He will come to Judge…

Matthew 25:31-46 Page 988

Revelation 20:11-15 Pge 1233

Belief that Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead is a marker of orthodoxy. Regardless of what some tik-tok theologian might want to try and convince you of, this line has been held and believed by faithful, Bible-following, Jesus-loving Christians as a core doctrine of the faith throughout church history.

And it’s been that way because this line is all over the place in the Bible.

The idea of Jesus returning on a future day to judge is not a doctrine built on one obscure passage scholars try to twist and distort to fill their agenda,

it is not built on guessing or speculation. Just in the NT alone the return and judgment by Christ is referenced over 300 times. Just to put it in perspective for you, that is: - 1 in every 13 verses - 7 out of every 10chapters - 23 of the 27 books. Passages like… - Paul in 2 Timothy 4:1 “1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:”

Acts 17:30–31 “30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”” - John in Revelation 22:12 “12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.” - Peter in 2 Peter 3:10 “10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”

But if that’s not enough to convince you of the Biblical evidence for this doctrine, perhaps the best picture of what Jesus returning to judge the living and the dead means is taught by Jesus himself in Matthew 25. So hopefully you’re there by now. Here’s where we’re going today: - I want us to walk through this passage together and just lay out for us what Jesus specifically says about his return and judgment. - We’ll next deal with some of the difficulties that arise in our minds over the judgment of Christ. - And then I’ll close by trying to shape this line in our minds from a line of dread or objection, to a line of repentance, worship, and then celebration.

The Judge and His court

Matthew 25:31 “31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.

Daniel 7:9–10 “9 “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. 10 A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.”

Revelation 20:11–15 “11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

This passage comes at the end of a longer sermon by Jesus all about the end of the world.

What’s going to happen on that day in the future that no one knows when it will take place beside God the Father –

what is that day going to be like?

And Jesus has already told us it’ll be like a thief in the night. - Unexpected

People will be getting married, going to work, eating and drinking, living their everyday lives when all of a sudden Jesus will return.

It will be undeniable – a loud trumpet call and lightning flashing across the sky.

His coming will be public , not private

His coming will be visible not secret.

When He comes the whole world will know.

His coming will be sudden, unexpected, decisive. It will be the end of human history. It will determine human destiny.

Jesus will be our Judge

And when He comes he come to judge

The first time He came to earth, “the Son of Man [came] to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10);

when He returns, it will be to “judge the living and the dead” (2 Tim. 4:1).

At his first advent (coming ) he came as a humble servant and savior.

At his second advent (coming) he will come as both king and judge

When he comes he will not offer another chance, but he will judge according to your deeds.

He will not hide His glory or His wrath. He will be the judge

Psalm 11:4 “4 The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.”

Angels will assist in our Judgement.

The angels will be there

Matthew 25:31 “31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.

These are angelic warriors,

not fat little babies with tiny little wings that could not lift them

with little arrows shooting,

these are mighty beings.

These are fearful beings.

Just as the Angels were involved in the Christ’s 1st advent,

Foretold the conception of Christ

Came to Joseph in a dream

Came to the shepherds

Came to the Wise men to change up their way back to their homeland

They will be involved in his Second advent

When Christ returns, an archangel will proclaim His coming

1 Thessalonians 4:16 “16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.”

Revelation 19:17–18 “17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.””

They will aslo gather the elect and the unsaved for Judgement.

Matthew 24:31 “31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

Revelation 14:13 -20 “13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”” 14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” 16 So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped. 17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.”

The angels help with with two harvests:

a harvest of grain (v 14–16)

probably represents the gathering of God’s people for salvation (though it could also be a harvest for judgment)

and a harvest of grapes (v 17–20). The second harvest

represents the judgment of unbelievers,

who will be trodden down in “the great winepress of God’s wrath” (v 19).

Just as in our text we see the two fold judgement

Sheep and Goats

Weeds and Wheat (Matt 13:24-30)

Wheat and the Chaff

(Matt 3:12)

Believers will assist Jesus

It appears that believers will share in the judging.

Matthew 19:28 “28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

1 Corinthians 6:2–3 “2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!”

Paul gives us a mysterious glimpse into the future—

the way things will be at the end of time.

When God sets the world right—when he balances the scales of justice—

he will include those whom he has made right (those he has justified) in the process.

Although it is not entirely clear what this means,

at the very least it means that justice in the church—

the way we deal with our issues—should be superior to the system of justice in the world.

Daniel 7:22 “22 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.”

Revelation 3:21 “21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”

Revelation 20:4 “4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”

every believer will participate in some way at sometime. Will that be while Jesus reigns on David’s throne , during the present age, or at the end, or maybe both, we are not told exactly how and when, but we are told we will assist with judging the nations and even the angels.

The Subjects of the Judgement

All Humanity will be judged.

Matthew 25:32 “32 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.”

Jesus is a worldwide creator, Jesus is a worldwide King, he is a worldwide Savior, and He will most certainly be a worldwide judge.

All nations will be gathered before him.

Every single solitary person who's ever lived in every nation on Earth will be gathered before Christ's Judgment Seat.

Whether dead or alive

Whether rich or poor

Whether powerful of weak

Whether famous or obscure

Demorcat or Republican

It doesn't matter the station, everybody's going to be standing before Jesus.

The word “gathered” implies something happening to you, doesn't it?

All the nations will be gathered before him.

It implies in some cases, as if by force.

There is no choice but to heed this summons.

No Muslim, for example, will be able to say, "I will not stand, I refuse to stand before a Christian judgment, I am a Muslim, and I will only stand before Allah."

No Atheist will be able to say no.

No, dear friend, you'll stand before Jesus Christ. 

The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin.

So Jesus tells us that at the conclusion of history –

whenever that occurs –

Jesus will come in glory and all of the “nations” –

all of the people on earth –

will be gathered before him.

And at that point, Jesus will separate them into two groups –

sheep on the right.

Goats on the left.

The saved on the right

The lost on the left

That division is absolute. Charles H. Spurgeon wrote, “Not one goat will be left among the sheep, nor one sheep with the goats.… There will be no middle company in that day.”

The evil angels will also be judged.

2 Peter 2:4“4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;”

Jude 6 “6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—”

This means that at least the rebellious angels or will be subject to judgment on that last day as well. even the master of the evil spirits , the serpent himself will be judges and punished.

Revelation 20:10“10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Every creature that raises his/her hand against God will be judged and punched. Every evil and unjust dead will be reveled and Judge Jesus will give justice.

So How will we be judged

The Basis of our Judgement

Your Belief in Christ

Matthew 25:34 “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.”

The basis of separation is that those sheep at a certain point repented and believed in Jesus.

Actively, they believed, they trusted, they turned away from their sins.

This is not so evident in the sheep and the goats,

but this is what it says,

"The King will say to those on His right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you

The key concept here is an inheritance, a kingdom, something that's promised. 

Jesus began His preaching, saying, "The time has come. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news." If you repent and believe, you get a promise, you get an inheritance. You get a kingdom. They believed the gospel, they trusted, and this inheritance was given to them, they became heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ of heaven, and they get this beautiful inheritance, this kingdom given them as a gift.

Notice in verse 37, the Lord calls them righteous.

Matthew 25:37 “37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?”

How did they get this label “righteous”?

Let me tell you something, if there's a good time and a good place to be called righteous, Judgment Day is it, don't you think? And even better, if it's Jesus, the judge, calling you righteous, how sweet is that? Jesus calls them righteous.

It says in

Romans 3:10 “10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;”

They believed in Jesus, they trusted in Him, and the righteousness of God was given as a gift. Then on Judgement Day, they're vindicated in that righteousness.

Romans 3:22 “22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:”

God is not declaring them righteous, they were righteous based on their repentance and belief in Christ.

Evidence of your faith

Matthew 25:35–37 “35 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, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?”

Matthew 25:40 “40 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.’”

Matthew 25:42–43 “42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 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.’”

Matthew 25:45 “45 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.’”

This flows from the first basis of separation. Those that show

We know we are saved by faith alone apart from works according to the explicit teaching of the New Testament.

Ephesians 2:8–9 “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

But if that is the case, as we believe it to be,

how is it that judgment can also be based on works,

as in the story of the separation of the sheep and goats or even in the parable of the talents?

The answer, of course, is that passages that speak of judgment based on works are merely saying that it,

like all judgments, will be on the basis of demonstrable evidence.

Revelation 20:12 “12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.”

If your name is in the book of life then the books of your deeds will prove confirm it.

If your name does not appear in the book of life, i=the book of deeds will corroborate that as well.

The works Christians perform do not save them,

but the works are evidence that Christians love and trust Jesus.

Ephesians 2:10 “10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

We are not justified BY good works, but FOR good works.

William Hendriksen is on target here when he says, “In the case of any given individual what matters is whether he has during his earthly life given evidence of his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; therefore, of a life in harmony with Christ’s commands and example.”

The Finality of Judgement

This is separation Day

The SEPARATION of the righteous from the unrighteous, the believers in Jesus Christ from the unbelievers, the saved from the lost, the redeemed from the unredeemed

The second coming of Christ. “All the nations are gathered before him, and there the Son of Man separates the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep and the goats.”

D. A. Carson Sermon Library (The Olivet Discourse, Part 5 (Matthew 24–25))

Of course, in the ancient world, many times during the day sheep and goats were mingled together in common pasturage, but because the sheep could manage quite nicely at night on many occasions without actually being huddled together for warmth, whereas the goats by contrast had to be huddled together when it was cold, they could often be separated at night and divided into two separate flocks.

That is the image, of course, that would have been very common to anyone living in the first century. The Son of Man quickly becomes the King in verse 34 because, of course, this is the Son of Man who receives a kingdom from the Father in Daniel, chapter 7. There he separates the people.

This was a prophecy/metaphor lifted directly out of the Old Testament – Ezekiel 34 –

where it promises that the Lord would one day separate the sheep (His people) from the goats (those who were not His people). And it’s important to recognize here Jesus isn’t declaring or making people sheep and goats. He’s identifying and separating people based on what is already true about them, are they a sheep or are they a goat.

The sheep are welcomed into the eternal presence of God.

Matthew 25:34 “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.”

Matthew 25:46 “46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”” That’s what a shepherd does, and that’s what Jesus ultimately says that he will do when the end comes.

This strong expression brings out the truth that this has always been in the plan of God.

Jesus is not speaking of some afterthought,

but of what God had always planned to bring about,

and that will come to its consummation at the end of this age.

He leaves “the sheep” in no doubt but that they are entering into a glorious destiny.

This should not be overlooked when we come to consider the words commending those who go into the kingdom.

Some interpret the passage as though those on the King’s right merited their salvation by their good works,

but here we have the kingdom prepared for them by God before ever they were born.

We should not miss the implication that they are God’s elect.

The goats are cast away to eternal punishment.

Matthew 25:41 “41 “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.”

Matthew 25:46 “46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.””

There is symmetry here.

The wicked “go away to eternal punishment,

but the righteous to eternal life” (25:46).

The righteous are welcomed

the unrighteous are sent away.

Yet there is a difference

Hell is a total separation, and not just from those who will be with Christ in heaven.

It is separation from God.

Jesus expressed it when he quoted the King as saying,

‘Depart from me, you cursed (v. 41).

“The whole world can be divided into two classes,

Yet the division in Matthew 25 is the only one that really matters—

the division between those who will “go away to eternal punishment”

and those who will enter into “eternal life” (v. 46),

between the saved and the lost.

Hell is a bad association.

We learn something interesting about hell in these verses that is not taught explicitly elsewhere. Hell was “prepared for the devil and his angels” (v. 41).

If hell was prepared for the devil and his angels—

the angels that followed him in his rebellion against God and are now known as demons—w

e can be certain that they will be in hell some day.

And if that is the case, it means that those who have refused Christ and have shown it by their neglect of Christ’s followers will be sent there to be with those demons.

Some people think of hell as a place where the devils torment sinners.

But Jesus pictures hell as a place where fallen angels and rebellious human beings are together in their suffering.

What a terrible association!

What a destiny!

To spend eternity shoulder to shoulder with an evil being whose one goal has been to defy God

and bring others to share in suffering forever. Will the devils not gloat that they have succeeded in bringing people to hell?

Will they not gloat over you if you are there?

Hell is suffering.

I suppose the references to hell as a place of “eternal fire” (Matt. 25:41) or “burning sulfur” (Rev. 20:10) are symbolic,

if for no other reason than that the demons are disembodied spirits and thus cannot be punished by fire in the literal sense.

But what of that?

The purpose of imagery is to point beyond what literal language can convey.

If a literal burning by fire is bad,

the reality of hell’s suffering must be immeasurably and inexpressibly worse.

Even if the suffering is only mental, internal, or psychological,

it is something that produces an eternal “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 25:30).

The Coming Judgement means……

Every man will receive His due.

Romans 2:6–11 “6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.”

We do not have to fear the judgement

The cross shelters the sinner from God’s judgment. Application of Christ’s blood as the answer to our sin is what saves us from the penalty of sin. If you are not a Christian, this is the only hope for your soul. Accept God’s promise today to cleanse your soul by accepting Christ’s paying for your penalty.

Be Ready and Prepared.

The three previous parables all served to illustrate the commands to “be alert” (24:42) and “be ready” (24:44) for his second coming. The three parables all featured the return of a man or master, with the parable of the talents indicating that the return of the lord of the slaves was after a long time, upon which he “settled accounts” with them (25:19). This passage now provides the climax of the judgment discourse, a predictive description of the heavenly judgment scene, where the Son of Man is seated on his throne judging the nations and separating those who were “alert” and “ready” from those who were not. The Son of Man separates the righteous from the unrighteous, inviting the righteous into the eternal kingdom of God. They are able to inherit the kingdom because they have lived righteous lives and loved those in need, and in so doing loved Jesus. Then the wicked are sent to their inheritance, eternal destruction. Hell is their fate because they did not live righteous lives, nor did they love those in need, and in so doing they did not love Jesus.