Parables of The Kingdom
Passage: Matthew 25:31-46 - Parable of the Sheep and the Goats
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 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, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters 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, ‘Truly I tell you, 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.”
Recap: Sermon 11-27-11 – Parables of the Kingdom – The Least of These
With some of his parables the disciples had to come to Jesus later for an explanation for what the parable meant. Not this one. This one was direct and in your face. The message was a two-by-four to the head. This is the final public teaching recorded in Matthew before the events of the cross (all that is left is the private teachings at the Last Supper). Jesus wants to send a clear message that those who would be part of His Kingdom are expected to care for the hurting and the poor. Let’s look at the key points verse by verse.
Matthew 25:31-46
:31 – The Son of Man is an OT reference to the coming Messiah (see Daniel 7:13-14)
· The first coming of Jesus was in humility, a baby in a manger. The Second Coming, He will come in full power and glory, with all the angels attending Him
:32 – All the nations, all peoples who ever lived, will be assembled before Him.
· Though in the present there are various responses to Jesus, when he is seen in his full glory– every knee will bow every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Universe – for many this will be a sudden and shocking realization.
· There will be a clear separation between those who enter eternal life and those who will be shut out from God’s Presence for eternity, some from each nation will be in both groups.
:33 – A Good Shepherd knows well which sheep are His and those which do not belong to His Flock.
· Jesus will not be deciding if a person did enough good deeds to cancel out their bad ones, that is not how the final judgment will work.
· The sheep are those who are His, because they had given themselves in faith to the Shepherd.
· The goats did not trust the Savior and refused to give themselves into the hands of the Shepherd.
:34 – The sheep are welcomed into the kingdom prepared for them.
· Our eternal Home with Christ has been prepared from before the founding of the world. God’s intent is and always has been is to create a people with whom He will live with into eternity.
:35 – The Son of Man tells them they are so blessed because of what they did for Him.
· He was hungry, they gave food. He was thirsty they gave something to drink.
· He was a stranger or foreigner and they took him in. He needed clothes and they provided.
· He was ill or in prison and they went to visit.
:37 – The sheep want to know when they did such things.
· It seems like one would remember doing something for one as important as the King of all Kings.
:40 – The reply - Truly, as much as you did to one of the least of these my brothers you did for me
· So God counts that what is done for those lowest on the scale of society, the least of these, as being done for Him who has ascended to the highest place. Those who give or help those who cannot help them back will be rewarded by the Lord.
· We tend to hear this parable as those who would do the giving to those others in need. But as Jesus spoke these words he was looking over his disciples who would be sent out as messengers for the kingdom. As they traveled to share the good news of the gospel they would enter new towns and be hungry and thirsty or their clothes would wear out with no resources of their own. They would be sent out from their home communities and they would be the stranger. Some would fall ill and others would be put in prison for preaching the gospel. Jesus is promising his followers that as they face these hardships, He is right there with them and any person who helps them in their need He will bless.
· In some ways the working out of this promise will be natural. Those communities who receive the disciples and support them will hear the gospel and receive the message of grace and life. Those who refuse to help them or throw them in prison will miss out on hearing the gospel of grace.
:41 – The Son of Man pronounces judgment upon the goats on his left.
· Note that the eternal fire was not prepared for people but for the devil and his demons. We were meant for eternity with God, but if we refuse the message of life, all that is left is darkness & evil.
:42 – All the things the sheep did do for the Son of Man, the goats failed to do.
:44 – They will also ask when it was that they failed to do those things.
· Certainly if they knew the Lord of the Universe was standing in front of them they would have helped, but they did not see that the person they refused to help was made and loved by God.
:45 – Whatever you did not do for the least of these you did not do for me.
· Their condemnation is not because they did terrible things, but it was for what they failed to do.
· The assumption for many is that to go to hell one must be a murderer or someone like Hitler, but it seems a calloused indifference to those in need will get one there all the same.
:46 – The goats go to eternal punishment and then the righteous to eternal life
· Can there be a more important issue than one’s position with God and where we will spend eternity? Every other decision we make pales in comparison to our response to the Son of Man.
The message of this parable is echoed in other Scriptures:
Proverbs 21:13 – If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor he too will cry out and not be heard.
Matthew 5:7 - Blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy
Luke 6:30 – 31 – Give to everyone who asks you…
Luke 10:25-37 – The Parable of the Good Samaritan
James 2:15-16 – Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food…
I John 3:16-18 – …Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
It is clear that the Lord expects those who belong to Him to be active in caring for the poor and those in need. To fail to do so is at a minimum disobedience to the Lord, and may be a sign that our hearts do not truly belong to Him. Christians have a long history of feeding the poor, running soup kitchens, clothes pantries, etc. This is not just a sideline to the true work of the gospel but a visible sign of the gospel, the good news that God loves all people including those the society has left behind. Ministry to the poor is not easy, and it is necessary that we put some thought and effort into the work. We cannot do everything, and we cannot say yes to every request that comes before us. But we can respond to each person with grace and love and treat them as if Jesus himself were standing before us. I’m glad that as a church we hold our monthly Neighborhood Meal, a free hot meal to all who would come. So as we serve this meal today remember that Christ Himself stands before us in the guise of one who is hungry.
Take and Seal It - An e-mail follow-up to Sunday morning’s message
By Pastor Mitch Reed –
Immanuel UCC, Zanesville – Ohio - e-mail: cowcountry94@yahoo.com