This sermon was preached at St Peter’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church, Public Schools Club, Adelaide, 9am
Grace, mercy and peace be to
you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all his angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
Prayer: May the words of my
mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord,
our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
In the Gospel of Matthew, right in the last week before Jesus dies, we read that Jesus went up to the Mount of Olives to give his disciples a final sermon out in the open air. Our Gospel reading today is the last thing that Jesus teaches in this sermon, the last words of Matthew 25. In Matthew 26, we read about the Last Supper, Jesus' prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane, his arrest and betrayal by Judas, and his trial.
He says: When the Son of Man comes in his glory, with all his angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
There is not a flicker of fear in Jesus' eyes here. He preaches a powerful prophecy about the future, and he wants the disciples to remember this prophecy as he goes to his suffering and death on Good Friday. Here we see Jesus teach us that after everything that will happen to him—after he suffers, dies, rises again, ascends into heaven—after all kinds of things will happen in the world in history—after many nations will rise and fall, after many cultures and peoples will hear the Gospel, after the many crusades of the middle ages, after many wars, and world wars, famines, and hardships throughout history—after all of this, Jesus teaches us that he will come again.
He says: When the Son of Man comes in his glory, with all his angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Of course, all the disciples abandon him and run away from him as soon as he is arrested. But Jesus promises a number of things: first of all, he prophesies that he will rise from the dead. The Son of Man will come in his glory. This is a prophecy of the resurrection because he calls himself the Son of Man. God cannot rise from the dead, unless he has also become a true man, and taken human flesh. Someone who is truly God cannot die, and someone who is truly God cannot rise from the dead--unless God himself takes human flesh and becomes a human being. Jesus, who was true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, descended from heaven in all his glory, and took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. So Jesus says: The Son of Man will come. He emphasises his human nature--his true human body--by calling himself not the Son of God, but the Son of Man. On that occasion all his angels came to earth and celebrated with him. And they sang Glory to God in the highest when they went to the shepherds in their fields.
Jesus also prophesies that after the resurrection he will ascend into heaven. He says: The Son of Man will come in his glory. If he's coming in his glory, where's he coming from? There's no glory in hell. If he's coming in his glory, he must be coming from heaven. And if he's coming from heaven, he must have gone there--he must have ascended into heaven. It also says: He will sit on his glorious throne. Therefore, he must be sitting at the right hand of God the Father. So all these things from the creed that we say are all prophesied here, that on the third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
But also, Jesus prophesies that he will come to judge the living and the dead. This Jesus describes in the rest of the reading.
So this fact that the Son of Man will come in his glory, with all his angels with him, and sit on his glorious throne, gives the disciples wonderful comfort, because they know that after Jesus has suffered, been crucified, dead, and buried, he will triumph over his enemies. He will be victorious. He will win the victory. He will be clothed in all the glory of heaven. In fact, as soon as Jesus rose again from the dead, that victory was already there, which is now hidden from our eyes. One day, when Jesus returns that victory will be shown forth in glory again.
Jesus says: Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
Many Christians today don't like to think about judgment. Actually, all around the world, but also in Australia especially, there are a lot of people who don’t think very deeply about things, and who don’t like to discuss heavy and weighty topics, important things. Perhaps many people are too comfortable to really care, or are indifferent. Perhaps the fact that many people don’t think about these things is a real testimony to the godlessness of our society and culture. Whatever the case may be, we need to realise and bring to our attention the fact that there really is a God, and that there will be a judgment.
But judgment also means that there will finally be a time when the followers of Jesus will be separated from their persecutors. Even now, there is a growing separation in our times between those who hope in Jesus and those who don't. In politics, the catchphrase "separation of church and state" is often used as an excuse to keep Christians quiet, even when Christians are actually not making very much noise! Christian young people are feeling more and more isolated in their faith among their own generation that knows nothing of their faith. We might see in the world today all kinds of ways in which people are polarised, they are on opposite sides of a fence. All of this points to the fact that there will come a time when Jesus will come at the end of the world, when he will return as the judge of all the nations.
And he will separate people one from the other as a shepherd separated the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world.
Notice, here Jesus calls himself the King: The King will say to those on his right. Remember that Jesus preaches this passage just before he is about the crucified at the end of the week. Jesus, on that occasion, will receive a crown, and have a kind of coronation as a king, but it will be a crown of thorns from the Roman soldiers. He will receive his royal robes from them, he will be given a reed in his hand, like a royal scepter, and then he will be led along a long road to ascend his throne on the cross. Yes, the Romans think that they are pretending when they mock him, but what they don't realise is that the crucifixion is the coronation of Jesus as the king of the whole world. This King is the Lamb of God who was slain, and he will speak to his fellow sheep. This King is the suffering servant of God and he will lift up his hands of blessing upon his flock, and they will see the glory of God, brighter than the sun, shine through the nail wounds in his hands, and he will say to them: Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world.
The king, the Lamb, makes all his sheep kings as well. In the next life, there will not be one single Christian who does reign with Jesus in his kingdom. Jesus says: Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. I will crown you and make you a king, a queen. And this kingdom that is given at the end of the world, is prepared right from the beginning of the world.
This is what Holy Baptism is: it is when people are called out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. It is where we become disciples of Jesus, and are blessed by his Father, and named with the Father's name: I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Here at baptism is given the kingdom prepared from the beginning of the world to all who believe it.
Then Jesus says: For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'
As Lutherans, we hold very strongly to the biblical teaching that we are saved by grace, through faith, for Christ's sake, apart from works. But sometimes people think from this reading that we really might be saved by works after all. Many Christian charity organisations often print this passage on their brochures: I was hungry and you fed me, or something like that. Some people think that Paul taught salvation by faith, and that the Gospel of Matthew here and the book of James teach salvation by works.
However, there is only one way that a person can be saved: through Christ's work alone, which is given to us by grace alone, and is received by faith alone completely apart from works. The Law preaches to us that we are sinners, and calls us to repentance. But the only way that a person like you or me, crushed by God’s law and brought to repentance, can be saved, is to put our trust in our only Saviour, Jesus Christ, who has died for us, risen for us, and gives and applies to us the free forgiveness of sins in the preaching of the Word, in the Absolution, in Baptism and in the Lord’s Supper.
However, James also teaches that faith is dead if good works and the fruit of the Spirit of every kind do not follow. Love and good works are the evidence of faith. This is what it means when James says: You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. Also he says: As the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. He's talking about the evidence of faith. It’s a bit like a tree: a living, healthy tree produces good fruit. It’s just what happens.
But earlier in the book of James, he says: Of his own will [God] brought us forth by the word of truth. Here we read that God made us his own children not by own works, but by his own will, by the word of truth. These things we simply receive by faith, and so James agrees with Paul.
So in our reading today, Jesus puts the sheep and the goats on trial. And just like any courtroom, he judges people by the evidence. He commends the sheep for their good works, and condemns the goats for their lack of good works.
He says: For I was hungry and you gave me food. It is a good thing for Christians to perform acts of charity and works of mercy to all people that we meet. And in many places in the bible, Jesus encourages us to be charitable, and merciful to all people. But in our reading, Jesus is talking about a specific kind of people. He says: As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. This is very important, because if we are to take this passage as talking about charity generally, Jesus’ brothers and sisters would have to be anyone and everyone in the world. Now, in some sense, when Jesus became a human being and took on flesh, he did become everyone’s brother and sister, but the Gospels don’t really talk like that. We could spin the text in that way, but it’s not really in line with the normal way in which Jesus talks. Normally, when Jesus speaks of his brothers, he is talking about his disciples, and often his apostles. He says: He who does the will of my Father is my mother and sister and brothers. He also says to Mary Magdalene and to the disciples to tell the news of the resurrection to his brothers. He doesn't mean his flesh-and-blood brothers, but his disciples and his apostles. Now, this is important, because when Jesus commends the sheep for what they did to his brothers, he is commending them for giving them the support they needed in response to hearing the words spoken from their lips. Sometimes, these people are pastors, and sometimes, these people are simply wise Christian friends, who are of great encouragement. We are saved by the Jesus’ Word alone and his forgiveness—when people speak this word to us, wouldn’t we want to help them and do everything that we can for them?
For example, Jesus says: I was in prison and you visited me. Here we see that close connection between Jesus as he suffers on the cross, and those who suffer for sake of the gospel. In 2 Corinthians 11, St Paul boasts of all the hardships he endured. He says: Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. James begins his letter by saying: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
What do you think you would do if you were alive at the time of St Paul and knew he was suffering nearby? What would you do if an apostle was enduring hardship, or if the people who speak God's word to you were suffering greatly? If a dear Christian friend who encourages you so deeply and profoundly in your faith suddenly falls into hard times? Just as Jesus was crowned with thorns, what would you do if you saw a fellow Christian neighbour crowned with many thorns of Satan? Wouldn't you want to protect that person from harm and help them? Wouldn't you want to savour the last words of Jesus that you could from them? Wouldn't you feed them if they were hungry, wouldn't you give them a drink if they were thirsty, wouldn't you clothe them if they were naked and welcome them if they were a stranger, wouldn't you visit them in prison and strengthen them in their sickness?
Of course, you would-- How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news! Anyone would do this for the sake of that Christian encouragement that we so desperately need. Anyone would do this to hear the word of life from their lips. Those who don't value the word of Jesus, wouldn't do anything to protect the people who bring it to them--these people are called the goats. How often the apostles address the readers of their letters so affectionately and with such friendliness and with such gratitude for the love which is showed them on account of their words!
So this passage is not about salvation by works, or salvation because of Christian charity--it's about our reception of the living words of Jesus through the messengers of Jesus.
And just so that you know this passage is not about salvation by works, listen to the way in which the sheep respond: Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' They don't even know that they were serving Christ.
And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' The least of these my brothers: not just the apostles and the St Pauls of the world, not just the bishops and the pastors, but every simple Christian who receives hardship because of the words of Jesus. Of course, when we see anyone in hardship or need, whether they are a Christian or not, we should help them in their need and show love to them. But Christian charity in general is secondary to what this text is talking about here. It’s not the main thing that we’re talking about in this particular text. This text is focussed particularly on the brothers of Jesus.
And just as the sheep had no idea that they were serving Jesus, the goats had no idea that they were rejecting Jesus. Then they also will answer, 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?'
They do not value these living words of Jesus, and treat those who bring this word to them with contempt and so at the end they will depart from [Jesus], [as] cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Hell was not made for the sake of human beings, it was prepared for the devil and his angels. And just as there is an eternal life for the sheep, there will be an eternal punishment for the goats.
Now, this reading is almost too harsh for our times, and our society today. People have so much, and the more they have, the more they are afraid of losing. Many Christians too don't value the simple message of Jesus and his cross, and also don't value the simple--sometimes even simplistic--Christians who speak it to them. Many Christian reject their baptism, reject the church, reject the authority and care of their pastors, and reject the fellowship of Christians. When did we see you hungry and not feed you? they will say. This word is such a thunderbolt for our country and our times which are full of small churches with few people. Would that the Holy Spirit would open the floodgates that people may hear and receive the precious words of Jesus, and hasten to meet him as their brother, their king, the Son of Man who shares their flesh and blood!
Listen to those words of Jesus, little flock! Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. Come, you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Friend, come up higher! Come to the banquet, for everything is ready. Come, bride of Christ, come, beloved sheep of the Good Shepherd! Come, and hear the loving voice of your shepherd! Amen.
And the peace of God which
passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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