The Parables of The Kingdom pt. 3

Introduction

A. The final Parable that we see in the Olivet Discourse is, what is often referred to as the Parable of the sheep and the goats.

We have already looked at the parable of the 10 Virgins where we saw that we all need to ready at all times for the bridegroom when He comes.

Then we looked last Sunday at the parable of the Talents and we saw that we have a responsibility before the Master to live in obedience to Him and to labor at Kingdom promotion.

The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats gets more specific in the sense that we are given examples of the good works that we should be doing in the world. But there is an emphasis on the reality of judgement in light of these good works, when we stand before the Lord in all of His glory.

Our text describes the setting of the judgement to come in verses 31-33:

I. The Setting of Judgement (31-33).

A. This will be when the Son of Man comes in all of His glory with all the angels with Him.

Now we know that this will be at the end of the tribulation period because Jesus has already talked about all of this in Matthew 24:29-30.

His angels are with Him because once the trumpet of God sounds they are are the ones who will gather His elect from among the Nations of the world.

This is the gathering of two distinct people groups that in the end will stand before the Son of Man. He will have separated them like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

When my father was in Africa on a mission trip he told me he witnessed a shepherd separating sheep from goats. My Dad said he personally couldn’t tell the difference but the Shepherd knew the difference.

Jesus declares in John 10:14-15 “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

The sheep are the redeemed of God, bought and paid for by the blood of Christ. Jesus knows His own.

He places the sheep on His right and the goats are on the left. This is not a political use of left and right but it is the separation of definitive distinction between the two groups of people.

His return turns all of creation into a grand courtroom and all of humanity is being weighed in the balance. And then we see the Exercise of His judgement in 34-46. We will look at this section in two parts. First we see His judgement exercised in relation to the sheep. Look at verses 34-40:

II. The Exercise of Judgement (34-46).

A. The King declares the Characteristics of the Sheep (34-40).

The Sheep are blessed of the Father (34a).

The King knows that it is the Father who has initiated this work in the sheep by divine grace.

Grace is the Father’s unmerited bestowment of favor upon the sheep.

And it serves as the basis by which the King beckons them to come to partake of the Father’s provision.

The Sheep Inherit the Kingdom (34b).

This is that which the Father has been preparing from the foundations of the world. The Father has been at work preparing our inheritance as the children of God.

This is the place of our eternal rest. The place that we are to be looking forward to as the people of God. Our hope is to be focused there.

The Sheep reflect their identity through their good works (35-36).

Our salvation has made us all conduits for Christ to minister through us to others. Things like feeding the hungry, being hospitable to strangers, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, visiting the prisoners.

But if you notice Jesus said He was the one who the sheep actually ministered to. And when they inquired “when did we ever see you this way?” The King just simply replies, “When you did it to the least of these you did it to me.”

The real amazing thing is that Christ sees this as us, as His people, ministering to Him. Our love for Christ is reflected in how we love and minister to others in the world.

Christian our ministry in the world for Christ is also to Christ. Only the believer can minister in this way because for us all our ministry is about Christ.

The good works of the sheep are the by-product of the effectual nature of the grace of God. Grace produces transformation and works by the Holy Spirit’s power to produce good works in the sheep. But our motivation is driven by a love connection with Christ.

If love for Christ is not the driving motivation for our ministry in the world it will not take us long before we are exhausted and burned out in ministry.

Christian do we have reason to love our King this morning? The King who has redeemed us and made us His own. The King who has expressed boundless love in our direction through His atoning sacrifice, all in order to secure us to Him for all eternity. Do we have reason to love our King today?

How then is it shown? Ministering to Him through ministering to others. This is not a law but a reflective obedience out of a passion for Christ.

Notice, there is no mention of preaching or prophesying, or casting out demons here in this list. You have to go to Matthew 7:15-23 for those.

In that passage those who do those things are condemned because they have do not have good fruit bearing out. And they are condemned by the Lord.

This is in a similar manner in which the King judges the goats in our text this morning. Look back at verses 41-46:

B. The King declares the Condemnation of The Goats (41-46).

The declaration is clear as day in verse 41. The sheep are beckoned to come in verse 34 but the goats are commanded to depart from the King to the eternal lake of fire.

The problem is that they never ministered to Him because they never ministered to the least of these.

We know something of this condemnation because Revelation 20:10-15 tells us where it is that Satan and the wicked will spend eternity. And Jude verses 5-7 tell us of punishment in eternal fire.

There are those who attempt to rationalize the doctrine of eternal punishment away. In all of the arguments I have heard over the years they all attempt to detract from it because they believe the love of God to be too big and great to allow it.

All such arguments elevate the love of God over and above His absolute infinite Holiness. What do you think the penalty would be for the one who has offended infinite holiness?

Would the Holiness of God that requires absolute justice cause justice to be retracted in light of His divine love?

Many would answer yes, it would, simply because they think of the love of God without factoring in His infinite holiness.

How do I know Holiness that implements divine justice doesn’t buckle under? Because it didn’t buckle under when the Father poured out His wrath on the Son whom He loved in infinite perfection.

Christ took it all. The infinite Holy Son loved by the Father was crushed for our iniquities. And you say, But he didn’t have suffer for eternity.

He sure didn’t because He possessed the same equivalent infinite holiness as the Father. He could satisfy the Holiness of God in one substitutional act on our behalf.

As long as the sacrifice was infinitely Holy the Holiness of God would be satisfied. This is why death could no longer hold Him.

So how long would the criminal with a sinful nature have to suffer in order to compensate for an offense against the infinite holiness of a just God? The answer is for infinity or another way of saying it is for eternity.

This is why there is no other way for sinners to be saved except through Christ.

III. Conclusion

A. “Depart from me” are the most frightful words you could ever hear being directed at you from King Jesus. But the words of the gospel of Jesus Christ are the most hopeful and joyous words that anyone can hear.

Unbeliever you need a Savior perhaps today is the day that God is calling you to be His sheep.

Jesus Christ went to a Cross two thousand years ago to die in the place of sinners. Only He can satisfy the holy righteous wrath of God and set us in His Kingdom.

Believe the gospel for salvation today. God is holding out His grace again for you to believe by faith alone.

Believer are you tired of pursuing good works for the Kingdom?

We are not home yet. So tell me, if Christ were wounded or in need would you run to Him?

When I saw some of those old movies that depicted the crucifixion when I was a little boy. My favorite was Ben-Hur. In the film the main character Judah Ben-Hur runs to Christ to give Him water and He tries to carry His Cross for Him.

I remember when I was little thinking, “that's what I would do if my Lord was wounded and thirsty. Nothing could hold me back.”

Well Christian He is in need because the least of these are all around us in this world.

Let love for Christ drive you on with great joy to the glory of Christ in the ministry that God has called us to. God’s grace is sufficient for us.

Confess and receive. Let’s pray!