Sermon - Last Sunday of the Church Year - Matthew 25:31-46

 

The Parable of the 10 Virgins taught us to be wise and ready for Christ’s return.  Faith fueled by the means of grace is the only thing that makes and keeps us ready. 

The Parable of the Talents teaches us that we are entrusted with gifts, and that while we wait for his return, we are to put those gifts to use!  The greatest of these gifts is the Gospel, which is to be treasured, but also shared.

And now, the third Parable of Christ’s return in glory – the Sheep and the Goats.  Although, its’ not really a parable, per se, like the others.  It is rather a description of how the Son of Man will judge the peoples of the earth.  As a shepherd separates the sheep and the goats.

This may well be one of the most terrifying thoughts, as we ponder the Last Day.  When Christ judges the world – on which side will I stand?  How will I be judged? 

It is clear that his judgment is pass or fail, there is no sliding scale, no gray areas.  You are either a blessed sheep, or a cursed goat.  You either enter in the joy of the Father, and inherit the kingdom, or you are sent away to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  There is only weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The picture Jesus paints here is something we confess in the creeds, “he will come again in glory, to judge the living and the dead.”

And you might expect that the judge would hear evidence and testimony.  You might think he would look at peoples’ lives and how well they did, compare their thoughts, words, and deeds to the holy law, or the 10 commandments.  Some might even think that their good deeds would offset their bad ones.  That he would weigh it all out and come to a just conclusion.  But that’s not how Jesus describes it.

While he spends some time pointing out the works, the good or bad works, of the sheep and the goats – take careful note of the first words out of the King’s mouth:

“Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

There’s no judging here.  There’s no interrogation.  He doesn’t check their references of their qualifications.  He already knows who the sheep are, and they simply belong to him.  He invites them to receive their inheritance, and a blessed one at that!

It’s only later that he goes on to point to their works.  After they are invited to their reward!  So these good works of visiting and feeding and clothing and welcoming… they are not the basis of sheepliness.  They are merely evidence of it.  That the sheep are the sheep is already settled.

This comports with the way Jesus speaks of himself in John’s Gospel as the Good Shepherd.  “I am the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep”  “My sheep know my voice.  I know them, and they follow me”  “I am the gate for the sheep.” Et cetera.

You see, they don’t just become his sheep on the last day.  They have been his sheep all along.  They become his sheep by the gift of faith, by the water of baptism, and by the power of his Holy Spirit.  They, you, already belong to him and on the last day it is simply revealed who is who.

This is a great comfort for us, Christians.  We are sheep because the Shepherd has died for us, laid down his life for the sheep.  The Shepherd knows his sheep.  And we know his voice.  We’ve been following him all this time.  Of course we will also follow him to glory.  That’s been his promise to us – abundant life, forgiveness of sins, rest from our labors.  The voice of his word makes us these and so many more promises, and faith rests secure in them.  Our works have no place in the equation of salvation.  On that account, the Shepherd has done it all.

But at the judgment, he will commend his sheep also for their good works.  And here it gets very interesting.  Because as he lists out all that they have done for their neighbors in need, even the least of these, the sheep seem to have some form of amnesia.  They don’t recall, they don’t know about all this supposed good they have done.  When did we?  We did what?

And here we might note two things.  For one, true sheep that belong to the Shepherd, that is to say, Christians, don’t concern ourselves with cataloging our good works.  We don’t keep a careful record of our good deeds and philanthropic ventures – because we don’t have to!  Since we are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone, we have no need to track and measure our works – because they don’t matter a bit for our salvation. Christ has done it all! Both his sacrificial death, and his perfect life of love – all that he has done, he has done for us. 

And so, secondly, whatever works the sheep lack, Christ has fulfilled.  Wherever we have failed to feed and clothe and visit and welcome and love, Christ has done it for us!  And to the extent that we do such works out of faith, he esteems them greatly, as even done for him, to him.  We serve others because he has served us.  And when we serve others, it’s as if we are serving him.

He knows the sheep, he welcomes and blesses the sheep, he commends the sheep for their evidence of faith.

And only then he is on to the goats.  He doesn’t leave the sheep waiting around to hear their verdict, but deals with his own first, kindly.  He is both just and merciful, but his preference is mercy. 

Now the goats are condemned for their lack of works.  And much like the sheep, they are surprised by all this.  They don’t seem to know how bad they have been.  They certainly don’t think that any of their failure or neglect was against Christ himself!  But in much the same way, Jesus holds them accountable, collectively, for failing to do what they should have.  And he can do this, judge them collectively, for they share the same sinful nature, and stand even now in those sins.  They do not have a savior to cover their sins, a shepherd who knows them as his own.  They do not hearken to his voice. 

And even if they do serve their neighbors, or do good works before man, it doesn’t matter in the end.  Surely, many non-believers do what the world would recognize are “good works”.  And there are many charitable and philanthropic agencies both secular and religious apart from the church.  Your non-Christian friends and neighbors are likely good citizens who love their families and are generally nice people.  But none of that counts in the end.  All have sinned and failed and fallen short.  None has loved as he ought, even our best works are as filthy rags before God.

If you rest on those works – however good they may appear before man – you will be sadly surprised with the goats at the final judgment.  But if you know the Shepherd, and rely on his good works, you will be blessedly surprised with the sheep on that day.

So, here stands for us a warning – that there will indeed be a judgment.  But that judgment is not what it may seem on a cursory reading.  We are not judged based on our works.  If so, we’d all be goats.  But here also stands for us a promise.  We, the sheep, are saved by grace through faith in Christ.  We are credited with works that we haven’t even done, but that Jesus has.  We are covered by his righteousness, given life by his death, and made heirs of the kingdom by our thorn-crowned king. 

We come to the end of this church year, and consider the end of all years, when Christ comes in glory, as king and judge.  Thanks be to God he has made us his sheep!   Let us continue to trust in him and love the least of these his brothers, looking forward to that inheritance of eternal life.