On The Margins

Scripture

Matthew 25:31–40 The Message

“When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.’ “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’

Introduction/Background

This is an interesting text and a look ahead to April 19th. I was asked to preach on the second coming and we will start that series on April 19th.

What we have today comes from a section of Matthew know as the Olivet Discourse which is chapters 24 and 25 of Matthew. This takes place after Jesus laments over Jerusalem in the Temple

Matthew 24:1–3 NRSV

As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. Then he asked them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.” When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Matthew 24:3 NRSV

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

The discourse teaches on what to look for as far as signs for the end of the age and what our behavior as disciples should be between the advents. After Jesus says these thing he turns towards judgement in what we are partially looking at this morning.

The Olivet discourse was not meant to scare, but to encourage Matthew’s audience that even though they may be struggling (being persecuted) now, God will set things right at the end. However, we are not going to talk judgment or second coming today. We are going to talk about experiencing Jesus when we serve others.

First let’s start with a Video.

Exegesis

Now, as we talk about this scripture and what it means for us, remember what Lynne and Anita said here.

What we have this morning is the only description of the last judgment in the New Testament. It is very similar to

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.

Daniel 7

This is not so much a parable here as it is a narrative description as to what to take place.

Jesus teaches that he will return with the angels and he will sit on a throne of judgement. The nations will come before him and will separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep will go on the right, which is always a place of honor, the goats on the left which is not a place of honor.

The shepherds would herd the sheep and the goats together, but separate them at night because sheep preferred to be in the open to sleep, but goats preferred cover. This would have been a scene Jesus audience would have been used to seeing.

The interesting thing is they are being separated according to their service to others. The Bible scholars differ about who these “others” really are. Are they just other believers? Are they missionaries? Or is it Jew and gentile alike?

These are legitimate discussions, and frankly all are correct. However, this morning we will approach this from the interpretation that this concerns individuals from the nations of the world.

What can make you uncomfortable here, is that it appears were are judged by works instead of faith. One of the things the reformation was built around was sola fide, or faith alone. So what is going on here?

If we have faith and trust in Christ then we will have fruits, that is we will do the things Jesus has taught us to do. A lot of the olivet discourse teaches us not only signs to look for but also behaviors: what we should be doing between the advents. This scene of judgement concludes the discourse.

Therefore, if we have faith, love, and trust in Jesus we will do these things out of a response to the grace God has extended to us. it is a kind of spiritual respiration. Jesus breathes his love and grace on us, and we breathe it back.

And we do this because our nature has changed, that is why we don’t recognize Jesus when we do these things. Feeding the hungry, giving the thirsty something to drink, housing the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and incarcerated, doing these things become second nature.

Bottom line Jesus teaches us that he is in the ones overlooked and ignored, that is is one with those on the margins.

We do these to and for Jesus. It is the Jesus in us serving the Jesus in others.

Application

In this sermon series you have seen:

I was hungry and you fed me: Food Pantry, Good News at Noon, Red Bird

I was a stranger, foreigner, or homeless and you welcomed me: Family Promise, Good News at Noon, Red Bird

I was in prison and you visited me: Kairos

I was sick and you visited me, shut in ministry

But these things do not get us in the Kingdom of themselves. The are the fruits of the Kingdom life that has resulted from a transformation of life in Jesus Christ. We prepare ourselves for the coming Kingdom, by already doing the things of the Kingdom. If you are in the Kingdom you do Kingdom things.

The whole of the Olivet Discourse Jesus teaches us that he will return suddenly and we need to be prepared. We prepare by loving God and loving neighbor.

We serve because Jesus has served us. We love because Jesus has loved us. Jesus died for all of us. Whether one believe’s this or not, he still died for them. In fact Jesus died for all creation.

It is very clear folks: when Jesus returns we are to be found to be serving others. Not having hip worship services, or buildings of architectural renown, or theological degrees. Notice, he doesn’t say: Sheep enter your inheritance of the Kingdom prepared by God from the beginning because:

You went to church every Sunday.

You never missed a Bible Study or Sunday School.

You tithed 10%

You were on the leadership team or building committee.

You were 100% orthodox, that is you were doctrinally pure. (In fact Jesus left us no doctrine.)

You had an active prayer life.

No our call to action, by Jesus, is that we are serving others. It is not that these other things are not important. But the most important thing is to love God and neighbor.

Here is how John explains it:

1 John 4:17–21 The Message

God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love. We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first. If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.

1 John 4:

When you boil it on down John is reminding us of the fact that you cannot love God without loving neighbor. It is not possible. If you do not love neighbor, you do not love God, no matter how much you go to church, read your Bible, pray, etc. Of course doing this is in direct conflict with the world’s values. “Look out of number one.” “Survival of the fittest.” We go against the way we are wired because our selfishness and fear take over.We don’t want to get involved. We don’t have the time. We don’t have the training. Its not my thing. Yet it is the very Jesus we claim to worship when we do it, and it is the very Jesus we claim to worship when we don’t do it!

If we are truly following Jesus to the cross, then we are turned toward those that are suffering and need His touch. It makes no difference if we know them or not or if they go to church or not or if the go to this church or not.

When Mother Teresa started her work with the dying and destitute she was in desperate need of a place in which to care for them. Local authorities in Calcutta offered her a section of the temple to the goddess Kali, which, though originally intended for the temporary housing of pilgrims, had become a hangout for thieves, drug addicts, and pimps. When the news circulated that the temple was being used by a woman and a foreigner and that she was trying “to convert the poor to Christianity,” groups of people protested at city hall. Others went to the nearest police station to demand that the woman be evicted. The police commissioner promised to do just that, but wanted first to personally check things out.

When the police commissioner went to see Mother Teresa, she was caring for a poor sick man by putting potassium permanganate on wounds from which worms were crawling out. The stench was unbearable.

Mother Teresa treated the officer with respect and offered to show him about. He answered that he preferred to look around on his own.

Sermons 2014 Matthew 25:31-46 THMSG

When you boil it on down Jesus is reminding us of the fact that you cannot love God without loving neighbor. It is not possible. If you do not love neighbor, you do not love God, no matter how much you go to church, read your Bible, pray, etc. Of course doing this is in direct conflict with the world’s values. “Look out of number one.” “Survival of the fittest.” We go against the way we are wired because our selfishness and fear take over.We don’t want to get involved. We don’t have the time. We don’t have the training. Its not my thing. Yet it is the very Jesus we claim to worship when we do it, and it is the very Jesus we claim to worship when we don’t do it! Schnase writes this, “Scripture suggests that to encounter Jesus Christ face-to-face in the most tangible way. The whole reality he embodies, involves serving another person by relieving suffering through feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the imprisoned, and welcoming the stranger. By doing this we become fully human, the creation God intended us to be.”

if we are truly following Jesus to the cross, then we are turned toward those that are suffering and need His touch. It makes no difference if we know them or not or if they go to church or not or if the go to this church or not. Those who practice risk taking mission and service go where jesus goes whether they enjoy it or not. They go because Jesus would go.

When Mother Teresa started her work with the dying and destitute she was in desperate need of a place in which to care for them. Local authorities in Calcutta offered her a section of the temple to the goddess Kali, which, though originally intended for the temporary housing of pilgrims, had become a hangout for thieves, drug addicts, and pimps. When the news circulated that the temple was being used by a woman and a foreigner and that she was trying “to convert the poor to Christianity,” groups of people protested at city hall. Others went to the nearest police station to demand that the woman be evicted. The police commissioner promised to do just that, but wanted first to personally check things out.

When the police commissioner went to see Mother Teresa, she was caring for a poor sick man by putting potassium permanganate on wounds from which worms were crawling out. The stench was unbearable.

Mother Teresa treated the officer with respect and offered to show him about. He answered that he preferred to look around on his own.

When he came out he met some of the people who had complained about Mother Teresa and said, “I gave you my word that I would throw this woman out of here, and I would like to keep it. But, before I do so, you will have to get your mothers and sisters to do what she does. I make that the only condition for exercising my authority.”

Sheep begat sheep, don’t they? We are wired to give and through Jesus Christ we can overcome that sin that only talks about “I.” If we are sheep, people will flock to be part of what we are doing. That’s not the reason to do it. We do it because Jesus is in us and we do it for Jesus. I guess, all in all being a sheep ain’t half bad.

When he came out he met some of the people who had complained about Mother Teresa and said, “I gave you my word that I would throw this woman out of here, and I would like to keep it. But, before I do so, you will have to get your mothers and sisters to do what she does. I make that the only condition for exercising my authority.”

Sheep begat sheep, don’t they? We are wired to give and through Jesus Christ we can overcome that sin that only talks about “I.” If we are sheep, people will flock to be part of what we are doing. That’s not the reason to do it. We do it because Jesus is in us and we do it for Jesus in them. I guess, all in all being a sheep ain’t half bad.