Sunday, November 13, 2011

November 6th, 2011




LAST JUDGMENT
November 6/7, 2011
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Matthew 25:31-46

“JUDGMENT DAY!”
1. What you do matters.
2. Why you did it matters.
3. Jesus matters!

Matthew 25:31-46 (NIV1984) “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.”

For some people it doesn’t even exist. It’s not on their radar screen. They don’t believe it will ever even happen. For other’s it’s kind of like the boogey man. Something that parents or fear mongering pastors can use to manipulate the behavior of their children or people. I’m talking about Judgment Day. But unlike the boogey man, Judgment Day is real. What do you think about when you hear about Judgment Day? Is it something scary? Something to look forward to? What do you think it will be like for you? Let’s revisit the words of Jesus and find out.
The first thing we notice is on Judgment Day there are only two eternal futures for all people. “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.” Jesus draws our attention to the glory of Judgment Day. He comes in glory. All the angels are with Him. Then there is a separation. Like a shepherd separates sheep and goats, Jesus separates the people. No matter what people believe about the afterlife there are only two types of people, those who go to heaven and those who go to Hell. What’s the basis?
Here Jesus points to the things people have done or not done. “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.” To those on His right Jesus gives the welcome into heaven. He points to things they did. Apparently on Judgment Day what you do matters. What things? Well, kind of normal things. There’s no mention of martyrdom or building of huge church bodies. No, instead it’s normal things that take care of needs like feeding the hungry, giving a drink to someone who is thirsty, clothing to those in need, kindness to strangers, taking care of the sick or visiting someone in prison.
It’s a different story for those on the left. “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.” There is no welcome into heaven. There is only hell, eternal fire, for these people. Why? Jesus points to things they didn’t do for him and they’re just the same as what the ones on the right did do, normal almost every day tasks.
Now some of you might be thinking, “Hey, wait a minute, pastor. You are going to turn me into some kind of Lutheran lunatic. Last week we reemphasized the truths of the Lutheran Reformation that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone. This week you’re telling me it’s what I do that matters. What gives?” Jesus gives. Did you notice how both those on the right and those on the left were basically clueless as to what Jesus meant? The ones on the right couldn’t think of times when they did these nice things for Jesus. The ones on the left couldn’t think of times when they had failed to. That brings us to the second point of Judgment Day. Why you do things matters. The key phrase that Jesus the judge repeats is “for me.” “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.” And again, “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.” Who is it that lives their lives for Jesus? Who is it that does not? Now it becomes clear. Now it all fits together. We are not Lutheran lunatics after all. On Judgment Day Jesus will point to fruits of faith or the lack of them. Only believers in Jesus can and will do things for Him. Only those who belong to Him deliberately live their lives striving to follow God’s holy will for Him. Only those who know they have received forgiveness want to thank Jesus for their forgiveness. And all the things that unbelievers do that look the same as believers, feeding the hungry, providing clothes to those in need, the difference is they can’t be done for Jesus. Why you do things matters.
But really the bottom line is on Judgment Day, Jesus matters. Look at the ones Jesus welcomed into heaven. Jesus calls them “the righteous.” He calls them the blessed and says they are receiving an inheritance. That’s something you don’t work for. And did you notice what was missing as Jesus talked with them? Their sins were missing. God is not lying when He says that His forgiveness means that He removes our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. Jesus made that happen. He paid for those sins. He took them all away, nailed to the cross, buried in the grave. Whatever picture you want to use, God assures you that there will be no scandal sheet read, no public unveiling of all you secret sins. Jesus matters. Oh the joy of believing in Him! You don’t have to worry about whether you’ve done enough. As we’ll sing about later it’s Jesus righteousness that covers us. Instead our jaws will drop as Jesus praises us for things we can’t even remember that we did for Him. You see, it’s not fear of Judgment Day that is to motivate Christian living but the joy of seeing Jesus instead.
Maybe that’s why one pastor described Judgment Day as one of the happiest days in a believer’s life. Think about it. You get to see Jesus in all His glory. All His enemies are banished to Hell forever. Your faith in Him is publicly vindicated. You are about to enter, body and soul, eternal glory, and if that were not enough Jesus, Jesus is going to praise you. I don’t want to spoil the surprise for you but do you want to think a little bit about what He might say to you? Children, “I was crying on the playground and you put your arm around me. I was feeling left out and you invited me to come along. I was being teased and you didn’t laugh, you spoke up for me.” Adults, fellow members of St. Jacobi. “I needed to learn about my Savior and you taught me. You made sure money wouldn’t keep me from learning about Jesus in school. You provided safe water for me in my homeland of India and then I learned about the water of life. You gave me a food basket at just the right time, a food card from your almoner’s fund, a warm coat. You encouraged me at work when everyone else wanted me gone. You saw me straying from my salvation and you came after me. You helped me praise God through music. I was a helpless baby and you cared for me. I needed a good neighbor and you were there for me.” I could go on and on. I think it’s going to be like Christmas with absolutely no idea about what you are going to get.
It’s kind of neat to think about, isn’t it? And maybe it helps our waiting time pass a little more nicely. Because I belong to Jesus, the things I do matter. The things you do matter too. They may look like nothing special in the eyes of other people. They might not seem all that special to you. But they are because of Jesus. So have fun doing them. Amen.

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