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Sermon for Trinity 26 / Second-to-Last Sunday
2 Thessalonians 1:3-10 + Matthew 25:31-46
Picture Jesus, sitting on the Mt. of Olives, just two nights before His betrayal by one of the twelve men sitting there with Him. He has a lot to teach them in so very little time. He looks past His suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension, all the way through the New Testament period to the day on which He would return. Those men sitting there would not be alive on earth then. But He knows that these apostles of His will pass on these words in their teaching, and that one of them, Matthew, will write them down for the generations of Christians who will live during that in-between time. Last week’s Gospel talked about the tribulation leading up to the Lord’s return, and it left us with Jesus returning and gathering all people to Himself when He appears. Today’s Gospel talks about what comes next.
We call it the day of judgment. But there will be no trial in which the judge hears arguments from both sides, or interrogates the defendants. Judgment, in the context of the Last Day, will simply be the separation of the righteous from the unrighteous, whom God will have already identified before He comes, because the verdict is established during each person’s own lifetime.
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. And all nations will be gathered before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will set the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. In just a few days from then, the Son of Man would appear in great shame, with not a single holy angel coming to His aid, by His own choice. Because Christ came the first time, not to judge, not to condemn, not to escape suffering, but to suffer the condemnation we all deserve because of our sins, so that, during this New Testament period, we might hear the Gospel, repent and believe in Christ, and so be saved from the judgment at Christ’s second coming. Because, when He comes again, the time for repentance, the chance to escape, will be gone. There will be no bargaining with God at that time, no defending ourselves, no making excuses. For those who will have died already before the Last Judgment begins, the state of their soul at their death locked in their verdict. For those who are still alive when Christ comes, the state of their soul at that time will be final. All the dead will be raised, all bodies and souls will be reunited. And our position, among the sheep or among the goats, will be revealed to everyone. We will all be found on that day either among the penitent believers in Christ on the right, or among the impenitent unbelievers on the left.
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you blessed ones of my Father! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.
There’s so much here that isn’t stated, like, how these people came to be blessed in the first place. The King mentions just a handful of their good works, because that’s the thing Jesus wants to focus on here, as we’ll see in a moment. But He doesn’t mention their sins, of which they were all guilty in this life. He doesn’t mention His own sacrifice on the cross which was the payment for their sins. He doesn’t mention the work of His Holy Spirit in calling them to repentance and faith in Him, their dear Savior, or their washing in Holy Baptism for the forgiveness of sins. That’s how they became blessed. That’s how they became children of the heavenly Father and brothers of the Lord Jesus, not by a single work they did, but through faith alone in the Lord Jesus, who earned heaven for them. That’s also what then produced in them the ability and the eagerness to do those simple acts of kindness for Jesus.
“When did we do any of these things for You, King Jesus?” they’ll ask. “When did we see You in any of these times of need?” Truly, I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ We have to pay attention to the words Jesus uses here. “These brothers of Mine” is not a reference to all people. Jesus is not talking about feeding the poor in general, or about inviting total strangers into your house, or foreigners into your country, or visiting random people in the hospitals or in the jails. Jesus is talking about simple acts of kindness done toward His brothers. And “brothers” is the word most commonly used in the New Testament for Christians, for those who have been adopted as children into God the Father’s family through faith in Christ Jesus, who is God’s true Son by nature and by right, making Him our human and divine Brother.
So what Jesus is emphasizing in this Gospel is that the King is always watching. The King is keeping track of how people treat each and every one of His little brothers (and sisters), His blood-bought Christians, in this time in between His first coming and His second. He wants us to know how much He cares about you, His brothers, in this life, and about how we are treated by men. It may seem, at times, as if the King weren’t watching, but He is.
And in praising the sheep on His right—the Christians who took care of their fellow Christians, simply because they were followers of Christ—Jesus is also emphasizing to His people how earnestly He wants us to be caring for our fellow Christians as we await His return. Because there are many who won’t. King Jesus Himself promises to receive your works of service to His little brothers as works of service done to Him directly. Let the fact that Jesus cares so much about this drive you to spend your life doing these simple acts of kindness for your fellow Christians, looking for ways to help and to serve when your fellow Christian has a need.
After addressing those on His right, the King will turn to those on His left and say, Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. And He will proceed to accuse them of not doing any of those kindnesses to Jesus’ brothers. Will they be guilty of much greater crimes than these? Absolutely. All the books containing all the records of human deeds will be opened, and those whose names are not found in the Book of Life—who don’t trust in the Lord Jesus for forgiveness—will have to answer for all their evil works. But see again how much Jesus insists that His believers be cared for in this life, as if He were the one in need of that care. Truly, I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. The King is watching how unbelievers fail to serve Him by not serving His brothers and sisters, and you should take great comfort in this, knowing that no one who abuses you, and for that matter, no one who fails to be kind to you when you’re in need of a kindness, will get away with it. Because the King is watching.
Then what? And these (the ones on the left) will go away to everlasting punishment, but the righteous to everlasting life.
The unrighteous are cursed by God, because they never repented and believed in the Lord Jesus, so they have to answer and pay for all their own sins, including these sins of omission toward Jesus’ brothers, in everlasting punishment, even though Jesus bore their sins on the cross, too. Because they didn’t want Jesus for their Redeemer, they will depart from God’s gracious presence forever. Their judgment will be everlasting, lasting forever, in that everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Notice that hell and hellfire weren’t originally created by God for human beings. It was His will from the beginning to save all men from death and hell, even though He knew not all would end up being saved through Christ. But God never prepared any such salvation for the devil and his angels. Hellfire was their destiny the moment they rebelled against God. But now, when people turn down God’s offer of salvation through Christ, they will join the devil and his demons in that fiery judgment they could have avoided, but didn’t.
On the other hand, the blessed ones of Jesus’ Father will go with the King into their eternal inheritance, to everlasting life—that is, life that lasts forever, where there will be no more sin or suffering or crying or pain. This inheritance was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, because it was always God’s plan for them to receive it. And there, in that inheritance that was purchased for them by the blood of Christ and that they themselves will receive for free, they will also receive rewards of grace for all those kindnesses done in this life for their fellow Christians, and for all the works of love that they produced in this life, as branches connected to the true Vine that is Christ.
These are the main things Jesus wants His followers to know about Judgment Day. The logistics of it and the other details aren’t for us to know ahead of time. But this is enough. Enough to keep us watchful. Enough to keep us longing for that day, and preparing for that day by living in daily contrition and repentance, and by caring for Jesus’ brothers, as the King watches over us all, making sure that, sooner, or, for sure, later, we all receive that promised inheritance that is, as Peter writes, imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Amen.
