-One thing that y’all don’t know about me is that I hate surprises
-Linda has tried to surprise me several times in our marriage but few of them have worked out, unfortunately
-She doesn’t try to surprise me, anymore, thank God
-It rubs me the wrong way on so many levels
-After having dogs come after me a number of times while running, I actually startle very easily
-I don’t like to be the center of attention – I know may be hard to imagine
-Although, I’m a people person and an extrovert – I don’t like public speaking
-God brought me kicking and screaming into this calling and I’ve had to overcome my fear of speaking publicly
-I guess I also like to be in control
-I don’t mind splurging on myself but just ask my wife, I’m not an easy person to shop for
-I like what I like and I don’t like what I don’t like. It’s maddening for Linda. {PAUSE}
-In our text today, we have something of a surprise, actually several
-Matthew continues with the end of the world predictions from Jesus in this famous account of Jesus’ discussion with His disciples on the Mt. of Olives otherwise known as the Olivet Discourse beginning in Chapter 24 and ending with our text
- We get some very interesting from Jesus in this passage of scripture – please turn to Ch 25, verses 31-46
-Jesus says that He will come again with all His angels. He will sit on His throne to judge all the people from all the nations. He will separate them left and right.
-He says 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. 35For 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, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
-That’s the first surprise
-Apparently, they people are being rewarded with eternal life in heaven with Jesus because they were kind to Jesus
-That’s wrong on so many levels. That couldn’t possibly be true could it?
-How in the world can anyone who was not a contemporary of Jesus be save then? And if it doesn’t mean that exactly, how is it that being kind to anyone can justify eternal life. I thought we were saved not by doing good but by believing good (I know that is poor English. Cut me some slack.)
-The righteous, Matthew refers to
-That’s a surprise!
-Righteous means, holy, perfect
-How did they get that way?
-Are they some sort of super Christians? Are they actually perfect people?
They ask Jesus, ’Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
-Here’s another surprise. They were surprised that they had done anything to help Jesus. There minds were probably racing, trying to think of anything that could be construed as helping strangers, giving food for drink to those in need. I’m sure they were thinking, I’ve never gone to visit anyone in prison. I’ve never made a hospital visit.
-Jesus answers them, 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.’
-Okay, so it wasn’t that they ACTUALLY did the kind deeds for Jesus but they did them for the least of these brothers of mine
-Who is that?
-Then Jesus says to those on His left, ’Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I 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.’
-They respond, ’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?’
-Again, surprise! They are surprised that they hadn’t helped Jesus. Oh, yeah. The righteous ones didn’t REALLY help Jesus so we must not have REALLY NOT helped Jesus. Let’s see.
-"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.’
-I guessed right for once. I’m starting to get the hang of this whole Biblical interpretation stuff.
-Well, we still have two huge questions to figure out. Are these people really judged based on their good deeds? And who are the “least of these brothers of mine” guys?
-You all are old hats at Biblical interpretation so you know that “scripture interprets scripture.” When we want to know what one portion means we don’t just guess, we have to look at the immediate context and continue looking until we find something in scripture that illuminates our text.
-The immediate context seems to indicate that you have to do good works to get into heaven. In the parable of the talents, the servants are judged by how much money they earned with the money they were given. At the end of chapter 24, Jesus says that the faithful servant is the one whose master finds him doing his work faithfully.
-You know, maybe our Catholic brothers and sisters are right. Maybe we have to do good works to get into heaven.
-Really, the question is an old one. Who is right – James or Paul? Well, in context, of course, they both are. James said that faith alone without works is dead and can’t save anyone. Paul said that faith alone without works is what saves a person but the last portion of that text, Ephesians 2:10, helps us to figure it out. Paul writes, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do.”
-So, you have to do good works to get into heaven but don’t worry because God will work through you to do them.
-Hey, I’m beginning to like surprises. They aren’t so bad after all.
-Now, the tough question, who are the “least of these brothers of mine” guys?
-Again, we are going to use scripture to interpret scripture.
-We get an interesting encounter at the end of Matthew 12.
-Matthew writes, “46While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” 48He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 49Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. 50For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
-That sounds a little like “the least of these brothers of mine”.
-Chapter 10 of Matthew Gospel gives Jesus’ instructions to His disciples before He sent them out as messengers of the gospel.
-There are some interesting verbiage here that help us figure out our text.
-At the end of the chapter, after Jesus tells them not to take any provision with them but to receive their support from the people of the towns to which they go, Jesus says, “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. 42And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."
-Not that sounds close to what our text is saying
-What does this mean? That’s a good Lutheran question.
-It means that you can’t treat other Christians with disdain or hatred and get into heaven.
-Let me say that again, you cannot hate and mistreat other Christians and got into heaven.
-Remember, the song, “They’ll know we are Christians by our faith, by our faith. They’ll know we are Christians by our faith.”
-No, that’s not how it goes. They’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. They’ll know we are Christians by our love.”
-I know you don’t love any better than I do and we all stink at it. We gossip about, mistreat and hate our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are wrong and are going to go to hell for it.
-The good thing is that Jesus paid the price even for the ways that we treat others. In Matthew 10, Jesus tells His disciples, if they treat me this way, how do you think they are going to treat you.?
-They crucified Him for our sins of gossip, disdain and hatred of our brothers and sisters.
-Those sins are paid for but Jesus has now bought you back from the devil to be His servant. Surprise, now, you have to love His brothers and sisters, your fellow Christians whether you like it or not.
-If you didn’t know before, now you do. If you don’t, this will be your reality. "Then they will go away to eternal punishment.”
-However, if you heed the warning, accept God’s forgiveness and love. This is your reality. but the righteous to eternal life.
-Door 1 vs. Door 2. It’s your choice. No surprise here.
