The Endgame (Christ The King Sunday 2020)

THE ENDGAME

Text: Matthew 25:31 - 46

Matthew 25: 31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,[a] you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once said “We judge ourselves by what we are capable of doing; others judge us by what we have done”.— http://www.moreillustrations.com/Illustrations/judgment%205.html

God will judge us based upon what we did with the talents, time, opportunities, abilities and goodwill we had as disciples. Will we be salty and bright with all of those things?

Who doesn't want to be the sheep in this story? Who doesn’t want to receive the kingdom that was prepared before the world began?

Is compassion based on belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? Acts 4:11 - 12 points out that those who have rejected Jesus have rejected the cornerstone. “Matthew 25 has three parables about three different angles of apathy that are warnings to the Church about its responsibility. Matthew 25:1-13 is the parable of the ten virgins. It is about five people who were getting ready as well as the other five who procrastinated until it was too late to do something about salvation.

Matthew 25:14-30 gives the parable of the talents. It is a story about how we are to use the gifts that God gave us by applying them without withholding any potential.

Matthew 25:31-46 is the story of the sheep and the goats, and it is a story about hospitality [and reciprocity, and spiritual negligence]”. (from my book: J. McKinley Williams III. The Seven Deadly Sins How They Rival God’s Love. Redemption Press, 2013, p. 42). Fruits and faith go together for those who believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. As the three parables of Matthew 25 point out, complacency, laziness and indifference invite condemnation.

This parable about the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31- 46) illustrates three things, compassion, reciprocity and judgment.

COMPASSION

Do our actions make a difference?

1) The needy: You see someone who is in need who is hungry, thirsty, estranged from others, naked, sick or in prison.

2) Criticism and judgment: What do you do? How many will be critical and judgmental? How can we judge a stranger that could be a victim of one or more of the things on this list?

3) Conclusions: If we don’t know them, then how can we draw honest conclusions? What if you do know that person in need?

4) Compassion: Are we not called to show compassion whether friend or foe? What would Jesus do?

Is compassion caught or taught? “There is the story of this woman who was a dog trainer and had heard about a theory she wanted to test. She had that dogs that have compassion will stand by their master when they see their master is hurt. Dogs that are angry might bite. She tested the theory on her two dogs while eating pizza for supper. She pretended to be hurt and fell in the floor. The dogs looked at her and then each other and then headed for her pizza”. (Edward K. Rowell and Bonne L. Steffen. Humor for Preaching and Teaching. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1996). It is ironic that the dog species, who is supposed to be man’s best friend, echoed the behavior that humans often exhibit.