Matthew 25
The Return of the King
Matthew 25: 31-46
As some of you may know, I am a great fan of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. I have always enjoyed the books, but the release of the three films over the last few years really brought the books to life for me in a tremendous way.
Although a great proportion of the story is focused on Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee and their mission to ensure the destruction of the ring of power, there is a sub plot to the story. There is a continuing story running underneath. And that’s the story of Aragorn. And over the course of the three books we come to realise that Aragorn is the heir to the throne of the kingdom of Gondor. And the victory that is won by Frodo with the destruction of the Ring will not have its earthly realization until Arargorn is crowned king.
In the same way, although much of the Bible focuses on Jesus, and his redeeming work of salvation on the cross there is nevertheless a sub plot. There is underlying much of what is recorded in the Bible another story. For the victory that is won by Jesus with the destruction of the power of death has its ultimate realization when Jesus returns as king of all.
Now you may be wondering about the relevance of this in the week before Christmas. Well, if you were here last week, you will remember that in the time before Christmas which we call advent, we are encouraged to have both short vision and long vision. We are to look forward to the immediacy of Christmas, but also to take the long view and look forward to the return of the king, to the return of Jesus as the king.
Over the last couple of weeks we have been looking at three chapters from Matthew’s gospel which look forwards to the return of the king. This week, we are looking at Matthew chapter 25. Once again, for the benefit of the reader, we’ve only had part of it read, but I will be referring to the whole chapter, so you may wish to the look at it in the pew Bibles with me.
The Return of the King will happen
The first thing to note is that return of the king will happen. There is a certainty about the return of the king. In v31 we read ’When the Son of Man comes in his glory’. The Son of Man is another way of describing Jesus. And the keyword is here is ‘when’. It says ‘when’ not ‘if ‘. There is certainty about the return of the king.
What is not certain is when it will be. You will recall that we talked about this last week when we thought about not knowing when the king would come back. And an additional illustration to make the point is provided earlier in chapter 25, with the parable of the wise and foolish girls. The parable concludes in v13 with a phrase ‘Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.’ So the return of the king is certain – but we do not know when. The timing is uncertain.
The Return of the King will bring judgement
What we do know is something of what will happen when the king returns. For we need to note that the return of the king will bring judgement. As I mentioned a fortnight ago, it may not be politically correct to talk about judgement, but it is undoubtedly spiritually correct to do so. For it is here very much in front of us this morning. The clear statement of this passage is that the return of the king will bring judgement. We know from elsewhere in the Bible that God has given the job of judgement to Jesus. John 5:22 ff .’The Father judges no-one but has given all judgment to the Son.’ In v32 we see this judgement illustrated as we see that Jesus separates the people as a shepherd separates the sheep and the goats.
Now I don’t know about you, but I find this passage a little confusing. Just what is the basis upon which the sheep and the goats are separated? With Jesus as the judge, just what is the evidence upon which the decision is made?
I think we need to take the big view here. It’s very easy to look at the parables and get tied up in the detail. But I think there are three key points here.
Lets go back to the beginning of the chapter. The first piece of evidence that is considered comes from the parable of the wise and silly girls. Now girls all looked the same, but they were not. Only half of them were ready when the bridegroom came. But why were they not ready? Why were they shut out? Well, the answer lies in v 12. For the bridegroom says ‘Truly I say to you, I don’t know you’.
This word ‘know’ is not about academic knowledge and intellectual activity, but it is about relationships. So the crucial statement here is that the bridegroom has no relationship with the foolish girls. Now the bridegroom is clearly Jesus, the returning king. So here we have clear statement that part of the judgement at least is to be based on the evidence of the relationship of the person being judged with God. The idea is that there is a relationship of love between man and God.
The second piece of evidence that is considered comes in the next parable. This is the parable of the talents. Here the key word is ‘faithful’. It’s repeated several times, and it is by the evidence of their faithfulness that the servants are judged by the master. We talked last week about reliable servants. The useless servant is the one who did nothing, the one who didn’t even try. So here we a clear statement that part of the judgement is based on the evidence of faithfulness of the servants.
The third piece of evidence that is considered comes in the last passage about the sheep and the goats. The repeated word here is ‘see’. ‘Lord, when did we see…?’. And of course, the answer is that neither the sheep nor the goats ‘saw’ Jesus. So there must be two very different ways "not to see him." You know when you go to a party, and you are introduced to someone –but they are not really looking at you. They are looking over your shoulder, or even looking through you, to see who else might be there who is more important. This is the kind of ‘not seeing’ that Jesus condemns. On the other hand, we will also meet people at a party who are genuinely interested in us, who concentrate on what we have to say, and are not distracted by others. This is the kind of ‘not seeing’ that Jesus rewards. One overlooks the needy neighbour, the other concentrates on the neighbour; one way is cursed, the other is blessed and righteous. With good eyesight, the right kind of ‘seeing’, the blessed are not on the lookout for themselves. Instead their eyes are open to see the needs of those around them, and respond to that need simply because it is there, and not in any calculating kind of way. So here we a clear statement that part of the judgement is based on the evidence of unselfish service.
The Return of the King has eternal consequences
So that is the evidence upon which the judge will make his decision. But we need to note that the return of the king has eternal consequences. The judgement he makes will have eternal consequences. This message is repeated several places and in several ways. In v10 the door was shut, and the foolish girls were excluded. In v30 the worthless servant is cast into the outer darkness. In v32 we see Jesus separating the people as a shepherd separates the sheep and the goats. And this separation, this judgement has eternal consequences. This judgement results in eternal separation from God. In v41 and v46, we see that on one hand, those who fail the judgement go into eternal punishment, but on the other hand, those who passed the judgement go into eternal life.
We don’t tend to do the hellfire and damnation stuff anymore – and probably rightly. But nevertheless, we cannot ignore it completely. For it is clear that, on the basis of Jesus judgement of mankind, there will be eternal consequences.
There is an accountability at the end of time for which judgment will be made. The judgement will result in decisions that are eternal in nature. Phrases such as “the darkness outside,” the “fiery furnace,” and “weeping and gnashing of teeth” describe eternal separation from the kingdom of God. They are not simply expressions of grief over a Christian life that did not count for much in the kingdom, but they are figures and phrases representing an eternal exclusion from the presence of God.
The Return of the King demands a reaction
And this is where is stops being a nice story. This is where it cuts to the chase. Because if these three statements about the return of the king are true, then we have to give it some serious thought, because the consequences are serious. If the return of the king is certain, if the return of the king will result in judgement, If the return of the king has eternal consequences, then the return of the king demands a reaction. If these three statements are true, then what effect do they have on me?
Perhaps another way of putting this is to ask the question – ‘How do I measure up under Jesus basis for judgement?’ Let’s revisit these.
The first piece of evidence upon which the judgement was based was the need to be prepared for Jesus return by having a relationship with Him. So that Jesus can say ‘ I do know you’. The ten young girls may all have looked very much the same. But it wasn’t being part of the group that mattered – it was an individual thing. The relationship of knowing and being known by God is a personal thing. So although Rachel and Lee have brought their child for baptism, in due course the child will have to make that decision personal for themselves. It can’t be borrowed. It can’t be inherited either, and you’ll remember that this was one of the things that Jesus had a go at the Pharisees about, depending on their inheritance of faith. And that decision can’t be left too late. So we need to ask ourselves this question. What is the state of our relationship with God? It is real? Is it personal? Is it a living relationship, or one that has become stale? Are we relying on something we have inherited? What is the evidence of the state of our relationship with God?
The second piece of evidence upon which the judgement was based was the need to be faithful and reliable as we await Christ’s return. So the basic personal relationship with God is not a static situation. It involves being given things to do by God and an expectation by God that that things will be done. This is not the same for everyone. It is quite clear that God has given each one different things to do. The amounts given to each servant were different. There are varying levels of ability. God will not ask whether we did as much as the person sitting next to us, only what we did with what He entrusted to us.
So may be we need to ask ourselves questions about our faithfulness. What has God entrusted to my/your care? Children are a gift from God, and as Rachel and Lee will find out, there is a great work of faithful parenting to be done. Time? Health? A mind? A special ability? A position in church A calling? Am I really using it? Am I really trying? What is the evidence of our faithfulness?
The third piece of evidence upon which the judgement was based was that of unselfish love. In a sense, this is the outworking of the previous two parts of the evidence. Just how do we measure up on this? It isn’t enough to know God. It is not enough to be faithful. But the relationship and the faithfulness must make a change in the heart of the believer. A change that results in a completely different form of seeing. A change that results in a completely different form of loving service. This is the difference between the transformed believer and Pharisee tendency we thought about two weeks ago. This is not service from duty, from need to score points, but service from the unselfish loving heart.
What Jesus is looking for is real compassion, real response to the needy. We often read about Jesus being filled with compassion. Splanchnizomai – gut wrenching. The heart of compassion is something that cannot be manufactured. It is unintended – ie the natural product of the heart rather than a conscious effort.
What Jesus is looking for is uncalculating and unselfish. The blessed in the parable gave without thought of reward – it was the last thing on their mind. This is the very type of giving that Jesus commanded (Matt. 6:1-4). They gave what was needed. Notice the material & non-material in vv. 35-36. How quick we are to pull out our wallets when the needs of someone may be non-material in nature! They gave very simple things. What they gave did not necessarily involve very much. A meal; a place to stay; some clothes; some time.
What is the evidence of our unselfish love. Just how do we respond to those around us? Are we looking through people? Are we always looking for the important person? Do we serve people out of duty, rather than love? Do we serve people out a sense of responsibility? Do we serve people out a desire to score points or to convert them?
And like the need for a personal relationship with God, this is not something you can either borrow or delegate. This is a real danger for us. We are so used to paying other people to do things for us. But you cannot buy in unselfish love. You cannot delegate unselfish love.
For we are judged not on our wealth, but on our response to the poor. We are judged not on the evidence of our power, but on our response to the powerless. We are judged not on our prosperity, but on our response to the hungry.
Over the next few days, people will be asking us the perennial question – ‘Are you prepared for Christmas’. A far more important question is this. Does the evidence show that you are prepared for the return of the king? I hope so.
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