Matthew Ch25v31-46 - Sheep and Goats

I invite you to turn in your Bibles to Matthew's Gospel.

Matthew's Gospel, chapter 25.

Today we come to a conclusion,

as in we finish our studies in Matthew today.

You may think, well, there's a few more chapters to go.

Well, there are, and we covered them over Easter time

as we looked at the death and the resurrection of Christ.

But today brings us,

and I think the text that we're going to look at today

brings us to a fitting conclusion.

If you've missed any of the talks along the way,

they can be found on our church website.

You can follow up there and listen to them.

And also the little brochure,

which gave you a summary of Matthew's Gospel.

I hope you all got one.

If you didn't, you can ask me,

and I can email it on to you.

Well, let's read God's Word.

Matthew, chapter 25, starting at verse 31,

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

down to verse 46.

Let's hear his words.

When the Son of Man comes in his glory

and all the angels with him,

he will sit on his glorious throne.

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.

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.

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.

I needed clothes and you clothed me.

I was ill, you looked after me.

I was in prison and you came to visit me.

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 ill or in prison

and go to visit you?

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.

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.

For I was hungry

and you gave me nothing to eat.

I was thirsty,

you gave me nothing to drink.

I was a stranger

and you did not invite me in.

I needed clothes

and you did not clothe me.

I was ill and in prison

and you did not look after me.

They also will answer,

Lord, when did we see you hungry

or thirsty or a stranger

or needing clothes

or ill in prison

and did not help you?

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.

Then they will go away

to eternal punishment,

but the righteous

to eternal life.

Well, let's pray together.

Father, our text this morning,

what we have just read,

is sombre,

it's serious.

and we pray that we would

understand the depth

of what you are saying

to us individually

about our eternal destiny

and the way we live our lives

as we wait

for your return.

Father, by your Spirit,

do a work in each of us

so that we are changed

by what we hear

in such a way

that we gladly welcome

and look forward

to the King's return.

We ask for your help to us.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, Jesus has been

teaching his disciples

and us

about his return.

Have a look back with me

at chapter 24,

verse 36,

as he's been talking

about his return.

Jesus says,

But about that day or hour

no one knows,

not even the angels in heaven

nor the Son,

but only the Father.

The return of King Jesus

is going to be a surprise.

And as he continues

through the rest of chapter 24,

Jesus explains

that he could come

surprisingly early

or he could come

surprisingly late.

Verse 44,

So you also must be ready

because the Son of Man

will come at an hour

when you do not expect him.

chapter 25,

verse 13.

Therefore,

keep watch

because you do not know

the day

or the hour.

Now,

while we do not know

when he will come,

we do know

what is going to happen.

And to help us understand

what's going to happen,

we're going to look at

three things,

broken it down

simply like this.

One judgment,

two destinies,

and three truths.

One,

two,

three.

One judgment,

two destiny,

and three truths.

First,

one judgment.

Look at chapter 25,

verse 31.

When the Son of Man comes,

so this is Jesus

referring to himself,

it's his favourite title

for referring to himself,

the Son of Man.

It's not just a name,

it's a title,

it's a position,

and it refers to

God's Son

who has absolute power

and supreme authority

over all things

and all people.

So,

when the Son of Man

comes in his glory

and all the angels

with him,

he will sit

on his glorious throne.

If we were to read on

in Matthew,

we would learn that

in his remaining days,

he would be mocked,

despised,

rejected,

and killed.

But he's telling his disciples

that when he comes again,

after his resurrection

and ascension,

when he comes again,

he will come as the

supreme king,

the ruler,

and judge.

And two things

are going to happen.

First,

he tells us

in verse 32,

that all the nations

will be gathered

before him.

That's an extraordinary

scene,

isn't it?

Every people group

in the world,

every language,

and every religious group,

no nation

is going to be

excluded.

All will be gathered

and all will take

their place

before

the Son of Man,

including

you and me,

whatever your nationality

might be.

The nations

will be gathered.

And second,

the people

will be separated.

Look at verse 32 again,

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.

Now,

we don't need

to be farmers

to know that

goats are not sheep

and sheep are not goats.

So,

just as a shepherd

separates one

from the other,

so Jesus the King

will separate

the peoples

of the world.

You see,

when Jesus

comes to judge,

there will only be

two kinds

of people.

Those who've been

humbled

and welcomed

the King

and those who've

been proud

and reject

the King.

And the question

isn't going to be

about what country

you came from

or what language

you speak

or what particular

religion you are,

but what did you do

with Jesus?

What did you do

with my Son?

verse 33,

he will put the sheep

on his right,

that is,

the place of honour

and the goats

on his left.

Those who've

bowed the knee

to Jesus

will be placed

on his right

and those who've

turned their back

on Jesus

will be placed

on his left.

There's no third

group here,

is there?

There's no middle

ground,

no sitting on the fence.

There's either sheep

or goats.

It's either right

or left.

It's either for Jesus

or against Jesus.

Which one are you?

Which one am I?

Now of all the things

that Jesus teaches,

this is probably

the one that we find

the most difficult

and most offensive.

the idea

of a supreme judge

who's going

to determine

my eternal destiny

is very uncomfortable.

We really

don't like it.

Well,

before we rubbish

the idea

of a God

who comes

to judge,

consider these

three things.

First,

God's judgment

is loving.

Imagine for a moment

if our government

suddenly decided

that there's going

to be no more

laws in this country.

There's going

to be no more police,

no more courts,

no more judges.

We can all do

as we please

and nobody

is going to be

held accountable.

Well,

that would be

a terrible way

to live,

wouldn't it?

And it would be

a terrible government.

It would be

uncaring

and unloving.

You see,

judgment

or justice

is loving.

It cares

for the weak

and the poor.

It holds

the wrongdoer

to account.

If God

did nothing

about injustice,

it implies

that he's

complicit

in it.

So,

having a judge

who comes

and will hold

all people

to account,

well,

that's good news.

That is

loving.

Second,

God's judgment

is just.

The fact

that there will

be a separation

is a sign

that God

is just.

His judgment

is not

arbitrary.

God doesn't

randomly

with a blindfold

pick and choose

who's going

to be on the

left or right.

Listen to how

one author

puts it,

speaking about

this separation.

You can

follow along.

They are

consigned there

first and

foremost

because they

defy their

maker

and want

to be at

the center

of the

universe.

Hell is

not filled

with people

who have

already

repented.

It's filled

with people

who for

all eternity

still want

to be

the center

of the

universe.

God

gives people

what they

most want.

So God's

judgment

is

just.

And third,

God's

judgment

is fair.

I mean,

as we think

about it,

some may feel

that it's

very unfair

that God

would give

the same

judgment

to a

Hitler

as a

regular guy

who rejects

God but

doesn't go

around murdering

millions of

people.

Well,

scripture is

clear,

it seems,

that there

will be

degrees

of punishment.

Jesus has

already taught

about this.

Just go back

to Matthew

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11.

Matthew

Matthew 11:21

chapter 11

verse 21.

Here Jesus

is talking

about the

different towns

that he had

gone to,

where he had

taught and

preached and

where he had

done different

miracles in

these towns.

Chapter 11

verse 21.

Woe to

you,

or judgment

to you,

Chorazin.

Woe to

you,

Bethsaida.

For if the

miracles that

were performed

in you had

been performed

in these other

towns,

Tyre and

Sidon,

they would

have repented

long ago in

sackcloth and

ashes.

But I tell

you,

it will be

more,

what?

It will be

more bearable

for Tyre and

Sidon on the

day of

judgment

than for

you.

It will be

more bearable.

Let's go back

to Matthew

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

chapter 25.

You see,

judgment,

while irreversible

and unchangeable,

it will be

fair.

It will be

in proportion

to what

one has

done.

So,

there will

be one

judgment for

all people,

a judgment

that is

loving,

just,

and

fair.

There can be

no

complaints.

Second,

there will

be two

destinies.

You see,

as God

judges and

as God

separates,

it will

be to

two

eternal

destinies.

First,

there's the

kingdom of

heaven,

verse 34.

Then the

king will

come and

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.

The kingdom

of heaven

is life

as it

should be

for all

eternity.

The full

and glorious

experience of

peace,

joy,

happiness,

love,

and kindness.

It will

be the

absence of

despair and

darkness and

hopelessness,

no more

sin,

no more

evil.

It will

be the

realization

of the

father's

promised

inheritance

of no

more sorrow,

no more

pain,

no more

death,

no more

curse.

It will

be a

kingdom

filled with

the infinite

beauty of

God and

the

uncontainable

delight of

God's

children.

This is

the

guaranteed

destiny

for all

those who

bowed the

knee to

King Jesus.

But there's

also the

fire of

hell.

Hell is

not, as

many people

like to

think,

an eternal

party with

your best

buddies.

It's

everything that

is opposite

to the

kingdom of

heaven.

It's

life

separated

from God

for all

eternity.

Look what

Jesus says

in verse

41.

Say to

those on

his left,

depart

from me

or be

separated

from me,

you who

are cursed.

There is

no blessing.

It's a

living

death.

You see,

to be

separated

from God

is to be

separated

from the

source of

love

and beauty

and laughter

and joy

and happiness.

It's the

absence of

friendship,

pleasure

and delight.

It's an

eternal cycle

of evil

and sin

where we are

filled with

guilt and

shame and

the impossibility

of forgiveness

or release.

peace.

The most

common word

used to

describe

hell

is fire.

Not because

it's a

literal fire,

I don't think.

I think it's

metaphorical here

because

Jesus also

talks about

it being a

place of

darkness.

Well,

how can it

be darkness

if you have

fire at the

same time?

I think it

best explains

the destructive

torment

that hell

is.

There's

nothing good

about it.

And sadly,

this is the

guaranteed

destiny

of all who

turn their

back on

King Jesus.

So there

will be

two

destinies

summed up

in verse

46.

Then they

will go

away to

eternal

punishment

but the

righteous

to eternal

life.

No

appeal,

no

retrial,

a final

and forever

judgment.

Now this

is difficult

for us,

isn't it?

It's not

something I

would naturally

choose to

speak about.

It's

difficult

because,

well,

we're

concerned,

aren't we?

We're

concerned about

ourselves but

perhaps we're

concerned for

our loved

ones.

Friends and

family who

reject Jesus

as King and

insist on

living their

own way.

And our

desperate

desire is

that they

too would

enjoy the

kingdom of

heaven rather

than suffer

the fire

of hell.

Well,

let's not

be in

despair

because your

desire for

your loved

ones is

God's

desire too.

Look at

what God

says about

heaven and

what he says

about hell.

Look closely

at verse

34.

He says,

come you

who are

blessed by

my father,

take your

inheritance,

the kingdom

prepared for

you since

the creation

of the

world.

God's

longing in

God's

heart is

that we

would be

in his

eternal

kingdom

that he's

been preparing

for his

people.

people.

Now look

at verse

41.

He will

say to

those on

his left,

depart from

me, you

who are

accursed

into the

eternal

fire,

prepared for

who?

The devil

and his

angels, the

fallen angels.

God's

desire is

to punish

the devil

and his

minions.

So can you

see the

difference there

between those

two verses?

He has

prepared heaven

for us

and prepared

hell for

Satan.

his desire

is that we

would enjoy

the kingdom

and not

have to

suffer hell.

That's

his desire.

And to

make that

all possible,

what did

he do?

God sent

his son

Jesus to

save us.

That's what

we've been

looking at

through Matthew's

gospel.

He is the

God-man who's

come to

serve and

save us

by suffering

for us.

Let me

read to

you from

Becky

Pippert who

summarises it

like this as

we think about

the sufferings

of Christ on

our behalf.

This is what

she says.

Just as

sin separates

us from

God's loving

presence,

so Jesus

was separated

from that

loving presence.

To pay

the price

for human

sin,

Jesus had

to experience

the utter

anguish

and abandonment

of being

forsaken

by his

father and

bearing his

judgment

for our

sin.

That is

what hell

is.

To be

severed from

the loving

presence of

God.

And hell

is what

Jesus'

agony was

about because

through all

eternity the

son of

God had

never known

a moment

apart from

the love

of his

father.

God

is not

a cruel

tyrant

delighting in

crushing

people to

hell.

He is a

loving

father

longing

to rescue

people

for heaven.

God

so when

you cry

out from

your heart

for your

loved ones

when you

pray for

their salvation

you are

just beginning

to touch

and experience

the eternal

loving pursuit

of God

who longs

that none

would perish

perish.

But that

all would

come to

repentance.

So one

judgment

two

destinies

and three

truths

that we

need to

look at.

You see

if Jesus

is going

to come

again and

he's going

to judge

us

and there's

going to be

a separation

of all

people

how does

he make

his

judgment?

How does

he base

his

judgment?

Well let's

consider three

things.

First

we must

remember

that we

are always

saved

by grace.

At a first

reading as you

perhaps listen

to this text

as it was

read it

seems like

we're judged

on the basis

of what we

do or

don't do.

So look at

verse 34.

Jesus says

come you

who are

blessed by

my father

take your

inheritance

the kingdom

prepared for

you since

the creation

of the

world

because

or 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.

I needed

clothes

and you

clothed

me.

I was

ill and

you looked

after me.

I was

in prison

and you

came to

visit me.

It's the

same in

verse 41.

Jesus will

say depart

from me

you who

are cursed

to the

eternal fire

prepared for

the devil

and his

angels.

Why?

Because I

was hungry

and you

gave me

nothing to

eat and I

was thirsty

and you

gave me

nothing to

drink and

so on.

Now that

all sounds

like we're

judged by

our performance

doesn't

it?

If I've

done good

things

then I'll

be in the

kingdom of

heaven.

But if I

haven't done

enough good

things then

I'll end

up in the

fire of

hell.

Well no,

Jesus hasn't

changed the

entry requirements

into his

kingdom.

It's never

about what

we can

do.

It's always

about what

God has

done for

us.

Let's

just go

back and

look at a

few of

the things

Jesus has

been teaching.

Follow

with me

as we

trace these

verses.

Chapter

4,

verse 17.

Chapter

4,

verse 17.

He'd been

talking about

the darkness

that the

world is in,

the shadow

of death,

and he

comes as a

light into

that darkness.

Verse 17,

from that

time on

Jesus began

to preach,

repent,

for the

kingdom of

heaven has

come near.

Repentance

is always

turning from

yourself and

turning to

Jesus.

It's trusting

in him and

what he does

for you.

Chapter 5,

verse 3.

Blessed are

the poor in

spirit, for

theirs is the

kingdom of

heaven.

Again, it's

not what you

can offer,

but it's

about recognizing

your poverty

of spirit,

that you have

nothing to

bring.

Or chapter

11, verse

28.

Jesus'

wonderful

invitation,

his compassion.

Matthew 11,

Matthew 11:28

verse 28.

Come to

me, all

you who

are weary

and

burdened,

weighed up

because of

your sin

and guilt.

come to

me and

I will

give you

the rest.

I'll

take the

burden off

you and

I'll give

you rest.

Chapter 18,

verse 3.

18, verse 3.

And Jesus

said,

truly I

tell you,

unless you

change and

become like

little children,

you will

never enter

the kingdom

of heaven.

The context

here are

infants,

little toddlers

who are

utterly

dependent.

They cannot

look after

themselves or

care for

themselves.

They need

somebody else.

They are

utterly

dependent.

And so we

come utterly

dependent

upon God

our Father.

let's

go back

to Matthew

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

chapter 25.

You see,

Jesus hasn't

changed his

entry requirements

into the

kingdom.

We are not

judged by

what we've

done.

I mean,

look at the

response of

those who

enter the

kingdom

in verse

37.

When Jesus

has already

gone through

in, this is

Matthew

Matthew 25:37

chapter 25,

verse 37,

he's told

them of all

the things

they've done

and they

respond.

The righteous

will answer

him,

Lord, when

did we see

you hungry

and feed

you or

thirsty and

give you

something to

drink?

When was

it that we

saw you a

stranger and

invited you

into our

home or

needing

clothes and

clothes you?

I don't

remember any

time we did

that for you.

When did we

see you ill or

in prison and

go to visit

you?

Clearly,

they're not

doing things to

try and get

the Lord's

attention.

They didn't

even think

their works

had been

seen.

They're

shocked that

their deeds

have been

noticed.

You see,

entrance into

the kingdom

is always

by grace.

In other

words, we're

not judged

on our

performance,

but the

perfect performance

of Christ

who lived a

perfect life

for you

and for

me.

So let's

be clear

about that.

We are

saved by

grace.

But second

truth,

evidence of

faith.

While our

works can

never earn

our way

into the

kingdom,

our deeds

provide the

evidence that

we belong

to the

kingdom.

Say that

again because

this is key.

Our works

can never earn

our way into

the kingdom,

but our

deeds provide

the evidence

that we

belong to

the kingdom.

And that's

what Jesus

is teaching

here.

You say,

yes, I

believe in

Jesus.

You talk

about, yes,

I've put my

faith in

Jesus.

Well, that's

brilliant.

That's great.

Where's the

evidence?

How do I

know that

what you say

with your

words is

true?

answer, by

the works

you do.

So now

our text

begins to

make sense.

So again,

look at

verse 35.

As Jesus

says, I

was hungry

and you

gave me

something to

eat.

I was

thirsty, you

gave me

something to

drink.

Jesus is

saying you're

welcomed into

the kingdom

and here's

the evidence

that you

belong to

the kingdom.

Here's the

evidence of

your faith.

you said

you had

faith.

Now here's

the demonstration

of that

faith.

You see,

God's grace

doesn't mean

that we

live as we

please and

well, I

can do

whatever I

like and

it's God's

job just

to forgive

me.

No, God's

grace radically

changes us

from the

inside and

gives us a

new way to

live, to

seek first

the kingdom

of God

and his

righteousness.

So when

we are

judged,

Jesus will

judge on

the evidence

of a

changed

life.

So,

evidence of

faith.

And the

third truth

is love

for the

family.

you see,

the evidence

that Jesus

will look

for, or

the evidence

that will be

on display,

is an

intentional

love for

our brothers

and sisters.

Look at

verse 37.

The

righteous will

answer Jesus,

Lord,

when did we

see you

hungry and

feed you?

When did we

see you a

stranger and

invite you

in?

Or needing

clothes and

clothe you?

When did we

see you ill or

in prison and

go to visit

you?

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.

You see,

Jesus here is

speaking of

his solidarity

and unity

with his

people.

Jesus identifies

with his

church,

with his

people so

much that

to act in

love towards

your brother

or sister

is to

demonstrate

your love

for Jesus.

So can we

feel the

impact of

his words?

He says,

you say

that you

love me,

will the

evidence that

you love

me will be

seen in

the way

that you

love the

people in

your church.

That's going

to be the

standard.

Love for

Jesus is

always love

for your

brother and

sister.

So when we

stand before

King Jesus,

I imagine

one of the

questions will

be,

do you

love me?

Well,

of course I

love you,

Jesus.

didn't I

tell you in

my prayers

and in

the songs

that I

sang?

No.

Did you

love me by

caring and

visiting and

serving and

providing for

your brothers

and sisters in

Carigoline

Baptist Church?

Did you

take time to

talk to,

and did

you take

time to

get to

know

and did

you help

them?

You see,

when we

love one

another,

we are

demonstrating

our love

for Jesus.

And of

course,

this is also

true for

those who

are separated

in the fire

of hell.

Look at

verse 44.

They will

answer,

Lord,

look,

when did

we see

you hungry

or thirsty

or a

stranger

or needing

clothes

or ill

or in

prison

and did

not help

you?

He will

reply,

truly I

tell you,

whatever you

did not

do for

the one

of the

least of

these,

you did

not do

for me.

they will

be judged

on the

basis of

how they

treated

God's

people,

the church.

Because you

didn't love

my people,

because you

opposed and

persecuted my

children,

because you

spoke against

the truth,

against the

church and

made laws to

hinder the

work of my

church,

you will

pay for it

for all

eternity.

You see,

to stand

against God's

people is

to stand

against King

Jesus.

So how we

treat our

brothers and

sisters is

how we

treat King

Jesus.

Love for the

church family

matters

deeply.

It matters

deeply.

So what's

our response?

Where does

this leave

us?

Well, I

hope it

leaves us

running to

the cross

afresh.

Because in

coming to

the cross,

we see

God's love

towards us,

don't we?

Well, we

see God

in the

God-man,

Jesus Christ,

suffering

hell for

you and

for me,

separated

from the

Father on

our behalf,

so that we

could enjoy

the kingdom

forever.

Our response

is not to

be one of

despair,

but one of

running to

the Father

yet again

in humble

dependence,

like little

children,

experiencing

his love

afresh,

and asking

him to

change our

hearts

by his

grace,

so that we

would love

as he

loved,

that we

would care

for one

another

as he

has

cared

for us.

One

judgment,

two

destinies,

and three

truths.

Let's just

take a moment

to pause

and to

reflect

and think

about where

we are

today.

let's just

take a moment

quietness

to do

that.

Let's

just take a moment

quietness to do that.

once

before

let's

try

and

you

take a moment

.

you

you

can 30

it

it

to

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

this is how we know what love is

Jesus Christ laid down his life for us

and we ought to lay down our lives

for our brothers and sisters

Father God we are amazed

at your incredible love towards us

for suffering the depths of which you did

taking on our sin and guilt and shame

suffering the depths of hell

so that by faith we would never be separated from God

or his eternal kingdom

Father would you teach us afresh

the extent of your love

may it melt us

and mould us

and fill us with thanksgiving

that it would fill our hearts with worship

worship that overflows

in love and good deeds

towards those we are with this morning