The Return of the King
Matthew 25:31-46
January 23, 2005
Morning Service
Introduction
One of my favorite movies has to be the final chapter of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King. The major portion of the movie takes place in the land of Gondor. Gondor is a land without hope and without strength because for many years Gondor has been waiting and watching for a king to rise to the throne. As the movie begins Gondor finds itself in the midst of a war they cannot hope to win. Their only hope is for their king to return and defeat the enemies seeking to destroy them.
As the story unfolds the rightful king, Aragorn, rises to assume the leadership of Gondor. He soon defeats the enemies and wins the long awaited peace. Near the end of the movie Aragorn is given the crown of the king and completes the hope of his people. The king had indeed returned.
Our church is a lot like the land of Gondor. We too are longing, watching and waiting for the return of our king. In Matthew, jesus gives us a glimpse of what it will be like when the King of the world returns to claim His kingdom.
I. The Return of the King brings a Reckoning (31-33)
Jesus will Return
The simple fact of the matter is that Jesus will one day return to this world just as we have been promised.
1. Jesus will come in glory
When Jesus came to the earth through the womb of Mary, he came in a humble manner through miraculous means to a humble existence. When Jesus comes again it will be anything but humble. Jesus will return not in mere human form but He will be coming in His glorious resurrection body. The body He was given following His death was filled with the glory of God almighty. He will be coming in the manner of glory. Jesus came the first time as the Savior of the world and the second coming of Jesus He will come as the King of the universe!
2. Jesus will come with the angels
The angels made an appearance to a select group of shepherds when Jesus came the first time but for His second coming they will come in numberless fashion. The shear number of the angels will prove the reality of His glory and power.
The service of the angels will be because of His matchless glory.
• They will come to gather the wicked
• They will come to gather God’s people
• They will be the witnesses to the glory of the believers in Jesus and the punishment of the wicked
3. Jesus will come to rule
Jesus will be enthroned in all of His glory here on earth. It will be at this point that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The purpose for Jesus being enthroned will be to pass judgment on the world.
4. Jesus will come to gather the nations
All of the people from all of the nations will be gathered by the angels to stand before Jesus as the judge of the entire world. The dead shall be raised and all will have their moment to stand before the Master of all things. The angels will bring the people of every country, every place, and every nationality. There will be people of everyt creed, every race, every language, and every religion. Every person who has ever been born will stand before the Lord of all things.
Jesus will redistribute
1. History marks the mixture of the world
This world has always been a mixture of those who are followers of God and those who reject God. From the time sin entered the world there have been those who have lived for God and those who have lived for themselves.
New Testament Expressions for this reality
Believers Non-believers
Sheep Goats
Good Evil
Wheat Weeds
Found Lost
Saints Sinners
The mixture is evident in scripture and it is evident that this world is torn between two kingdoms. We see the mixture of the people of God and the people of Satan. We see the mixture of people in the same nation, same city, same home, every place of work and even at times in the same churches. The world is a mixture of those who believe and those who refuse to believe. This is what we are accustomed to seeing and how we are accustomed to living.
2. Jesus will bring a separation to the world
Jesus is going to change all that we know about this world in which we live. Jesus is going to bring a total separation into this world and the result will be the sheep on the right and the goats on the left.
The sheep
• Those who will be on the right - Jewish place of blessing
• Those who believe in Jesus
• Those who are born again
• Those who are the good and faithful servants
• Those who are persistent in doing good
The Goats
• Those who will be on the left - Jewish place of rejection
• Those who do not believe in Jesus
• Those who will be called wicked and lazy servants
• Those who are self serving and self seeking
• Those who choose to follow evil
• Those who do not obey the Truth
II. The Return brings a Reward (34-40)
The Acceptance of the King
1. The invitation from the King
The call or invitation of Christ is issued to the sheep, those who believe in Jesus as their personal savior. It is a call to come. The call to come is pictured as entering into the presence of God and being given the privilege of staying in his presence for all of eternity. The call from Christ on that day will be one that will never end but it comes from listening and obeying here and now.
2. The inheritance from the King
The inheritance is a gift offered by Christ for those who make the choice to believe and follow Him. The inheritance is to be given a share in the Kingdom that is ruled by Christ. This inheritance is prepared for all of those who accept Christ as their savior and live for Him as their Lord. This is a timeless inheritance because God has prepared since the beginning of the world and there will be no end.
3. The Identification with the King
The sheep are those who ministered to Christ because what they did for others was done for Christ. The sheep served others out of a deep centered love for Jesus. The ministry that is mentioned here by Jesus is not preaching, teaching, soul winning or anything that many people would associate with great ministry activities. The things that Jesus mentions are things that are simple enough for anyone to do and clearly there is an expectation from Jesus that ministry will be done by all who believe. The point is clear, you do not have to do something great and grand for the Kingdom but you do have to do something.
The Amazement of the sheep
1. The question of the righteous
The question that is asked is clear cut and incredibly simple. Those who follow Jesus ask “when”. When did we feed you? When did we give you a drink? When did we invite you in? When did we visit you? When did we clothe you?
The confusion here seems to be a misunderstanding that these people offered personal service to Jesus himself. The humility of the question reveals the attitude that we should have as Christians. We serve others becasue of what Jesus has done for us. Nothing more and nothing less.
2. The reality of who is served
The truth is that when we serve others out of the love that we have for Jesus, we truly are serving Him. The greatest part of serving others is not gaining recognition for our deeds but rather when we serve others we are bringing glory to the name of Jesus.
And 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." Matthew 10:42
III The Return brings a Rejection (41-46)
The Removal from the King
1. Jesus commands a departure
Notice that Jesus calls the sheep but commands the goats. The difference in language is extremely clear and no mistake can be made, the goats are not welcomed.
Jesus uses the words “Depart from me” and without a doubt they are the most dreaded words ever spoken in all of history. These will be the last words that the goats will ever hear from the mouth of Jesus.
What will this mean for those who are told to depart?
• They will be in a constant state of misery and darkness
• They will be in a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth
• They will be in a place without God and without hope
2. The place of departure
The goats will be placed into the eternal fire. Only three things will exist in the eternal fire
• Anguish - emotional turmoil
• Torment - physical turmoil
• Punishment - spiritual turmoil
The eternal fire was prepared by God for Satan and his angels. It is the place where God designated for them to spend eternity. It is the place where Satan wants to drag as many people with him before he goes there. It is not the desire of God for any person to go in the eternal fire. However, many will make the choice to go to the fires for all eternity because they refuse to believe in Jesus.
If you live a Christ-less life you will die a Christ-less death.
The Reasons of the King
1. Failure to minister
The goats failed to help those who were hurting or to give assistance to those who were in need. These are people who make the choice to not get involved in the needs of a dying world.
2. Living selfish lives
The goats lived for themselves and made themselves the center of their existence. People who live for themselves are in a mighty small business. Those who live selfishly ingore the suffering around them and they will die in their selfishness.
3. Spiritual blindness
The goats are people who refuse to see the Truth about Jesus and are unwilling to identify themselves with Jesus. These people miss the fact that Jesus identifies Himself with those who suffer, those who are in pain and those who are in need.
Conclusion
There is an old picture that I saw one time showing homeless people standing in line at a soup kitchen waiting for something to eat. Every person in that line is dressed in rags, covered with filth and they all pretty much look the same. However, with closer examination there was one man in the line that stood out because of a barely visible halo circling his head. At first glance it appeared to be a saint but as I looked closer at the painting it became very clear that the person was not some saint but rather was Jesus himself.
When the King returns where will you stand? Will you be counted as one of the servants or will you be asked to leave? The simple fact is that serving Jesus means serving others and sharing the love that He has for them. Are you living like one of the sheep?
When the King returns where will you stand? Will you be told to leave with the rest of the goats? The simple fact is that failing to serve others is just like failing to serve Jesus. When others are in need do you reach out or turn away? How are you treating Jesus today? What kind of life are you living?
Where will you stand when the King returns? If you’re not sure today, come and make things right with the one who loves you more than life itself. Come and find the life you’ve been missing. Come and find the hope only found in living for then return of the King.
