Tragically or Magically Wrong?

Text: “46 And these [goats] will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:46)

Hidden beneath the simple description of gathering sheep and gathering goats, rewarding some and punishing others, is a hard reality about the Last Day: There will be a lot of unpleasant surprises for a lot of people. In fact, there will be a lot of unpleasant surprises on both sides.

That is literally one of the things that Jesus describes in His account of judgment day, isn’t it? Both groups are surprised by the judgment. That’s worth thinking through. We might expect the goats— the wicked— to be surprised. Even if they weren’t genuinely surprised, we would expect them to challenge the verdict. But it’s not just the wicked. The righteous, too, are surprised. Even as Jesus rewards them, “When did we see you…?” is their question. It would seem that, whatever we think the standard is for how we’ll be judged on that day, neither side has it right. That seems like an important point to sort out today, doesn’t it? Let’s clear up our understanding before that day comes, shall we?

Here I need to give credit to Pastor Haller from Grace, Fairgrove. He sums up the misunderstanding here really well— far better than I probably ever have (but don’t tell him I said that). He points out that each group misunderstands things slightly differently. The sheep misunderstand in one way. The goats misunderstand in the opposite way. And that difference explains why the sheep are the sheep and the goats are the goats— why the sheep are rewarded and the goats are punished.

The difference between the sheep and the goats is that the sheep do not think they deserve the kingdom while the goats think they do.

On that day, there will be people who are tragically wrong and those who are magically wrong.

Who will be tragically wrong on that day? Those who are convinced that they are basically good people. Those who believe that God would be unjust to send someone like them to hell. They have cursed themselves by demanding what they “deserve.”

And let’s be clear who is in this group. It’s easy to imagine the Adolf Hitlers and the mass murders; those who have rejected the very idea of God and taken up lives of wanton depravity; or corporate CEO who has left a trail of bodies— figuratively speaking— on his way to the top and will do anything to make a buck. They’re among the goats, to be sure. But you’ll also find the neighbor who always kept his dog out of your yard; the local businessman who built his business through years of hard, honest work (and who always said ‘Yes’ when asked to support your softball team); and the so-called ‘heroes’ among us— first responders, doctors, nurses— and yes, even the farmers who put in so much work, so many hours to feed us. They will be saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?” (Matthew 25:44).

It seems like a contradiction, doesn’t it: the farmers being told “I was hungry and you gave me no food;” the good, honest businessman being told, “I was a stranger and you did not welcome me;” the nurse hearing from Jesus, “I was sick and you did not visit me.” But that is the way of sin. It corrupts everything. It pollutes even the greatest acts of what seems like self-sacrifice.

Hidden beneath this simple description of gathered sheep and gathered goats is a hard reality. No matter how hard you try, you can not squeeze clean water out of a dirty sponge. And, no matter how hard you try, you can not squeeze good works out of the sinful human heart that are not poisoned by selfishness, ambition, or self-righteousness.

Today is the last of our readings through the lectionary from the Gospel of Matthew. Next Sunday begins a new church year and a new year of readings, drawn mainly from Mark’s Gospel. And we find ourselves right back at the beginning. Remember where we started. After describing Jesus’ birth, Matthew turns to John the Baptizer, the voice calling in the wilderness: “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2-3). That cry becomes far more urgent in this picture of the Kingdom coming fully and finally. Those who have failed to repent, who presume that they are prepared for its coming, will find that they are tragically wrong.

Yes, the message today is the same as when we started to work our way through the Gospel of Matthew: Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Put away any thought of what God owes you, any idea of what you’ve earned from God, any picture of your ‘goodness’ before God. Approach Him, on that day, as a beggar.

Martin Luther is quoted as asking, “What makes you think that your good works can please God more than the perfect life, the perfect suffering, and the perfect death of His beloved Son?”

And you will find that you are magically wrong. Magically wrong because God doesn’t want to give you what you’ve earned, He wants to give you everything.

On that day you will find that Christ has been hard at work. Just during His earthly life, He saw the crowds hungry and He fed them— literally thousands at a time; one stranger after another came to Him and received wonderful gifts; and the sick flocked to Him because they had heard about the compassion He showed. It was, in fact, a perfect life in word and in deed— none of it poisoned by sin, selfish ambition, or self-righteousness. All of it was done out of perfect love for God and perfect love for those around Him, up to and including His perfect suffering and death.

The purpose of that suffering and death was to clothe you with His perfect righteousness that covers all of your sin. The purpose of that suffering and death was to set you free from your captivity to sin, death, and the power of the devil.

And when His work was complete, the Father rewarded Him with a Kingdom. His perfect life, His perfect love, His perfect suffering and death, was rewarded as He ascended and was seated at the right hand of the Father in authority, glory, majesty, and power forever and ever. Amen.

On the Last day, you will be magically wrong because He has been preparing that Kingdom for you all along.

In the strange accounting of the cross, cleansed by the blood of Christ, you’re not just serving your community through the business you’re building, or the one you once ran, you’re serving Christ, Himself; you’re not just feeding the people of the world by what you grow on your farm, you’re feeding Christ, Himself; you’re not just nursing the sick, you’re caring for Christ, Himself; you’re not just keeping your dog off of your neighbor’s lawn, you’re keeping it off of Christ’s… well, maybe it breaks down after a certain point, but you get what I’m saying. “Whatever you do for the least of these you have done for me.”

“46 And these [goats] will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46). Don’t be tragically wrong on that day. Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Repent and find that you will be magically wrong.