Christ the King Sunday - Year A (Matthew 25:31-46)

It's hard to believe that I've cycled through the lectionary once already. Time has flown by quickly, and I forget that I've been ministering at this church for nearly 5 years now, with three of those as the lead pastor.

Tomorrow I'm not following the lectionary but will be looking at the Great Commission (as a follow up to my last two weeks looking at the two greatest commandments). However, I preached this sermon in 2002, and offer it here in its original form.

Peace,

PastorJon

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The last Sunday of the Christian Calendar is known as “Christ the King” Sunday, or the “Reign of Christ” Sunday. We conclude the period of time between Pentecost and Advent with an acknowledgement and affirmation of Jesus as Lord of lords and King of kings. We sound a triumphant note this morning, affirming that we know the outcome of the Great Narrative. Despite the growing darkness around us, we know that the Light is coming. Despite the onset of Winter, we know that Spring will arrive. Despite the apparent growth of the principalities of evil, we know that the Kingdom of God continues to break in upon us, and someday, the Kingdom Realities will truly become the Realities of which everyone is aware.

Christ the King Sunday helps us identify with the King, and with His Kingdom. We are confronted with the realities of His Kingdom, and His Lordship over our very lives. We must contemplate whether or not we have allowed ourselves to become subjects in His Kingdom, willing to serve His purposes.

Christ the King Sunday causes us to ask fundamental questions about the Kingdom. Who is the King? What is He like? What does He do? What is the Kingdom like, and who are its subjects? What are they like? How does one become a subject of the Kingdom?

Today, we will look in depth at a passage of Scripture which may help us understand a little bit more about the Kingdom, and what it means to acknowledge that Christ is King. Hear these words of Jesus the Christ, found in Matthew chapter 25, verses 31-46:

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.”

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Often, this passage of scripture is quoted when encouraging people to take care of poor and needy people. While that is not an inappropriate way to read the text, I wonder if we miss some other very important lessons because we don’t look beyond that application. This morning, we will look a little deeper into the text, to see what else we may learn from Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25.

First, note that it is the Son of Man who comes in His glory, seated on the throne. We recognize the phrase “Son of Man” to be referring to Jesus. Jesus was both Divine and human, the long-awaited Messiah, the coming King. In this portion of His teaching, He identifies Himself as the Messiah, the coming King, who will judge all people. We understand the Jesus was much more than just a man, but the Son of David, the Messiah, fully-divine yet fully-human.

As Jesus sits on the throne, we see that all of the nations are gathered together. Jews, Arabs, Persians, Greeks, Americans, Asians, Russians, Africans, Australians, and so on. Not one nation will be left out. Not one group of people will be exempt from this separation. All people will be called before the Throne of Christ, to acknowledge His Lordship.

Notice what happens next: Jesus separates the people, one from another. Scripture doesn’t tell us that He will sort out the nations, or the tribes, or the family groups. It doesn’t even say that He will separate denominations one from another. No, He will separate the people, one from another. In this teaching, it is clear that nationality does not guarantee citizenship in the Kingdom of God. No longer could the Jews simply rely on being the “chosen people” in order to secure their citizenship. Likewise, being American is of no value in determining whether one belongs to the Kingdom of God. Being a member of a family does not play into which side of the throne one stands on. I daresay that even claiming membership in a certain church or religious group has very little to do with Jesus’ separation of the sheep from the goats. No, Scripture tells us that He will separate the people, one from another. It will be an individual sorting. Our Old Testament lesson from Ezekiel indicates that He will bring the sheep out from the nations and the countries and gather them together to bring them into their own land. The sorting process will gather together the sheep, regardless of nationality, family group, or denominational membership.

In fact, it appears as though the sorting will be very much like the sorting that a shepherd would do at the end of the day. The image that Jesus used here would have been a familiar image to the listeners. They would have immediately thought of a shepherd with hundreds or thousands of various breeds of sheep and goats. That shepherd would regularly be responsible for sorting out the animals, one kind from another, for the purpose of counting, breeding, and even sacrificing. He would probably have the animals led through a gate, where he could use his staff to sort them into separate pens, counting them as they came. Jesus, the Son of Man seated on the Throne, identifies Himself with the lowly shepherd.

What does it mean to understand that the King is also the Shepherd? What implications does that have for our lives? Throughout Scripture, Jesus is referred to as the Good Shepherd, who cares for the sheep and knows them by name. Christ the King is not a ruthless dictator or monarch. He is not a power-hungry emperor, or even a popularity-driven politician. No, Christ the King is a Shepherd, who cares for the sheep and knows them by name. What do we know about shepherds? The Shepherd leads the sheep. The Shepherd calls the sheep and they come. The Shepherd uses His staff to correct the sheep, and to lovingly keep them on the path and from danger. The Shepherd provides food, water, and rest for the sheep. The Shepherd is willing to go miles and miles from His comfortable home to wander the barren wasteland in search of the missing sheep. The Shepherd is even willing to tangle in brambles and thorns for the sake of the sheep. He may even be called upon to fight with the wild dogs and wolves in order to protect the sheep. Ultimately, the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. What does it mean to know that the King is also a Shepherd? It means we can trust Him, we can follow Him, knowing that He will care for us and call us by name. The Good Shepherd is the sort of King to which I’m glad I belong.

After Jesus separates the sheep from the goats, he welcomes the sheep into the sheepfold. He reminds them of the good they have done, and tells them that they have an inheritance waiting for them. Notice the response of the sheep. They don’t go marching into the Kingdom. They don’t appear proud or relieved, nor do they appear as though they expected this. Instead, their response appears to be one of confusion. You can almost picture the sheep bleating to one-another with their questions and lack of understanding. Perhaps the din of bleating became loud until one of the head sheep silenced the rest of the flock to pose the question.... “When? When did we do any of this? We don’t remember feeding you, or clothing you, or visiting you.... When?”

Why didn’t the sheep immediately understand what Jesus was talking about? Why do they appear confused at His teaching? Why don’t they realize that He’s talking about the countless people they have clothed, fed, and visited? After all, the meaning of the text seems apparently clear to us. Why didn’t they recognize that Jesus was speaking about their acts of service and sacrifice which they performed daily. I think maybe it’s because the sheep have only ever done what they have known to do. Habits can be a very good thing. We don’t remember if we turned the coffee-pot off, because we are in the habit of turning the coffee pot off. We don’t remember if we closed the garage door, because we always close the garage door. We don’t remember if we put the mail out, because we always put the mail out. The sheep always cared for the needs of others. It wasn’t just like second-nature...it was their nature...that’s what sheep do.

Is it possible that the sheep had forgotten all about the wonderfully good things they had accomplished in their life simply because doing good was a habit. Is it possible that they never thought about doing good, but that good deeds simply sprung up from who they were. And so, here they are at the end of time, when the Shepherd speaks of all the good they have done, and they respond in confusion, because they don’t remember doing it...they never had to think about it...they simply did what sheep did.

You’ll notice, that when Jesus sorted the people one from another at the beginning of the passage, He didn’t separate them based on what they had done. While He refers later to what they had done, when He separates them before His throne, He separates them based upon whether they are sheep or goats. The story of the sheep and the goats is not a works-based gospel. We should not read this passage of scripture and walk away thinking that those who care for the sick end up in Heaven, and those who ignore the sick end up in Hell. No, Jesus separated the sheep from the goats. The sheep received eternal reward, while the goats received eternal condemnation. The principle here is that what we do erupts out of who we are. A sheep will do sheep-like things. A goat will do goat-like things. Oh, a goat may try to do sheep-like things, but it won’t be natural, and the goat will probably fail miserably trying. Even if the goat succeeds in doing a few sheep-like things, the goat is still a goat. On the other hand, it does not appear as though the sheep needs to concentrate on doing good deeds, the sheep merely needs to be an authentic sheep. If the sheep is living an authentic sheeply lifestyle, the good deeds will occur matter-of-factly. What we do erupts out of who we are.

We have been studying the book of James on Wednesday afternoons. James constantly challenges his readers to be single-minded and authentic. He speaks against a double-minded man who wavers back and forth. We have read James, understanding that James has challenged us to have an integrated faith that impacts and informs every corner of our very existence. James doesn’t suggest that we need to try to do good works, but that we need to connect ourselves to the source of good works. In doing so, our authentic integrated faith will work itself out in our lives, producing every sort of good fruit. We are not saved by good works, we are saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This saving faith works itself out in our lives, producing good works.

The challenge of the story of the sheep and the goats is not to go home and attempt to do sheeply things. The challenge is to go home and make sure that you are a sheep. I can’t make you a sheep. You can’t make yourself be a sheep. Only Christ working through you can transform you into a sheep. The power of the Gospel is the power that takes a goat and transforms it into a sheep. The power of the Gospel takes cold hearts and makes them warm. It takes stone hearts and makes them alive. The power of the Gospel restores relationships, heals lives, encourages forgiveness, and prompts us to every good work.

It has often been said that going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to Burger King makes you into a cheeseburger. A goat can go to church. A goat can hang out with sheep. A goat can even learn to act like a sheep so that the other sheep may not even notice he’s a goat anymore. But at the end of the day, the goat is still just a goat pretending to be a sheep. At the end of the day, the goat is still characterized by its nature as a goat. Transformation has not occurred in the life of the goat, simply good play-acting.

Notice that the goats didn’t try to convince Jesus that they had done good works. I find it hard to imagine that there would be anyone who couldn’t respond to Jesus by saying, “I visited someone in the hospital once,” or “I put money in the Salvation Army kettle once,” or “I gave that guy at the corner of Forest Avenue and High Street a dollar last week.” We know lots of philanthropists who are not members of the Kingdom of God, who have not had their very hearts changed by the transformational power of the Gospel. I wonder if the goats, kneeling there at the throne of God forgot all about the good things they had tried to do in their lives. I wonder if they forgot about the money they put in the Salvation Army kettle because they realized it was just an act. Perhaps they recognized that even at their best, they were merely goats trying to act like sheep. Confronted with Jesus Christ the Shepherd-King, they realized that they never allowed Him to change their nature. They never allowed Him to transform them into sheep. Perhaps they thought they didn’t need His help. Perhaps they thought they could put on a good show and sneak through the gate. But at the end of the day, the goats were identified as just that...goats.

What we do erupts out of who we are. We can try to be something we are not, but Jesus can see through those facades. We may be able to fool another person. You may be able to fool your husband, your wife, or your children. You may even be able to fool your pastor. But you cannot fool the One who created you and knows your heart. The power of the Gospel is available to transform the heart of anyone, changing them from the inside-out.

The reality is this: the day will come when all nations will be gathered together at the throne of Jesus, and every one of them will call Him “Lord.” The sheep called him “Lord” in verse 37, and the goats called Him “Lord” in verse 44. We each have the option of waiting until that day to acknowledge His Lordship, or of kneeling before Him today giving Him all the honor, glory, and power of which He alone is worthy. Today, we affirm His Kingship over all creation, and over our very lives. May His transformational power equip us for every good work for His Name’s sake. Amen.

Before we sing our closing Hymn today, hear these words from John’s throneroom vision as recorded in Revelation chapter 5:

⁶ Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into al the earth. ⁷ He came and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. ⁸ And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹ And they sang a new song:
“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. ¹⁰ You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our god, and they will reign on the earth.”
¹¹ Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. ¹² In a loud voice they sang:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”

¹³ Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”
¹⁴ The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.


Benediction: May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.