31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
 40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
 44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
 45 “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”  - Matthew 25:31-46, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:

Some of you may know that I spent my vicar year, my year of field training at the Seminary, at a church in suburban Albany, New York.  Part of my duties lay in the area of evangelism.  When I went out on some calls one Sunday afternoon, I came across a very interesting man.  In fact, I will never forget him.  Three years later, I can still remember his name, David Allen.  At first, David told me that he wasn’t much of a church-goer, but as we talked more, he began to open up.

David told me that he had been in a severe car accident several years before our conversation.  That near-fatal collision left him with twelve compound fractures and almost no chance of survival.  As he lay there on his hospital bed teetering between life and death, he claimed that he had a near-death experience.  I will never forget the look on his face or the fear in his voice.  He was serious.  Based on that experience, David was absolutely sure that there was something, as he put it, "on the other side of the coin."  He was convinced that there was something after life on this earth.  Sadly, that was all he knew.  His limited knowledge left him afraid of the life to come.

We may have never had the benefit of a near-death experience, but we also believe that this life is not the end.  In the text set before us this morning, Jesus sheds some light on his return, and on the life to come.  Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he promised his disciples that he would return.  But unlike his first coming, he will come back in all of his heavenly glory.  On that day…

He Will Come Again . . . To Judge

I. As a judge seated on his royal throne, he will hear the evidence.

II. On the basis of the evidence, he will deliver a just verdict.

Jesus spoke the words of our text to his disciples in private.  His arrest and crucifixion were only a few days away, so Jesus took his closest followers aside to prepare them for his departure.  Understandably, the disciples had some questions.  They wanted to know what the signs of the end of the world would be.  They wanted to know the details of his second coming.  So Jesus gave them a glimpse into the future, a picture of his return on the Last Day.

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.  All the nations will be gathered before him."  First, Jesus assures us that he will return.  That is an established fact.  But no one knows when this will happen.  The Old Testament prophets didn’t know.  The disciples didn’t know.  Not even the angels in heaven know.  Only God knows when that glorious day will come.

When Jesus does come again, he will return with a definite purpose.  He will fulfill a dual role as judge/king over all.  His throne of glory will also serve as his seat of judgment, where all people who ever lived will be gathered before him.  This might sound impossible, billions of people brought together in one place, but God tells us that it is so.  Every single soul that has ever lived will stand before the Lord on the Last Day.

"And he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left."  As judge, Jesus will divide all the people into two groups: the sheep and the goats.  The right/left division was the common way for distinguishing the good from the bad.  The right was the place of honor and reward.  The left was the place of dishonor and punishment.

It was an easy task for a shepherd in Israel to separate the sheep and goats after a day of grazing.  The two animals looked very different.  The distinguishing marks were obvious.  A person with no experience could separate them.  Jesus gives us the added assurance that he will do the separating on the Last Day.  He will divide the groups.  No one will slip through the cracks.  All will go exactly where they belong.

To separate them correctly, the judge will carefully sift through the evidence, first for the sheep.  Jesus gives them high praise for their good deeds.  They fed him when he was hungry, they gave him a drink when thirsty.  They gave him clothes and visited him in prison.  They did anything they could for him while they lived on earth.  Strangely, those on the right didn’t remember doing all these good deeds for Jesus.  They even asked what he meant, "When did we do all those good things for you?"

Jesus also examined the evidence for those on his left.  Unlike the sheep on the right, Jesus condemns them for their failure to help him.  They ignored his needs for food and water.  He was sick, a stranger, in prison, but they neglected him.  Almost in disbelief, they asked, "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you" (44)?  Surely, they would have helped him if given the chance.  There must be some mistake.  They never saw him in need, or did they?

Compare this picture of the last judgment to Jesus’ own trial.  Jesus was seized by force in the middle of the night.  He was railroaded through the Jewish courts before dawn.  The Roman soldiers beat him, mocked him, and spit on him.  The Jews then brought false charges against him before Pontius Pilate.  Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent, but he still handed him over to be crucified.  Jesus deserved none of this, but he was still crucified, dead and buried within twenty-four hours of his arrest.  This gross miscarriage of justice could not be more different than the judgment God will pronounce on the Last Day.  Our God will hear all the evidence and he will judge fairly.

Maybe that doesn’t sound like such a good idea.  Maybe a fair trial isn’t what we really want after all.  We know what we are like.  We know the pet sins we commit day after day.  We are well aware of our own failures and short comings.  Do we always fear, love and trust in God above all things?  Do we always love our neighbors as ourselves?  If God were to judge us according to this evidence, he would have no choice but to stamp us "guilty" and put us with the goats on God’s left hand.

But that is where Christ steps in.  He is the judge of all, but he also comes to our defense.  In spite of what we have done, in spite of what we deserve, we have no reason to fear the outcome of this trial.  We can still be sure that God will deliver a just verdict.

Jesus turned first to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world."  The Lord greets them with a tender invitation to join the Lord in paradise.  The Jewish crowds shouted the same words of blessing on Jesus as he rode down the streets of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" (Mt. 21:9).

What great blessings were theirs: the inheritance, the kingdom prepared for them since the creation of the world.  God chose them from the beginning of time.  God freely gave them the glorious inheritance of eternal life.  As heirs of the promise, they are not subjects or servants or slaves.  They are co-rulers with Christ in heaven.

Why were they so blessed?  What had they done to deserve so much?  The evidence was the proof of their worthiness.  But before we start to think that these people on the right earned their inheritance, or that the good deeds they did earned their salvation, let’s take a closer look.

Jesus did praise them.  But they were not righteous because of what they had done.  They were really no better than those on the left.  But Jesus had come to their defense.  Jesus washed away their sin by his death on the cross.  Now when God looked at them, he didn’t see any sin because Jesus had covered it up with his blood.  God saw only the "good" things they did out of love for him.

The acts that Jesus praises them for are not extraordinary.  He doesn’t praise them for rescuing a person from a burning building or for finding a cure for cancer.  Jesus commends them for common everyday acts of kindness, for helping other people with basic needs.  Whatever they did to help others, whatever they did to advance God’s kingdom, they did those things for Jesus himself.

The Last Day will be a day of great joy, but this text also reminds us that it will not be a happy day for everyone.  God will turn to the goats on his left and he will deliver a just verdict: "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels."

When the Last Day comes, there will be no more chances, no more time of grace.  Imagine the torment of that curse, to be abandoned by God forever.  The goats were banished to the eternal fire, a fire that will never go out.  That fire is so terrible that it was not even meant for people.  God prepared it for the devil and his evil angels.  But those who reject God are doomed to the same eternal flames.

Some might argue that they know many good people who are not Christians.  They help other people.  They are honest, upright citizens who would never harm anyone.  But when God looks at them, when he measures them against his holy law that demands perfection, all he can see is rejection.  The sins they are charged with may seem insignificant.  There is no murder, no rape, no adultery, no stealing.  But as much as they rejected the least of God’s children, they rejected God himself.

There is no comparison between Jesus’ mockery of a trial and the God’s judgment.  Our modern court system doesn’t do much better when we compare it to the Last Day.  Television, newspapers, and movies paint a picture of a cheap criminal justice system.  Defendants make deals for lighter sentences.  Corrupt judges line their pockets with bribes.  The guilty blame anyone but themselves for their failures.  And nobody is willing to take responsibility for their actions.

This might seem like a recent development, like a late twentieth century phenomenon, but it is really nothing new.  The goats, those people on the left, were guilty, but they didn’t beg for God’s mercy.  They only made excuses as if it wasn’t their fault.  But God is not swayed.  His justice stands firm.  The result is a just verdict.

We would do well to take to heart what God has to say to those who reject him.  "Don’t get too comfortable in this life.  Don’t get caught up in the things of this world.  Focus on what really counts.  Fix your thoughts on matters of eternal importance."

The last judgment is not meant to be a teaching of doom and gloom, at least not for believers.  We eagerly await the Lord’s return because that’s when we get to the good stuff.  As Paul said in the second lesson, Jesus will come like a thief in the night.  He will come when he is least expected.  But when Jesus does return, we have the assurance that he has also come to our defense.  Jesus died and rose again to pay for the sins of all.  When God sees us now, he sees only the "good," only the good things we do out of love for him.

Jesus ascended into heaven almost two thousand years ago.  But he left us with a promise, the promise that he will return.  When he comes this time, he will come in all his glory and he will come to judge.  All people who have ever lived will come before his seat of judgment.  On the basis of the evidence, he will deliver a just verdict.

He will come again to judge.  We say those words every Sunday when we recite the Apostles or Nicene Creed.  Because of that weekly repetition, perhaps we do not always think deeply about what those words mean.  Therefore, it is good for us to set aside a Sunday in this season of End Times to reflect on God’s final judgment.

He will come again to judge.  That short phrase strikes fear in the heart of the unbeliever, fear of death, fear of the unknown, fear of what awaits them on the "other side of the coin."  But for the sheep on God’s right hand, they are a sweet-sounding refrain.  On that glorious day, Jesus will declare us "not guilty" and carry us up to heaven.

He will come again to judge.  We pray: "Come quickly, Lord Jesus."  Amen.