Ye Have Done Unto Me

Ye Have Done Unto Me

Text: Matthew 25:31–46 (KJV 1900)

31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Introduction:

What is happening here?

The Timing- The 1000 Year Reign of Jesus on the Throne of David:

31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

The Event- Just after the battle of Armageddon-The Judgment of all the nations, (Gentiles), who are left alive after the Great Tribulation:

32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

* All of the Gentile Nations will be gathered before the Throne of Jesus and judged according to how they treated the breathern of Jesus, the Jews, during the Tribulation.

* This is a judgment of individuals, not of nations. Each person is judged according to how they treated God’s people during the Tribulation.

* The judgment of the nations concludes our Lord’s teaching on the prophecy of the last days as we find recorded in Matthew chapters 24 and 25.

* After the Church is taken up to meet Jesus in the air, and the Judgment seat of Christ takes place in heaven, on earth a great time of tribulation takes place.

* According to the prophet Daniel, this time of tribulation on the earth will last for 7 years.

* Jesus called this 7 year period the “Time of Jacob’s Trouble and said that it would be a time of trouble like the world has never seen.

* During this 7 year period of trouble on the earth a man will rise from the nations and exercise power over all nations in a “One World” government. We refer to this man as the Anti-Christ.

* This 7 year time of tribulation will be ended when all the nations of the world, led by the Anti-Christ, will be gather all nations in a military confrontation with Israel. We call this the battle of Armageddon.

* Just as it seems Israel is going to be wiped out and removed from the land she occupies, the prophet Zachariah says that Jesus will come from heaven, bringing His Bride, the church, with him and deliver the nation of Israel from the armies of the world.

* According to the prophet Zachariah, Jesus will set his feet on the Mount of Olives, where He gave this very speech on this prophecy, and deliver Israel from the armies of the nations that are encamped against her.

* Christ’s return to the Mount of Olives and Jerusalem on this day will end the Great period of tribulation on the earth and begin a 1000 year period in which Jesus will physically rule and reign from the throne of David over the nations of the world with a rod of Iron, with his church, his bride, ruling and reigning with him.

* At the very beginning of what we call the “Millennial Reign“of Jesus, is where the event of our text this morning takes place.

* All the gentile nations are gathered before the “King,” Jesus, and will be judged, with the criteria being how they responded to the messengers that were sent to them by God during the 7 years of Tribulation.

* This is the literal meaning of our test this morning. I would like to make a secondary application of the text we have chosen this morning.

* Here is the thought I would like to address:

“Jesus considered what had been done for His breathern, as if they had done those things had been done to Himself.

I. The reality of being able to love Jesus.

* Use your imagination with me for just a moment.

* If Jesus were standing right here before you, what would you do? What would you say to Jesus?

* Would you run to him and hold his feet with a thankful heart, in humility and adoration like Mary did?

* Or would you fall on your face before, unworthy to be in His presence, like the Apostle John did in When He saw the glorified Jesus in the opening of the book of Revelation?

* Would you run to Jesus and ask for all the answers to the questions you have in your heart about your life?

* What would you do if you could have the opportunity to something for Jesus, who has done everything for you? What would you do for Jesus?

* Well, according to our text this morning, in God’s reality, you do have this opportunity, and you have it right now this very moment.

* In our text Jesus said:- Look now with me at Matthew chapter 25 and verse 40:

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

II. The positive impact this truth could have on our families and church relationships.

* This week I was called to hospital, to the bedside of Sister Ann. As I was driving from work to the hospital, the Lord spoke to my heat from this passage and the Holy Spirit revealed to me what He would have me preach on this morning.

* This morning’s message is for me primarily, but would be of benefit to all of us this morning.

* As I approached the hospital I determined in my heart that I was not going there to visit sister Ann, but I was going there to visit Jesus- you see, the way Jesus see things, it is as if Jesus were the one lying in the hospital bed.

* As the Holy Spirit developed these thoughts in my head, I began to realize that there was a principle to be learned that would help change my ministry and even my relationship to my family as well.

* If you and I would conduct our relationships with others as if it was really Jesus we were relating to, it would dynamically change all of our human relationships.

* When we minister to our family members, and our fellow believers, we need to give ourselves to that relationship with all the same love, patience, and compassion, as we would our relationship to Jesus.

* In our text “Jesus considered what had been done for His breathern, as if they had done those things had been done to Himself.

* I believe this truth will transform every relationship in our lives.

* I believe this truth, if applied in our churches, would spare Churches from bickering and fighting.

* More importantly, I believe this truth would transform our families.

* This truth, if applied, will transform our marriages.

* Think with me a moment.

* What if, we ran everything we say to our mates, or children, through the filter of “Would I say this if I were talking to Jesus?” Would I do this to this person if they were Jesus?

* How would you love a person if that person were really Jesus?

III. The negative impact when we don’t treat our breather as if they were Jesus.

* Listen to the words of our text in Matthew 25 and verse 41:

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment:

* Turn with me to I Peter chapter 3 and verse 7 and look at how the apostle Peter tells us to treat each other in our families and our churches:

1 Peter 3:7–12 (KJV 1900)

7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another,

love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: 9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. 10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:

11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.

12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

* The negative impact of our truth the truth we are dealing with this morning is that God’s face will be against us when we treat our families and fellow church members without a spirit of compassion, tenderness, patience.

* When we bicker back and forth with our family members, our mates, other Christians, the face of the Lord will be against us.