Matthew 25:31–46 (ESV)
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘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?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Dear fellow redeemed: Our text for today is the climax of the chapters on the last days and the second coming of Christ and with this passage, Matthew ends his record of Jesus’ teaching. Next he will record not so much Christ’s sermons and teaching, but His passion, death, and resurrection.
So when all is said and done, and there are no more words to say or things to do, and the universe itself has reached and end, what is the meaning of it all? What is the importance? What is the conclusion? Jesus tells us.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. …
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. …And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
It is interesting the Jesus alluded last week to Daniel and the “abomination of desolation” and again alludes to Daniel and his vision of the Ancient of Days reigning in glory.
Daniel 7:13–14 (ESV)
“I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
Perhaps those who heard him realized that this is indeed the climax of His mission, His kingdom, and His coming. So, while there may be many things that we want to know about Christ’s second coming, what comes to the foreground is that we need to be …
READY
I. Ready among Christ’s Sheep
II. Ready, Today, in Righteousness
I. Ready among Christ’s Sheep
Do not ever forget that there will be a day when all mankind will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ. For many He will be their greatest joy, but for many, many others He will be their worst nightmare. We need to be ready to face the judgment as Christ’s beloved sheep.
The separation of the sheep from the goats is the picture of Christ’s judgment. Notice, first, that He doesn’t examine their lives and then declare some to be sheep and some to be goats. While we have come to call it “judgment day” it isn’t a court where innocence or guilt is to be decided. When we are called before him, whether at our death or at the end of the world, we will be either sheep or goat already. Which are you? And more the point which will you be on the last day? Will the Lord be your dearest friend and joy, or your worst enemy and nightmare?
Will you be ready?
That depends upon what “ready” means. Will you be among the blessed or among the cursed, among the sheep or among the goats? On that great day it will be obvious to all which we are.
Of course, I want you to be among the sheep, although he leaves the imagery behind as calls you blessed. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. …
How can we be ready, if it depends upon being blessed, upon our election from the dawn of creation? If it all depends upon God what can we do? Let me tell you it is a good thing that it depends upon God, for there is nothing you could do anyway to lay claim upon heaven.
You are upon His right because you have been so blessed. This is the way it is with believers. We are believers because God in His mercy has made us so. Paul teaches this in Ephesians 1:3–4 (ESV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.
And so also in Romans 8:29–30 (ESV) For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
What does “justified” mean? It means “declared innocent” or “declared righteous.” To be blessed here means to be blessed with faith, spiritual life, and the righteousness of Christ. Christ took the unbelief and spiritual death in which you were born to the cross, and atoned for it there. He took you selfishness and self-centeredness too, and you bad habits and your anger and hatred. He took your personal foibles and your dark thoughts, and even your self-righteousness. He atoned for them all. And what is left? The righteousness and innocence that, as a verdict, He has declared yours.
And to justify that verdict, Christ sets out evidence. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
You are ready, for you have been called, enlightened, brought to faith, justified, given spiritual life – and it shows.
But now notice the goats, those on the left. Notice that they are cast out, but NOT for because they were “un-chosen.” “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘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?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’
Apart from Christ, apart from faith, they are still in their sins, and sin damns. Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
II. Ready, Today, in Righteousness
But just as to be unready, unrighteous, unholy is terrifying, to be ready, righteous, holy in Christ is beyond joy. To “depart,” is to be cast off from every good thing. To “come, …blessed… inherit is to be welcomed into the eternal presence of God. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
So how can we be ready? You don’t have to worry about not being wanted, for “He wants all to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” You have been called for you have heard the word. You have been enlightened, for you have come to faith.
So is it in living that good life? Giving food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, welcome to the stranger, clothes to the naked, compassion to the sick and companionship to the imprisoned? These works bring righteousness like wet streets bring rain. They are results, not causes. Hebrews 11:6 (ESV) And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
All that we do as believers, we do for Him, and in faith is righteousness.
So to be ready, we need to be in faith, and Romans 10:17 (ESV) So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
So to be ready is to be in faith, and to remain in the faith is to remain in the word and sacraments, God’s means by which he gives you his forgiveness and righteousness.
Remain in the Word.
AMEN.
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