Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: Matthew 25,31-46. The 2nd Last Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 26)

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

Matthew 25,31-46 5513

Vorletzer Sonntag des Kirchenjahres nach Trinitatis 071 [Trinity 26]

Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, † 265

17. November 2013

1. O God, who knowest us to be set in the midst of so many and great dangers, that by reason of the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand upright: Grant to us such strength and protections, as may support us in all dangers, and carry us through all temptations. Amen (The Book of Common Prayer, 4. Sunday after Epiphany).

2. Jesus answered His disciples: „When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will place the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right: ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the reign prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? And when did we see You a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? And when did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ And the King will answer them: ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.’ “Then He will say to those on His left: ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Then they also will answer, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying: ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.“

3. 6, 5, 4 .... Today is the 2. Last Sunday in the Church Year (also known as the 26. Sunday after Trinity), and the countdown to the end continues. Last week Jesus said Jerusalem would be razed and the temple destroyed. Today, Jesus talks about heaven and hell.

4. In the Athanasian Creed we confess: „At Christ’s coming all people will rise again with their bodies and give an account concerning their own deeds. And those who have done good will enter into eternal life, and those who have done evil into eternal fire“ (§ 38-39). The Creed draws this from our Gospel Reading for today.

5. So are we saved by faith, or is it by works? Many read Matthew 25 and the final sentences of the Athanasian Creed and conclude we are saved by works, or that works have some bearing of walking through the pearly gates of heaven. This assumption is our default corrupted human nature. Something bad happens in our life and our first thought is: what did I do to make God angry at me? The implication is: If I do evil, then I will be punished and eventually barred from heaven, but if I do good, then I will be rewarded and eventually welcomed into heaven. If we base our righteousness by the works we do or fail to do, then we are advocating a righteousness by the law. The Apostle Paul declares such works righteousness to be anathema: »No human being will be made righteous in God’s sight by works of the law, since the knowledge of sin comes through the law« (Romans 3,20). Matthew 25 and the Athanasian Creed state this as well.

6. Let’s examine the two groups of people standing before Jesus on the last day. Jesus will separate people one from another: some He places on His right and others on His left. To those on His right He says: »Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the reign prepared for you from the foundation of the world.« And to those on His left He says: »Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.« Both sentences follow the same pattern: come/depart, blessed/cursed, heavenly reign/eternal fire. There is a key verb present in one sentence but missing in the other. Jesus tells those who are blessed: inherit the heavenly reign, and it is precisely this verb, inherit, that assures us that entrance into heaven is by God’s loving grace, not by the good works commanded by the law.

7. How do we inherit something? Normally, we inherit something from someone who has named us in his or her will. Parents leave their prized possessions to their children, and to ensure they receive these things following their death they draft a last will and testament to make the inheritance legally binding. George Washington had a provision in his will that when his wife finally died, then all their slaves were to be given their freedom. An inheritance implies a relationship between the person who drafted the will and those who are named in that will. Often family members are named as heirs in a will. Only when a person dies does his or her will take effect (Hebrews 9,16-17).

8. Those who inherit on the last day are described as blessed. In His Beatitudes, Jesus calls His disciples blessed (Matthew 5,1-11). Consider especially His 8. Beatitude: »Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the reign of heaven« (Matthew 5,10). In this verse, Jesus links blessedness and righteousness together: the one who is blessed is righteous, and the one who is righteous is blessed. But again, the question is asked: How does one become blessed and righteous? Is it by doing the works prescribed in the law, or is it by faith in Jesus? The Apostle Paul clearly tells us the mind and will of Jesus: »A person is not righteous by the works of law but righteous through faith in Jesus Christ« (Galatians 2,16).

9. On the last day, the day of judgment, the sheep will be placed on the right of Jesus’ throne. These sheep are blessed, they are righteous, they are disciples of Jesus and they are redeemed and righteous by their faith in Jesus. They are heirs of the eternal riches of God’s heavenly reign. All who trust in Jesus will be to His right when they stand before His glorious throne. All who trust in Jesus will be saved and welcomed into the inheritance that has been prepared for them since the foundation of the world.

10. Notice that those who hear this proclamation were unaware that they were doing good works unto Jesus Himself. Such is the way of faith, for faith is not interested in counting, measuring or comparing the number of works and their glory. Such accounting is the way of the law. Faith merely lives in the trust and hope that the crucified and risen Jesus is the one and only Source of salvation and righteousness. Good works naturally flow from such faith, just as a river flows forth from its source. Faith is a gift just as righteousness and heavenly joy are gifts, and they are gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit through the proclamation of the gospel. We see something needing to be done and we do. We see a neighbor in need and we act. There is no thought of praise or reward, but only that the emergency is alleviated. This is how faith responds to the trials and tribulations in this world. Eternal life in God’s presence is the end journey for those who believe in Jesus.

11. Not everyone, however, gets that happy ending. Many will find themselves on the left side of Jesus’ throne. This is the side reserved for those who do not believe in Jesus and want no part of Him and His reign. They have no inheritance, for they have rejected what Jesus gladly and freely gave to them. They have no place in heaven, for they have refused to be in Jesus’ presence. Such unbelieving goats are accursed and removed from Jesus’ presence. They have forfeited their eternal dwelling in heaven, and so they must spend eternity in hell with the devil and the fallen angels. Hell was not prepared for men and women, but those who reject the good and gracious gifts of Jesus, like the devil and the fallen angels did after they were created, will spend eternity with those of like company and desire.

12. It is not Jesus’ will for any human being to be separated from Him in the depth of hell. Jesus has done everything necessary to avoid such a fate. Jesus lived, died and rose again to redeem fallen men and women. He pours out gifts upon gifts to all people. He showers them with His grace and mercy, but many spurn His love and will not receive by faith His grace. No one has an excuse to ignore God’s love, for it was displayed in all its glory when Jesus sacrificed Himself, suffered and died on the cross to merit the eternal salvation of the world. The price has been paid; the inheritance has been testified; faith is the recipient of God’s free love.

13. Many authors write books about the last day, armageddon and the like. They are sensational pieces of fiction strung together with flimsy Scotch tape. Let me give you a simple, Biblical summary of heaven and hell: „Our Lutheran churches teach that at the consummation of the world Christ will arrive to judge, and to raise up all the dead, He will give to the faithful and elect eternal life and everlasting joy, but He will damn godless people and the devils to hell and eternal punishment. Our churches condemn the Anabaptists, who teach that there will be an end to the anguish and pain of condemned people and devils. Our churches also condemn others who spread several Jewish doctrines, namely that the holy and devout shall take possession of the kingdom of this world before the resurrection of the dead and the godless will be destroyed“ (AC 17,1-4).

14. When you stand before the throne of Jesus on the last day it will not be a day of distress and hardship for you who believe in Jesus as your savior from sin, death and hell. To stand before Jesus on that day is to stand before Him with great joy and faith for your know and believe that Jesus has covered all your sins and redeemed you fully unto His Heavenly Father. Hear the words of the Apostle Paul concerning that day: »There is reserved for us the crown of righteousness, which the Lord Jesus, the Righteous Judge, will give us on that day to all those who have longed for His appearing« (2. Timothy 4,8).

15. I also deliver to you these words written by the Apostle Paul to the Christians in Thessalonica who were distressed about the last day and fearful that some Christians would miss its glory: »But we, Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the advent of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night« (1. Thessalonians 4,13-5,2).

16. What a glorious day it will be when we stand with all the Christian believers at the right hand of Christ Jesus, our risen and ascended Lord! We will stand before Jesus in our resurrected bodies and behold Him in all His Divine glory. He will welcome us into the land of our inheritance, and we will enjoy the riches of our Triune God forever and ever in the fellowship of the angels and saints. Amen.

17. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, the heavens declare Your righteousness and the earth bears witness that You are a fair and just Judge; give us the peace You purchased on the cross for us so that we live our lives in the hope of a glorious judgment on the last day where we will inherit salvation. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

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All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27. Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

Grace Evangelical-Lutheran

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Monday, November 18, 2013

Matthew 25,31-46. The 2nd Last Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 26)

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