Matthew 25 31-46
Second Last Sunday
Matthew 25: 31-46
November 17, 2002
“Knowing Your Place” (Manna)
Introduction: Sitting with His disciples on the Mount of Olives on a Tuesday evening, our Lord Jesus had a lot to say about His second coming and the judgment that He would speak on that occasion. It is of great concern for Him that we understand and be ready for that great event. For people that reject faith in Him His words are a stern warning. For believers His words are pure gospel. He wants His followers to be comforted, knowing that when He comes again they will be safely at His side because they have been blessed by God, believed in His Son Jesus, and have expressed their faith in good works. And these things were done not to their own glory but to the glory of their Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in Heavenly glory. All nations will be gathered before Him.” What an awesome day that will be! Before Jesus ascended into heaven He told His disciples to go to all nations and make disciples. At the judgment all the nations will be brought to the Lord. They will be judged according to how they received His message either in faith or unbelief. All people, alive and dead, all who ever lived on the earth will stand ready to receive their just reward.
“And He will separate the people from one another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right and the goats to the left.” In Jewish courts people who were found innocent were placed on the right hand of the judge, people found guilty were placed on the judge’s left hand. As Christ judges the nations, those people who have been declared righteous by having faith in Him will stand at His right hand. Those people who rejected Him by rejecting his disciples and the gospel of salvation will stand to His left. Each person’s fate will become immediately evident.
The reason for the separation of the two groups, the sheep and the goats, will be evident too. Notice that the judgment is immediate and decisive. The gray area of who is saved and who is not, that clouds our earthly vision, is cleared away with the glory of Christ’s light. The blessed stand to the right and the cursed stand to the left. No one switches sides. As Jesus tells it, there is no doubt who is saved and who is damned.
What is the basis of their judgment? It is the Word of God. The scriptures seal the blessing of the sheep and the fate of the goats. In the gospel of Mark it is written, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned (Mark 16). Those people that do not believe are condemned goats. The sheep are saved by their faith in Christ. God’s Word says, “The just shall live by faith.” They are made righteous through faith in Jesus Christ, trusting that He died and rose from the dead for them. God has blessed them from the foundation of the world to be holy and without blame to stand before Him in love (Eph 1). The sheep are saved, not according to their works, but according to God’s own purpose and grace, which was given to them in Christ Jesus (2Tim1).
What is the evidence that supports the judges verdict? King Jesus says to the sheep on His right hand, “Come, you who are blessed of my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me. Jesus is not only the judge but He is the witness that testifies on behalf of the sheep. Christ will say, these people not only believed in me but they demonstrated their love for me in the lives that they have led.
Wait. Jesus is talking about us here. Isn’t He? We are His sheep who will be safely standing at His right hand. I don’t think we have to wait for judgment day to ask the questions that will be stated that day. Please read with me the 24th chapter of Matthew, starting at the 3rd paragraph… “The righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? Their question and I think our question too is - When? When did we do these things? I don’t know about you but I don’t feel like I have been all that faithful doing these things. And when I have done some of them I don’t feel like I have been doing them all that well. What is amazing is that Christ doesn’t mention unfaithfulness on the part of His sheep. There is nothing that is counted against them. There is nothing that is counted against us –even now as we gather here today. Our sins have been forgiven. They are as far as the East is from the West. What we have done wrong and what we should have done have been forgotten. In the eye of God, for the sake of Jesus Christ, it’s as if we have never done them. Not only are our sins gone all that remains are our good works that have been done in Jesus Christ. These good works are evidence of our faith and the work of the Holy Spirit in us. Even the smallest act of charity is counted as evidence. Good works done in the Spirit, done in faith, last forever and have eternal rewards. King Jesus charges us with these words, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
What about the goats? Surely some one of them have done some charitable acts, acts of kindness or love. Perhaps some of them have been humanitarian and dedicated their lives in self-sacrifice to other people. What about them? What about their reward? Why are they still with the goats? They stand with all the people who have rejected salvation found in Jesus Christ alone. The only reward they will receive is in this life. Because of unbelief their works will not follow them into eternity. Their works are not evidence of faith in Christ. Their works have not been done according to the Spirit of God and Christ dwelling within them and they have not been done in Christ. There is an old saying that holds true. Only one life twill soon be passed. Only what’s done in Christ will last. In our text we see that they do not get credit for what they have done and they are even held accountable for what they did not do. Jesus said to the goats, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me.
Who are the least of these brothers of mine that Jesus speaks about. Jesus said, "Who is my mother and who are my brothers?" And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! "For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven are my brother and sister and mother." The will of the Father is to believe in the one who He has sent. The brothers and sister of Christ are Christians – you and I. How Christians are treated and received, because of their faith, is either acceptance or rejection of the Savior Himself. Jesus said, “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives Him who sent me. “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”
Conclusion: Here we have it before us, the final Day of Judgment. We have the sheep and the goats, the blessed and the cursed, those who will inherit eternal life and those who will go to eternal punishment. Here is a stern warning for unbelievers, repent and believe because there will come a day when the doors of grace will be shut. The doors of grace will be shut with the words of truth that will come from our Savior mouth. From our Saviors mouth also come Words of blessing for us who believe In Jesus Christ. We don’t have to wait for the final judgment to know where we stand before God. We have a place prepared for us at Christ’s right hand. And the kingdom of God has been prepared for us.