There's No Better Time Than Now :: Matthew 25:31-46
Now when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his throne of glory. And all the nations will be gathered together before him, and he will separate them from one another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will stand the sheep on his right, and the goats on the left (vv 31-33). ... The King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, those who have been spoken well of by my Father: Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the cosmos (v 34) ... (And) He will say to those on his left: Go from me, those who are cursed into the eternal fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels (v 41).
[Prayer]
Heavenly Father, because of your love toward us sinners, You have given us your Beloved Son so that, through faith in Him, we will receive eternal life. Grant us your Holy Spirit to hear and receive this Gospel through your means so that we may remain steadfast in this faith to the end and finally come to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
[Introduction]
The end is near! Repent and believe the Gospel!
Jesus is The God who lived, died, and rose! Repent and believe the Gospel!
And the King of Glory is coming again! Repent and believe the Gospel!
IN LIGHT OF OUR READINGS, THERE IS NO BETTER TIME THAN NOW
It’s amazing how many people will ignore this good news, saying, Where is the promise of his coming (2 Pet 3:4). They willfully forget the truth of God’s Good Word (2 Pt 3:3-5). They willfully deny that hell is a real place with unquenchable fire, created to punish the devil and his angels and those who refuse to gather with Jesus. And they willfully ignore that all heaven rejoices when those who have been spoken well of by our Heavenly Father repent and believe the Gospel ... that they will receive eternal life as their inheritance.
These announcements will come quickly ... in the moment, in the twinkling of an eye. ... The trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable (1 Cor 15:52). Then every man, woman, and child who has ever lived will be gathered before the King of Glory. Jesus will take his seat upon his throne of glory, and he will separate the righteous from the unrighteous. The sheep will then be ushered into the feast, and the goats will be cast into unquenchable fire.
Brothers and sisters, repent and believe the Gospel!
1.
Next week is the final Sunday of the Church Year. The end really is that near. And when I say that, I’m not talking simply about the church year. Jesus is coming again. His return is imminent. There is no better time than now to repent and believe the Gospel. So for the next two weeks, we will hear this great and glorious truth that reminds us that the new heavens and the new earth in which righteousness dwells is right around the corner (2 Pt 3:12).
This week is focused on the final judgment ... the separation of the sheep and the goats, the righteous and the unrighteous, the repentant and the unrepentant. Next week we will hear the so-called Parable of the Ten Virgins ... which is a picture of the separation of the wise from the foolish, the blessed from the cursed, the righteous from the unrighteous, the repentant from the unrepentant.
You have probably never heard someone set these two readings next to each other ... sheep and goats, wise and foolish. But our Lord’s parables are meant to be set next to each other ... they make Biblical truth easy to remember. As you will learn today and next week, these two readings are practically synonymous. They describe the same event. Laid alongside each other, they should give you assurance that our Lord Jesus will finally and forever bring Joy to the World!
Listen to what Jesus is telling us about Judgment Day ... about the unrighteous and the righteous, the foolish and the wise, the goats and the sheep, the unrepentant and the repentant. Jesus is saying that those who have faith in him ... the sheep ... will be recognized for what they didn’t know they were doing ... living in faith. And those who don’t have faith ... the goats ... are those who are faithless ... who refused to gather with Jesus ... who refused to care for those in whom Jesus lives and has his being. The goats are those who will be shut out of the marriage feast of the Lamb in his kingdom which has no end.
2.
We’ll start by recognizing that righteous people do righteous things. The sheep live by the faith in the Son of God. As Jesus said, For I hungered, and you gave me [something] to eat; I thirsted, and you watered me; I was a stranger, and you gathered with me; naked, and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me (vv 35-36).
To be clear, these good works Jesus speaks of are not the cause of salvation for the sheep. Sheep don’t do these things to save themselves. These works are the effect of salvation ... the fruit of the spirit ... a life in faith. Righteous people do righteous things. As Paul says in Romans 8[:29], and 2 Corinthians 3[:18], and Ephesians 2[:10], and Galatians 2[:20] ... You who have faith are being ... conformed to the image of his Son. ... transformed into the same image from glory into Glory ... created in Christ Jesus for good works. ... The life [we] now live in the flesh [we] live by faith in the Son of God, who loved [us] and gave himself for [us]. Righteous people do righteous things. They just don’t necessarily know it.
Notice that neither the sheep nor the goats recognize when they did ... or did not ... feed and water Jesus, gather with Jesus, clothe Jesus, visit with Jesus, or come to Jesus. They both asked the King of Glory, When did we see you hungry and give you something to eat, or thirsty and water you ... a stranger and synagogue with you ... that is, gather with you ... and naked and clothe you ... or sick ... or in prison? (vv 37-39, 42-44). And Jesus said, whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, look around you and recognize the least of these. Now ask yourself, are you ensuring that you feed and water those who hunger and thirst for righteousness? Are you gathering with strangers? Are you visiting the sick and coming to those who long to be set free from their sin?
3.
You who do these things do this because that’s what sheep do. God chose each of you before the foundation of the world (v 34) ... He has washed you clean in baptism ... He has forgiven you by means of the blood of the Lamb. Jesus said, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish (Jn 10:26-27). ... Amen, Amen, I say to you, an hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live (Jn 5:25).
The Good Shepherd has chosen each of you to hear the Word of the Cross ... to have faith in the Word of the Cross (1 Cor 1:18). This Word of the Cross, the only Gospel, is preached in baptism, absolution, and the Lord’s Supper. This Word of the Cross gives you faith in Jesus who saves you. The righteousness of God depends on faith, Paul says in Philippians [3:9].
Not long after Jesus described Judgment Day in the account of the sheep and the goats, he instituted all his means of grace that proclaim the Word of the Cross: Baptism, absolution, and the Lord’s Supper. These all proclaim that on account of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection we have peace.
The goats think that is nothing but foolishness (1 Cor 1:18). Though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him ... They treated him as a stranger and refused to gather with him (v 43; Jn 1:10) ... They didn’t think they needed it. But blessed is the Lord God of Israel who has visited and redeemed his people (Lk 1:68). He united Himself with us in baptism that provides the water of life (v 37; Mt 3:16). He took our weaknesses and bore our diseases (v 36; Mt 8:17). He was stripped (Ps 22:18) and nailed to a cross, literally being imprisoned there ... so that he could clothe you in righteousness (Is 61:10) and set you free to receive his body and blood in the Lord’s Supper (v 35; Mt 5:5, 26:26-28).
And now that He is now risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah! ... We know he is the mediator of the new covenant so that those who are called may receive their promised inheritance since a death has occurred that redeems [us] from the transgressions committed under the first covenant (Hb 9:15).
[Conclusion]
Won’t you now believe this Gospel of what Jesus has done for you and repent?
When our Bridegroom comes in glory, with his angels, amazement will fill every heart. As the parable next week will remind you next week ... we will all be raised from our slumber, and both the wise and the foolish, the sheep and the goats, will be separated. The righteous will be ushered into the marriage feast of the Lamb. And the unrighteous, the foolish, the goats ... those who ignore the word of the cross ... will finally realize they have no oil ... and will be locked out forever. These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
There is no better time than now to prepare yourselves for the end. Continue returning to your baptism, rising into new life every day. Keep holding God’s Word sacred, listening for the Gospel again and again. Keep receiving the Lord’s Supper for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will be doing something for the least of these ... in Jesus’ name. Amen.