He’s Coming!

My dear friends in Christ,

     If today was Judgment Day and Jesus came right now, which side would he put you on? Would you be on his right with the sheep, the believers, or on the left with the goats, with those who don’t believe? Are you sure? Can we be sure?

     We can be sure that even though Jesus hasn’t come back yet, he is coming. He made that very clear in the first few verses of our text. He didn’t say, “If I come.” He said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory” (Matthew 25:31).

      Who is coming? The Son of Man—Jesus. When is he coming? We know that he is coming, we just don’t know when. The Bible tells us that “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32). Who is with him? All the angels. What will he do? Sit on his throne in heavenly glory.

      Jesus is coming back, and he’ll do more than just sit on his throne and look powerful and glorious. He said, “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. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” (Matthew 25:32–33).

     Who will be gathered? All nations What will he do with the group? Separate them Who goes on the right? Who are they? The sheep. Jesus’ followers—believers. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:14,27–28). Who goes on the left? Who are they? The goats. Unbelievers—those who refuse to follow the shepherd’s voice.

     How did Jesus decide which ones belonged on his right, and which ones belonged on his left? It sounds like whoever did all those good things—giving food and drink to someone, giving them clothes, visiting them when they were sick and in prison—gets to be on the right as his sheep. Those who didn’t do any of them are separated and put on the left as the goats.

     If that’s the criteria, then I still have to wonder, “Which side will I be on?” I have done all kinds of good things. I bought a cup of coffee for a homeless guy outside of Caribou Coffee. I have dropped off food for the food shelf. I have given clothing to Christian Life Ministry’s Mission Wearhouse. I have visited my relative in prison and been to the hospital to see a friend. I’ve been doing the work. Don’t I deserve to be on the sheep side?

     At the same time, I have missed many more opportunities. I haven’t always shared my food and something to drink with someone who needs it. My pantry shelves have a lot more food on them that I could donate, but I don’t. I don’t buy new clothes and give them to someone else. They get my old, fashion-worn castoffs. I have made all kinds of excuses not to visit people in prison and the hospital—I’m too busy, they’re too tired, or really don’t want a visit right now. Maybe I do deserve to be on the goat side?

     Jesus is serious about the separating and the judging. Did you notice that the people on the side with the goats weren’t being condemned for what we might call “major” sins? Jesus didn’t accuse them of murder, or adultery, or theft. He didn’t even come down hard on them for gossip, or skipping church, or swearing a few times. He handed down his sentence for sins of neglect—we sometimes call them sins of omission. Forgetting to do something God has told us to do makes us just as guilty as someone who has committed a violent sin. The sentence for both is the same. “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. I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (Matthew 25:41,45).  The sentence is eternal separation from Jesus. The curse of sin will hang like thick chains around our necks. We will sit in a prison cell for eternity, and the heat from hell’s eternal fire will be unbearable. It’s the prison God prepared for the devil and his angels—for all those who rebel against his Word. The Judge won’t accept any excuses: “When did we see you, Lord, when?” There’s no room for, “If I had known,” or, “I meant to do it,” or, “I was getting around to it.” If we have to stand before the Judge and rely on what we have done, we will never stand with the sheep. We will be condemned with the goats!

     Jesus didn’t want anyone to be condemned. He came a first time so that he could change all that. Let’s look back at verse 31 again. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory” (Matthew 25:31).

     What name does Jesus give himself? The Son of Man. What does it mean? Jesus, the Son of God, is also true man.

     Don’t forget what the Son of Man came to accomplish. He didn’t come to sit on a throne in glory—not the first time. The first time he came to rescue people who couldn’t do anything right, and if we did something right, we couldn’t do enough to make up for all the other sins we committed. He gave food to those who needed it—providing for over 5000 people at once! He did more than visit the sick and the suffering. He took away their sins and healed their diseases. He released people from death’s prison—calling Lazarus out of the tomb after he had been dead four days. Jesus did it all, and then sacrificed himself so that we might be forgiven, so that he could call our names and we can stand with the sheep, the flock that knows his name and follows him into eternity!

     Jesus doesn’t want us to wonder about which side we’ll be on. He wants us to focus on the victory he has already won for us. Let’s look at that together! “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’” (Matthew 25:34).

     What does Jesus call us? You who are blessed by my Father. What should we take? Our inheritance—the kingdom!

     How long has it been waiting for us? Since the creation of the world

     The sheep on Jesus’ right—the believers—are the winners on Judgment Day. We are blessed by the Father. He speaks well of us because Jesus died in our place. He calls us his children!

     As members of the family, each one of us has a right to the inheritance. An inheritance usually comes to us because someone dies. Well, Jesus died and rose again. He gives us the inheritance—a kingdom that will last forever in heaven.

     This inheritance has always been part of God’s plan. When he looked at everything at the end of the sixth day of creation he saw that “it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). That included this eternal kingdom of heaven. He had already put that in place for his sheep to live with him forever. Thanks to Jesus, our Shepherd and King, it already belongs to us. One day, we’ll get to see him face to face!

     Which side are we on? We are Jesus’ sheep. We belong to the King. We will stand on the right side at Judgment Day. Until he returns, Jesus’ words also encourage us to stay busy, and to look for him wherever we go. Let’s look back at Jesus’ words to the believers one more time. “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 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’” (Matthew 25:37–40). What didn’t the believers realize? That they were doing all of it for Jesus.

     The believers never looked for a reward for their actions. They weren’t trying to earn God’s favor, or trying to get their pictures and names in the newspaper. They were simply showing their love for Jesus as they showed mercy and compassion to the people they saw around them.

     Isn’t that a beautiful reminder for us? We can reach out to people in need. In less than a month, we’ll put up our Angel Tree in the narthex. We will have the opportunity to buy some Christmas gifts for families who couldn’t afford them. Our drive for Mission to the Children is out in the narthex right now. We are gathering funds to send to that mission so they can reach out to children in Mexico. These children don’t have the basic necessities that we take for granted, and our gifts will help provide for those needs. We heard about Christian Aid and Relief a few weeks ago. Our gifts reach out to people who have lost everything and need the support of their fellow believers. We have a school here at Salem, and some of our families struggle to send their children because of the financial situation at home. We can support them through our Tuition Assistance Fund, and enable them to hear about Jesus every day. In the back corner of the narthex we have our Food Shelf. All of our donations go to families in need here at Salem, and then to Valley Outreach. Valley Outreach offers food and support to families here in the valley who need our assistance.

     Jesus reminds us that when we look at the faces of the people we’re helping, we’re really looking at him. He’s the one we’re helping. He’s the one we are serving. We are Jesus’ hands and feet, helping to supply people’s needs. We are also Jesus’ voice. We have the greatest gift of all—his Word to share with all of these people, so that when Jesus comes for the second time, they’re ready to be with his sheep too. He’s coming! Are we ready? Are we on the right side? Yes, thanks to his victory over sin and death! Come, Lord Jesus! Come soon! Amen.