Text: Matthew 25:31-46 Revised Standard Version (RSV)
The Judgment of the Nations
31 “When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. 34 Then the King will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 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, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? 38 And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? 39 And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.’ 46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
In the Name of God, the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen.
Just when we expect to hear the story of the Magi visiting Jesus, we get … this: “…he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at his left…and they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Sheep and goats…good guys and bad guys…reward and punishment… according to Matthew, there really is no wiggle room here. Jesus lays it squarely on the line. The distinction he draws between the sheep – the good guys – and the goats – the bad guys – is about as sharp as it gets. (Suddenly, it looks as though it’s not such a bad thing, after all, to be called a “sheep”!)
William Barclay tells us, “This is one of the most vivid parables Jesus ever spoke, and the lesson is crystal clear – that God will judge us in accordance with our reaction to human need.”[1] Even though this is a bit jarring, it’s consistent with what we know about Jesus – he is not the “gentle Jesus meek and mild” that the Victorians made of him – he is, after all, the Jesus who ferociously overturned the tables of the moneychangers and chased them from the Temple, who was not at all shy about going toe to toe with the powers of the day, and who also said, “I have come not to bring peace, but a sword.” So I guess that this lesson should not exactly come as a surprise. But it is a bit disquieting, all the same.
From my research into this, it looks like a lot of the Reformers and numerous theologians of the past line up behind the notion that the Day of Judgment is coming, and we’d best not be numbered among the goats. George Whitefield (also spelled “Whitfield”), the 18th-Century cleric, once stated in his sermon “The Eternity of Hell-Torment”: “But since the torments of the damned are not only possible, but certain (since God himself, who cannot lie, has told us so) for men, notwithstanding, to persist in their disobedience, and then flatter themselves, that God will not make good his threatenings, is a most egregious instance of folly and presumption.”[2] (I’m so glad I wasn’t around to hear that sermon!) It will come as no surprise to you to learn that Whitefield was a founder of what we might today call the “fire-and-brimstone” movement.
Matthew Henry, another 18th-Century preacher and theologian, wrote the following about this passage in his Commentary on the Whole Bible: “Observe here,
“1. That there is a judgment to come, in which every man shall be sentenced to a state of everlasting happiness, or misery, in the world of recompence or retribution, according to what he did in this world of trial and probation, which is to be judged of by the rule of the everlasting gospel.”[3]
These are just two examples of the pages and pages of references I found; but they’re enough to give you an idea of what thoughtful people, past and present, have said about this passage.
There’s no denying what it says – we just read it. But there still seems to me to be a problem here. It reminds me of the old folk wisdom that tells us you’ll get more cooperation from a mule by leading it with a carrot than you will by beating it incessantly with a stick. It strikes me that there’s too much stick in today’s lesson, and not enough carrot. It just seems harsh and inconsistent with what we have come to know about God. After all, as children, we learned to sing the song “God is Love;” I’ve never heard of a Sunday school song called “God is Judge.”
Now, don’t get me wrong: God is the Righteous Judge, and that righteous Judge will one day call all of us to account in the person of Christ, sitting on the Throne of Judgment. But it seems to me that what we’ve been talking about this morning is only half of the story. What’s the other half?
Here’s an analogy that might help: Everyone who has ever had a job knows somewhere in the back of his or her mind that there’s the possibility that, if they don’t do that job or do it well, they can face consequences, up to and including termination of employment. That’s a reality of the world of work. We might call that the earthly equivalent of the Throne of Judgment.
Yet, even in the world of work, that judgment, more often than not, is the last resort. Every company I’ve ever worked for or even heard of has sets of procedures in place for helping underperformers get up to par. Agreements are struck between the employee and his or her manager with specific measurable goals that must be met for the situation to be remediated. Once that happens, the manager and the employee sign off on the agreement, and it’s over and done with. You might call that the earthly equivalent of the Throne of Grace.
So, the other half of the story is that the Throne of Judgment is also the Throne of Grace, and, in fact, that the Throne of Grace is by far more important and by far closer to the heart of God than the Throne of Judgment is. God loves us, and that so much that He gave us Jesus, right? That’s what this Christmas season is about. As we have been led and taught to believe throughout our entire lives, no matter what we have done, or do or who we are, God forgives us no matter what. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16, KJV)
That’s the Gospel, the Good News. The other is really just a warning.
The key to this passage is the response of those who would be followers of Jesus to this unfathomable, utterly incomprehensible act of love on the part of God.
Carla Works, of the Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., tells us: “The Lord’s teaching on the final judgment challenges every disciple of Jesus to be a harbinger of God’s kingdom in a broken world.”[4] In other words, sitting on the sidelines in the face of the world’s need is not what we are called and commanded to do. And that is because, for us, there are no sidelines. Those who think to themselves, “Hey, I’ve professed that I believe in Jesus Christ, so I’m covered – I love Jesus, and Jesus loves me, so I don’t have to do another thing!” are the goats in this story. And we all know some of them.
The sheep – the “blessed” to use another term – on the other hand, are those who, as Carla Works writes, “have demonstrated their faithfulness by performing acts of loving-kindness. The charge to care for the poor and the disadvantaged can be found throughout scripture, but it is especially exhibited in the ministry of Jesus. In this Gospel, Christ has announced the arrival of God’s kingdom while he cures the sick (e.g., 8:28-9:8, 9:18-38; 12:9-14; 14:34-36; 15:29-31), welcomes the despised (9:9-13), and provides food for the hungry (14:13-21; 15:32-39). He orders his disciples to carry on his ministry by doing likewise (10:5-15, 40-42).
“The service of the ‘least’ concerns all people everywhere. Since Jesus has warned the disciples repeatedly of their upcoming persecution (10:16-39; 24:9-14), the context of this passage suggests that believers would certainly be among those who are suffering and imprisoned.”[5]
Matthew’s Gospel was written in a very trying and scary time for the early Christians. It was a time of persecution, and those who clung to their faith did so with a sense of desperation. Matthew’s Jesus addresses their fears and bolsters their hope and confidence. Nonetheless, even though our time does not exactly parallel theirs, the lessons are largely the same. As Pastor Jeremy Myers writes on his “Redeeming God” blog, “even in this age of the church, when we serve others, it is as if we are serving Christ. Especially if these others are Christian brothers and sisters in need. We know from everywhere in Scripture that it is our responsibility to care for other Christians. And since all Christians are members of the body of Christ, when we serve other Christians, it is as if we are serving Christ.”[6]
“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’”
The bottom line here is simply this: Love one another. It doesn’t have to be heroic or even all that hard. Notice the examples from today’s lesson: “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.” Love one another. Help those in need – whoever they are. Maybe walk a mile in someone else’s moccasins. Show others an open hand instead of a fist. If we do that, we need have no fear of being counted among the goats!
The challenge for us in the coming year is to renew our commitment to be the people who make a positive difference in the lives of those around us.
Jesus is counting on us.
In the Name of God, the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen.
[1] Barclay, William, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume Two, The New Daily Study Bible, Louisville, KY, Westminster John Knox Press, 2001, p. 379
[2] http://www.textweek.com/mtlk/matt25c.htm
[3] http://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.Matt.xxvi.html
[4] https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1019
[5][5] Ibid.
[6] https://redeeminggod.com/sermons/matthew/matt_25_31-46/