The Second to Last Sunday of the Church Year – Pr. Anderson sermon
St. Matthew 25:31-46 “On a Glorious Throne Before All Nations”
November 17, 2024 | Christ Lutheran Church
In Nomine Iesu
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O almighty, eternal and merciful God, by Your beloved Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, You established the kingdom of grace for us in Your holy Church here on earth, that we might believe the forgiveness of our sins, since You are a God who has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live: We beseech You, graciously forgive us all our sins; through the same, Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen. (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, by Veit Dietrich, p. 165)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Rom. 1:7, etc.)
The sermon text for today is taken from the 25th chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew. We read selected verses in Jesus’ name:
[Jesus said:] “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 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. 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 foundation of the world. 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.’
These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by Your truth, Your Word is truth. Amen. (Joh. 17:17)
In Christ Jesus, who as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords will rule over all nations, judging the world, and bringing His beloved into His kingdom, dear fellow redeemed:
As we near the end of the church year, you might be asking yourself, “why must we talk about the end of the world every time?” This is a topic that some can be interested in too much. And it is a topic that many either don’t have any interest in, or they want to avoid talking about it at all cost. It is a difficult topic. No one wants to hear how they will be judged. Us feeling this way about this topic is nothing new and if Jesus is teaching about it than that means Judgement Day was on the peoples mind too. So, Jesus uses an illustration that they would know. He puts people into the categories of the sheep and the goats. And while most of us know this illustration, there is a reason we will keep covering it year after year. Jesus teaches, there is no escape, and He will be on a glorious throne before all nations.
This is one of the last teachings Jesus gives to His disciples because one aspect of what He is telling them is about to happen. He isn’t going to be with them much longer. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 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.” Since Jesus’ ascension, the world has been waiting for this day. The disciples were able to see a taste of it on the Mount of Transfiguration. This day won’t be for a select few as that day was. On this day, the world will see the glory of the Son of Man. The armies that Jesus’ tells Pilate about will also be joining. The earthly kingdom the people wanted will witness the heavenly kingdom that is truly there. Jesus will assume the seat on His glorious throne. And as people hear this text, this is not the part that is scary. The scary part is that there are two groups.
No one wants two groups. We have heard the sayings about how everyone should get to go to that nice place in the sky, and if there is a scary place down below, then that place is only reserved for those who were truly bad and deserve it. The world wants a nice Jesus, but unfortunately, the title of king can’t be taken out of His job description. He is given this title by His Heavenly Father. Again, no one wants to hear that they will be held to account. The disciples aren’t going to want to hear what they have done after their teacher’s arrest. And as this king continues to care for the people of the world, He divides them into two groups, just as a shepherd divides up his flocks. As we heard earlier this year, this is a Good Shepherd and He wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t for the good of His flock. “And He will place the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left.”
So, as there are two flocks now, the sheep and the goats, and in hearing the previous sentence it is easy to hear the goats on the left are bad. How do we get into the flock on the right? Jesus answers the question. “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. 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.’” Some will say this is impossible because we don’t see Jesus here and now. Some will think they have covered this with the good deeds they have done by looking at their life and seeing how they have given it their best. However, the moment anyone thinks that they can climb into this flock on their own, will be sadly mistaken. As we sit here today, we know that when it comes to doing anything in regards to Scripture it must be done perfectly. So, we know of the times we have been good to others, but we also know of the many times where we have failed. And if we have a hard time with being a sheep, then it’s easy to picture the goat side of things.
“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. For I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, 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.’” This is for the evil people, right? We all don’t deserve to be cursed and dwell with the devil and his angels into eternal fire, or do we? The devil will fight us tooth and nail to get us to think that we have done everything we possibly can to be labeled as a sheep or to think we don’t belong to the flock at all. He wants us to dwell on the fact we can show poor excuses of kindness. No matter if life is all fun and games, or the dangers look like they will prevail, St. John writes there is no escape from the fateful day or our actions. “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done (Revelation 20:12).
Where can anyone find relief from what is written in the book? The relief is found in the very act of separation. God sees what everyone has done and He is the judge. In confession of all wrongs and the realization of not being able to pick a flock, the righteous judge will look on the sheep and see they are righteous not because of their work, but because of the reason the work was done. Of course, the sheep can’t make assumptions, so they ask, “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?” The reason the work is done is because the sheep have put all their faith in the Shepherd.
This Shepherd is not just a shepherd. This Shepherd is the King who sits on His glorious throne before all nations and in the nations, He sees and cares for all His sheep. This is a comforting message for the disciples who will soon see Him leave. They will not be alone, and they will see their shepherd again. So, they will take His Word, they will take the active life He lived for them, and they will share this message. The world saw the faith of the disciples as they proclaimed the Gospel under the pains of death, they saw it in their actions as they followed the teachings of Christ by taking care of the people they met. The Shepherd had gathered them into His flock and they knew because of His life and work, their names would be written in the book of life.
On the last day, your name will be read from the books. With certainty in the King’s work, you will hear your name read the book of life. You can’t decide which flock you are in. All you can do is put your faith and trust in the work of the King, who is the Shepherd. The Shepherd laid down His life for you. Since, He died on the cross taking away your sins, you will hear Him say to you, “as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.” You can take comfort when you have done the things your Lord has asked of you. You have done them because you know there is only one person you can put your faith in. As you put your faith in the work of Jesus, the works you do aren’t your own. You follow His way as you take care of those you love even when you don’t realize it. The King sees it and He counts you as one of the sheep.
The King comes to you to take care of you. He has to be the one to do it. If He was not the one, then it would be a different issue to stand in front of the King. He would stand before you, reading off all of your deeds and He would point out how they don’t stack up to what is demanded. Isaiah prophesied this would not be how the day of judgement would go. “He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young” (Isaiah 40:11). And as He does this, He sees all that you have done and He says I forgive you. When you look to the cross you see your sins taken away, and when you look to the resurrection you see the King mark you as one of the lambs. He sees the life that He lived in your place.
This is how you will be held to account and it also reveals the world will be held to account as well. There is punishment for those who do not believe. “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” The world will try to fight this verdict, but Jesus makes it clear, “Before Him will be gathered all the nations.” As all nations gather, those who side with the enemy will be on the attack. With Jesus sitting on the glorious throne, the work that is done won’t be in vain as St. Paul writes, “Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering (2 Thessalonians 1:4-5). You belong to the kingdom of God. You are one of the sheep. You will rejoice on Judgement Day because the King on His throne before all nations says, “Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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