Your Inheritance :: Matthew 25:31-46

Then the King will say to those on his right hand, Come, you who have the good word of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Our world is filled with skeptics. They question everything. They doubt. They despair. They feel like they have been tricked and deceived so many times, they don’t want to believe anyone on Word alone ... to set their trust in anything but themselves. Then, when they hear the message of God’s love for them, their only response is, ‘Oh, if only I could believe that! There’s no way that could be true. God could never love me that much. Even if he does what does it matter ... for me?’ 

Do you know someone like that? 

I know too many people who fit that category. They struggle to believe their salvation. 

Well, today in our Gospel reading from Matthew chapter 25, we have such a message to answer these scoffers, these questions. It erases doubts, and relieves despair. 

Jesus says, Come, you who hunger and thirst for righteousness, you have the forgiveness of sins. Come, you who feel naked and ashamed, clothe yourselves in the garments of salvation. Come, you who are tired of being sick and imprisoned, I will make you whole to be holy. Come, you who feel alienated by this world ... 

HAVING THE GOOD WORD OF THE FATHER, THE RICHES OF THE SON’S KINGDOM HAVE BEEN YOURS SINCE BEFORE THE DAWN OF TIME.

And now Jesus ... our shepherd (v32), king (v34), and Lord (v37) ... is coming with all his holy angels to gather everyone ... the living and the dead to deliver on this promise. ... And you who hold the good word of the Father (v34), you who continue hearing and believing this promise ... you will be separated from the goats (v33), and you will be given the inheritance that was prepared for you by7 God himself before the foundation of the world. 

Before Christ made the heavens and the earth, he had you in mind. The Father of Light chose you before the waters were separated to form the dry land, the sea, and the sky. He called you to hear his promise. He gave you faith to trust his Word. 

The inheritance is yours. 

Now, won’t you come? 

I. Most people find a discussion about the end of the world to be frightening.

Have you listened to the skeptics lately? Twelve more years, they are crying. We have only twelve more years to turn the tide on global warming or we’re all gonna die. That is, of course, if that space rock they call Apophis doesn’t wipe us out first in 2029. It would strike us with the force of 1200 megatons, disrupting life on earth. Of course, Kim Jong Un of North Korea might start a nuclear winter first.

As frightening as the end of the world may be, judgment is even more fearful (vv 31–33). Our world hates this word judgment. Who are you to judge me, the world decries. Don’t tell me how to live my life. Don’t you see how good of a person I am? See, I have been feeding the hungry, providing them with shelter at the Door of Hope, clothing them, visiting them. See, I am a good person. God loves everyone, especially good people. Isn’t that good enough for you? 

Quite honestly, no, it isn’t, Jesus tells us today. You are either one of the sheep or one of the goats. There is no in between. You either believe in the one True God or you don’t. There is no inbetween. Judgment Day is coming. Whether you like it or not. 

When the son of man comes in his glory, and all his angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another as The Shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will set the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his left. 

Then the King will tell those on his right hand, come, you who have the good word of my Father, inherit the Kingdom ... then to those on the left hand, go away from me you cursed into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, our Lord Jesus is telling you what is actually about to happen. This is not a call to do what Jesus would do. This isn’t a parable of two kinds of people: those who feed the poor, and those who don’t. 

This is a prophecy. Either you have the good word of the Father and believe it, or you are cursed. Either you have faith in Christ, or you don’t. Either you recognize your sin and your need for a savior, or you don’t. 

Those of us who have faith in Christ, know we won’t find favor in God’s eyes based on our good works of feeding, clothing, and sheltering the widows and the orphans, and the poor, hungry, and homeless. We will do those good works because they all flow from faith and from the joy of the heart that has come to us through the forgiveness of sins through Christ. Apart from Christ, no work we do is considered good or pleasing to God. 

This is what separates the sheep and the goats. 

The Goats are those who do not believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Nor do they come to him. They are quite literally cursed. They are stubborn like goats. They reject the notion that they are sinners. 

They have convinced themselves that hell doesn’t exist with its unquenchable fire. They reject the notion that their works are imperfect. Worse, they reject Jesus and what he has done for them. 

As Jesus told us earlier in the Gospel of Matthew, not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father (Mt 7:21). ... And this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life (Jn 6:40). Because there is salvation in no other name (Acts 4:21). 

II. It is the blessing of the Father that makes you blessed (v 34).

Jesus did not decide to save some and damn others. We know that Christians owe their entire state of grace not to any worthiness, any merit, or any effort of theirs, but solely to God, specifically the Holy Spirit, who, prompted by his grace in Christ, calls, converts, justifies, and keeps them in the faith. He has given you the good word of God. He has blessed you in Christ. The treasures of heaven are yours. 

God did not create you to inherit eternal punishment. Hell was not made for people. As Jesus said, the place of eternal punishment in an eternal fire that is never quenched was prepared for the devil and his evil angels for rebelling against God (v41). But those who reject Jesus, those who reject God's messengers of word and sacrament, those who reject the forgiveness of sins, are in fact cursing themselves. 

God on the other hand desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4). God desires to make you whole. He desires to nurture you. He desires to feed you, and quench your thirst. He desires to clothe you, and to set you free from the prison of your sin.

He is patient in this regard, not wishing that any should perish but that all should reach repentance (2 Pt 3:9), which is nothing more than confessing your sin and receiving the forgiveness of sins from your pastor as from God himself. 

In the name of Jesus, repent, everyone of you. Return to your baptism that now saves you. Hear God’s declaration that your sins are forgiven on account of Christ. Receive the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins. 

Where there is the forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation. 

The Father has showered you with his good word that blesses you and keeps you.

For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. ... I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak (Eze 34:11,16).

III. Now because of this good word he has declared to you, we can eagerly anticipate the return of Christ, and the final judgment, knowing that eternal life and salvation in paradise are our inheritance.

For weeks now, we have been hearing Jesus’ lengthy discourse on his return. 

It all comes just days before our Lord was arrested in the middle of the night, betrayed by one of us to stand in mock trial, where he was beaten, ridiculed, and sentenced to die. Then he was handed over to more sinful men, who crucified him.

All of this had been planned and prepared by God from the foundation of the world so that you could receive the forgiveness of sins. 

Our Lord Jesus was he who knew no sin but became sin on the cross, where God poured out his wrath not upon you or me, but upon the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 

In exchange for the punishment he endured, you have received his righteousness through the baptism he poured out upon you. He drowned your sin and gave you new life, a life through which he lives and breathes. 

Now every act of love he has done is now counted as yours (vv 35–40). When he sees you hungry, he feeds you his bread of life. When he sees you thirsty, he gives you the cup of salvation to drink. When you feel alienated by the world, he ushers you into his holy place. When you feel naked by the shame of your sin, he clothes you the robes of righteousness in your baptism. When you find yourself alone, he fills you with his spirit. 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of this was prepared from the foundation of the world for you (vv 34).

Our Lord tells us that he prepared his kingdom for us to comfort us. We need not fear his return. In fact we can look forward to it. In paradise, we will feast on the finest bread and wine for eternity. And we will make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation (Ps 95:1) because he has forgiven all your sins.