punishment

The parable from the Gospel According to Matthew 25:31–46 (NABRE) portrays the end of time and shows Jesus separating sheep from goats—those who have earned eternal reward from those going to eternal punishment.

Ancient Greek has more than one word that can mean some sort of punishment. The word ποινή (poine) is the ultimate root of the English word punish and contains some sense of repayment or paying back for a wrong. This view of punishment is one of balancing the scales or righting the wrong.

The passage in the Gospel According to Matthew, however, uses a different word, κόλασις (kolasis), which comes from the idea of pruning or cutting away improper growth. The sense here is that something is fundamentally wrong and must be corrected by removal of that which is improper. Consider why the author might have chosen this view of punishment as the eternal consequence of sin. What do you think this suggests about the fundamental nature of sin and sinners?

you also may like our study of Saul, David & Solomon (digital only)
The United Kingdom of Israel: Saul, David & Solomon Foreshadow Christ the King, a 28-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, provides an in-depth look at the First and Second Books of Samuel to learn how the lives of the monarchs Saul, David, and Solomon point ahead to the kingdom of heaven. The unified reign of King David is seen as a foreshadowing or type of the unity that is one of the four marks of the Church—the kingdom of God—established by Jesus Christ. Click here to view a sample of the first lesson.

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