefore commit sin, which in some sense could be defined as a wicked act, although considering the Greek word translated as wicked here, it might be better to say our sin is more like doing an evil act. The Greek word for wicked carries the meaning of morally culpable, while the word translated righteous has the meaning of innocent, holy or it also can be defined as one who observes divine and human laws. We should note that there is a major difference between the observation of the law and fulfilling the law, that is being one hundred percent in compliance with the law. The wicked do not observe the law, in fact, they ignore it, as if it does not exist. While the righteous observe the law is there and try to live within the boundaries of that law. However, because we cannot live perfectly in accordance with the law of God, we need Jesus. He fulfilled the law as He lived perfectly and therefore, He is our righteousness, and it is only because we have accepted him as our Lord and Savior we will be the good fish that are collected in the baskets. In other words, we are not morally culpable because we are in Christ. Those who are not in Christ, those who refuse to accept this grace from God, are indeed accountable for their sin and will receive the justice of God. It would seem that is not His good pleasure for his creation to be thrown into the fiery furnace, for God loves each and every one of His creation equally, for He does not show favoritism, but He is just, and both the wicked and the righteous will receive their just reward. We are so grateful that somehow Jesus was able to break through our sinful nature and show us the grace of God toward us and that we responded, accepting Jesus as our righteousness, our Savior, and our Lord.