I dont think that means what you think it means.

Here we go again.

There has been a concept that has been talked about, studied, championed and leaned into since I was given the privilege of pastoring Niles Christian Assembly.

The idea of being Jesus with Skin. Of being missional, of looking at what Jesus says in the great commission, and here in Matthew 25 and in other places and realizing that what we are supposed to be doing and what we end up doing many times are two very different things.

Taking a hard look at what it means to serve what it means to give and to go and to do. Taking a hard look at what we read, in Matthew 25 should be the beginning of our deconstruction and a picture of what reconstructed service looks like.

In order to have the relationship with God that we are supposed to have. The one that moves us from being the people of God to being Sons and Daughters of God we have to realize that we are supposed to become more and more like Christ.

Paul talks about that here.

Romans 8:29 CSB

For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Keeping this in mind we dig into things that Jesus said as well as the things he did to tell us what really matters.

Who are you really?

Identity matters. Remember last week we talked about the importance of context and understanding what we are reading, we need to understand who God is talking to in the scriptures we read. So many times we think God’s talking to people out there. Giving us a pat on the back for making it in the ark so to speak, but as we learned last week that is simply not the case.

Which brings us to today’s text.

In Matthew 25 we have two parables and a warning. Say wait wait wait Pastor Aaron there are three parables in Matthew 25 but that’s not the case.

In 25:1-13 we read about the Ten Virgins

In 25:14-30 we read about the talents and the lazy servant

We like to read these as badges of honor sometimes. Christians like being and feeling like the chosen ones. As long as we are in here we are chosen we self identify as the wise virgins, or the good servants. To us it means that the foolish virgins and foolish servant are people who aren’t “saved” they are the ones that don’t know Jesus except in both of those parables Jesus is talking to people who claim to be in the club.

Matthew 25:1 CSB

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom.

They were all on the guest list, they were all in the club. This story is not talking to people who haven’t drunk the koolaid it’s talking to group that has. They were all invited.

Matthew 25:14 CSB

“For it is just like a man about to go on a journey. He called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them.

This one is even more explicit. The man is calling his own servants. Again Jesus is talking to “true believers.

Which leads us to the warning. Jesus did not suddenly switch gears in this discourse. On the Contrary he’s making it clear to the people who claim to know him what’s on the horizon.

This all matters when we go into the process of deconstructing our faith so that it can be rebuilt into something that has tangible proofs.

When we ask the question of ourselves who am I really, especially when we do so as we read Matthew 25 I maintain we need to start from a very different space than we want to. We need to realize this isn’t an us them chapter. It’s and all us chapter. Realizing that lets look at vs 31 and following with a different set of eyes.

But wait it says all the nations see you’re wrong.

A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (ἔθνος)

ἔθνος, (ethnos) ους, τό (Hom.+).① a body of persons united by kinship, culture, and common traditions

And this is where we realize something. In the end what we do matters. Jesus is telling his closest followers that they are not exempt from this final act of Judgment. All the nations all people the people in your club the people outside of your club all the human beings are going to be faced with a very hard truth. This whole passage actually calls back to another set of verses in Matthew.

Matthew 10:40–42 CSB

“The one who welcomes you welcomes me, and the one who welcomes me welcomes him who sent me. Anyone who welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. And anyone who welcomes a righteous person because he’s righteous will receive a righteous person’s reward. And whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.”

Jesus is talking to us here. He’s talking to the people who know better the body of persons united by kinship and culture and tradition.

In these verses he’s telling us what it means to be a true Christ Follower. He expands on this missive later on in Matthew at this Judgment scene.

Getting down to it.

Come on pastor Aaron what do we need to take apart in order to serve the way Jesus wants.

It’s all right here.

Matthew 25:41–45 CSB

“Then he will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you didn’t take me in; I was naked and you didn’t clothe me, sick and in prison and you didn’t take care of me.’ “Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help you?’ “Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

Every time we decide someone else will take care of that need because we have more important things to do, sometimes even Godly things to do. We need to re-examine our faith.

Every time we look at someone that looks like or sounds like or loves differently then we do or than we understand and say that’s someone else's problem to deal with, or worse yet they are not welcome here till they become one of us we need to re-examine our faith.

Every time we see someone that is marginalized because of their economic status, or because they are ill, or because they have made bad choices or the only choice they could see to make and push them off on someone else we need to re-examine our faith.

Every time we think that our Dogma

dog·ma

noun a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true.

Is more important than the Doctrine

doc·trine

noun a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a Church, political party, or other group.

that Jesus has laid out very clearly through all of scripture but especially through these passages in Matthew and in other examples throughout the new testament we need to examine our faith.

There are subtle differences between those two words and in fact early church leaders were leery of Dogma. Dogma leaves little if any room for the Holy spirit to move.

Dogma says we will meet your need if we will reach to you when we will help you on condition. Dogma tells the woman caught in the act of Adultery that she had to have rocks thrown at her till she’s dead. Dogma tells Zacchaeus that he is a worthless tax collector who everyone will always despise, Dogma says to the Ethiopian Eunuch that because you have been mutilated you can never enter the presence of God, Dogma tells Peter that Cornelius and his household are unclean. You get the picture. All through scripture God prefers doctrine over dogma.

When a person or people in authority lay out things as incontrovertibly true they are placing themselves in a position that is and should be reserved for God.

What did Jesus say?

John 14:6 (CSB)

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

When we look at deconstructing our service it means we get outside the comfort zone that we have built up. We look at other ways to serve, other ways to reach other ways to give and go and do.

We stop telling people what they need and start listening to what they are saying.

Deconstructing our service will, by it’s very nature, make us re-think how we share the gospel with a world that so desperately needs it.

This Week’s Challenge

Monday: Write down what you have been doing to serve others.

Tuesday: Write down what you think is most important when you serve others.

Wednesday: take our list and use it to mark Matthew 25, read that chapter and cross reference it with your list.

Thursday: Pray in that prayer offer yourself to God as a servant that does whatever is asked.

Friday: Look for someone that fits into the group of people Jesus is talking about and find out what their need is

Saturday: Meet that need without qualifiers

Sunday: Come ready to talk about what you did and what God is telling you to do more of.