November 22, 2019
Ready or Not, Here He Comes; and His Reward and Judgment Are with Him.
Matthew 25:31–46
Kimo Thorpe
Central Truth
Christ is coming back, and that day will be filled with reward and judgment. The joy will be for those who imperfectly, yet actively, loved people here on earth. The tragedy will be for those who succeeded at doing nothing wrong, but failed to do the thing that mattered.
Key Verse | Matthew 25:40
"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.'"
Matthew 25:31–46
The Final Judgment
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 people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 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 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, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, 1 25:40 Or brothers and sisters you did it to me.’
41 Then he will say to those on his left, ‘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, 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?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Dive Deeper | Matthew 25:31–46
This passage should be one that challenges but also encourages us. It is true that Christ will come back, and He will be our King and Judge. Before you pull out your credentials though, make sure you know His criteria.
When the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, comes back, He immediately gathers everyone together. He then divides them into two separate assemblies.
To the first, He praises them. He calls them blessed, invites them into their eternal inheritance, and all because they took care of their relationship with the King. You can only imagine the joy that comes over them, but also the confusion as their King references how they cared for Him. Apparently He was once hungry, thirsty, alone, naked, sick, and in prison. They don't remember seeing Him in those vulnerable, needy states.
The King clarifies that when they loved the least on earth, it was a sign that they loved the King Most High.
To the second group, they hear similar language, but instead of being called blessed, they are cursed, instead of being welcomed in, they are banished. It wasn’t because of anything wicked they did, but instead because of what they failed to do. Their lack of compassion for the vulnerable and needy is evidence of their lack of knowing the King.
What's the difference between the two groups? Not works. Romans 3:22 tells us that righteousness comes through faith. Compare that with Titus 3:3-8; and we see that good works are present, but they are for those who believed in God, are saved "according to his own mercy," are washed and renewed, are "justified by his grace," and have "become heirs."
The difference between the two groups is that one knows the character of their King and has been transformed by it.
If you read Matthew 25:31-46 and have not taken care of your relationship with Jesus, that's where you start. If you have believed in Christ as King, Judge, and Lord, you are already considered righteous! Because you are righteous, evidence should be found in the way you show compassion to those in need.
Discussion Questions
1. If you are not careful, it is easy to think that the difference between the two groups is the works they did. Read Ephesians 2:8-9 and be encouraged that it is by faith we are saved and not works. You don't earn God's love! Now, go read Ephesians 2:10. What did God prepare for those who believe?
2. When was the last time you invited someone from your church to share a meal with you at home? When was the last time someone stayed the night? What keeps you from welcoming others into your life and into your home?
3. Is your family intentional about welcoming others into your home, even if they are different from you and make you feel awkward or uncomfortable? Do you invite only close friends and family into your home?
4. Finish this sentence: God is not so unjust as to: . Now, go read Hebrews 6:10. How does this encourage you to be more intentional with the way you love others?