“He Will Come [Again with Glory] to Judge [Both] the Living and the Dead”
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Lord [Amen.]
“The day is surely drawing near
When Jesus, God’s anointed,
In all His power shall appear
As Judge whom God appointed.
Then fright shall banish idle mirth,
And flames on flames shall ravage earth
As Scripture long has warned us.”
(Lutheran Service Book. Copyright © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St.
Louis, MO. 508:1)
Gospel Reading.......................................................... St.
Matthew 25:31-46 (esp. 31-33)
31[Jesus said:] “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels
with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32Before him will be
gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a
shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33And he will place the sheep
on his right, but the goats on the left.
Prologue: The end! Finished! Over! Terminated! Done!
Completed! Concluded!
That’s what today, the “Last Sunday in the Church Year” (also
known as “Christ the King Sunday” and “Sunday of the Fulfillment”)
announces. We’ve once again travelled through a complete liturgical church
year that consisted of two major parts. The first part was the Festival
Portion, which focused on Jesus by celebrating significant events in His
atonement activity from His immaculate conception and incarnate birth to His
majestic ascension. The second part was the Non-Festival Portion (the
“Green Season” of Pentecost), which also focused on Jesus by applying those
significant events in His atonement activity to the everyday lives of
individual Christians as well as their collective lives in His mystical
body, the Church.
Today’s Gospel Reading is the final instruction Jesus gave His
apostolic disciples prior to His crucifixion. It’s a part of His teaching
that “helps to define the section called ‘eschatology’ or, quite literally,
‘the last things’ by providing a description for Christ’s return in
judgment.” (David P. Scaer in Discourses in Matthew: Jesus Teaches the
Church. Copyright © 2004 David P. Scaer & Published by Concordia Publishing
House, St. Louis, MO. Page 345.) The prophet Ezekiel recorded Yahweh’s
precious promise about this in today’s Old Testament Reading: “I myself will
be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares
the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and
I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and
the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. . . . And I will
set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he
shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God,
and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have
spoken.” (Ezek 34:15-16, 23-24 ESV)
As such, these last three Sundays in the church year that
culminate [tomorrow/today] emphasize the end times and Jesus as Just Judge
and Righteous Ruler. In so doing, they remind us 1. that what God created
including mankind will not last forever in their present form; and 2. of
what is very frightening to the many who don’t believe in and confess Jesus
Christ as Lord and Savior but very comforting to the few who do believe in
and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, namely, that …
“He Will Come [Again with Glory] to Judge [Both] the Living and the Dead.”
The Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds all clearly state
that Biblical truth. In fact, a brief catechetical review of it with the
following questions and answers is beneficially timely. “What do the
Scriptures teach about the resurrection of the body? They teach that on the
Last Day Christ ‘will raise me and all the dead.’ The same bodies that have
died shall be made alive. What difference will there be between believers
and unbelievers in the resurrection? A. The believers will rise with
glorified bodies and enter everlasting life in heaven with God. B. The
unbelievers will rise to eternal death, that is, to shame and torment in
hell forever. To whom does God give eternal life? God gives eternal life
to me and all believers in Christ. A. Eternal life is a present possession.
B. At the time of death, the soul of a believer is immediately with Christ
in heaven. C. At the Last Day the believers, in both body and soul, will
begin the full enjoyment of being with Christ forever.” (Luther’s Small
Catechism with Explanation. Copyright © Concordia Publishing House, St.
Louis, MO. Pages 168f.)
However, only the Athanasian Creed contains the following
declarations that confuse and bewilder many Lutheran ears: “At whose coming
all men will rise again with their bodies and will give an account of their
own works. And they that have done good will go into life everlasting; and
they that have done evil, into everlasting fire.” (Lutheran Service Book.
Page 320.) So in today’s text Jesus referred to the “judgment scene that
takes us back to Daniel’s vision of the Ancient of Days, seated on his
glorious throne.” In fact, “The whole point of the judgment is that some
are saved and others are not.” That is, “the sad truth is that not all
people will be saved. Some people will go to hell.” By the way, “God’s
original purpose in creating hell was not to prepare a place for sinful
people. No, hell was ‘prepared for the devil and his angels’ (Matthew
25:41)” (G. Jerome Albrecht & Michael J. Albrecht in People’s Bible
Commentary: Matthew. Copyright © 1966 Concordia Publishing House, St.
Louis, MO. Pages 366ff.)
Now, the foundation for that first declaration that, quite
frankly, sounds like it’s promoting works righteousness, is none other than
the fact that …
I. Eternal Unity With Jesus Awaits All Who Believe in and
Confess Him As Lord and Savior. (34-40)
34Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed
by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you
gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you
clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to
me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see
you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we
see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39And when did
we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40And 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.’
“Actions speak louder than words” is a common saying that’s
familiar to many people. To a certain and somewhat large degree, it
captures what Jesus taught in today’s Gospel Reading. It’s what Saint Paul
taught, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph 2:10 ESV)
and also what Saint James taught, “So also faith by itself, if it does not
have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have
works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my
faith by my works.” (James 2:17-19 ESV) Of course, Jesus Himself identified
the greatest reason for works when He said, “… let your light shine before
others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father
who is in heaven.” (St Matt 5:16 ESV)
Perhaps it would be helpful at this point to review what a “good
work” is. “In God's sight a good work is everything that a child of God
does, speaks, or thinks in faith according to the Ten Commandments, for the
glory of God, and for the benefit of his or her neighbor.” (Luther’s Small
Catechism with Explanation. Page 154.)
You see, it’s actually all about love … love that Jesus emphasized
when He instructed that lawyer who tried to publicly embarrass Him: “You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second
is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two
commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (St Matt 22:37-40 ESV)
Saint Paul further emphasized that foremost position of love when he
declared: “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest
of these is love.” (1 Cor 13:13 ESV) And in one of the most misunderstood
passages of Scripture Saint Paul wrote: “But the fruit of the Spirit is
love” which he immediately followed with a list of items that explain,
express, and demonstrate that love, namely, “joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” and concluded by declaring
that “against such things there is no law.” (Gal 5:22-24 ESV)
But who is there here today that can truthfully claim to love with
that pure holy love of which Jesus spoke and Saint Paul wrote? Certainly no
one, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23
ESV) In fact, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our
righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” (Isa 64:6 ESV) Thankfully,
our spiritual health and eternal security do not depend on our love for God
and others but on the merciful and gracious fact that “God so loved the
world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not
perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 ESV) In that simple
Gospel-in-a-nutshell Bible passage, Jesus emphasized that Spirit-given faith
in Himself is the essence of our salvation. For “without faith [that
focuses on Jesus Christ alone] it is impossible to please [God] … .” (Heb
11:6 ESV) The absence of such faith is why …
II. Eternal Separation From Jesus Awaits All Who Reject and Deny Him
As Lord and Savior. (41-46)
41“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. 42For I was hungry
and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43I 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.’ 44Then 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?’ 45Then 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.’ 46And these will go away into eternal
punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Remember that works don’t save you … only Jesus saves you. You
receive His free gift of salvation through the faith that the Holy Spirit
gave you in Holy Baptism, purifies with Holy Absolution, strengthens with
Holy Communion, and preserves with the reading and hearing of God’s Holy
Word. Only works that proceed out of such faith are looked upon by God as
good works … works that flow forth from and thereby testify to the presence
of Spirit-given faith.
While Jesus clearly stated that the absence of good works, that
is, sanctification in both the wide and narrow senses, will result in the
vast array of people being consigned to eternal damnation in hell’s fiery
pits, His point was not that the neglect of good works causes that punitive
judgment. Rather, the lack of trust in Him as Lord and Savior that results
in good works is what causes that harshest of all judgments. For just as
merciful acts of kindness to friends and foes alike naturally flow forth
from the faith in believers’ hearts without them often even realizing that
they’re doing them, so also, those without such faith fail to see and seize
the many opportunities to confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior by showing
forth merciful acts of kindness to friends and foes alike.
In conclusion, therefore, “The judgment scene with the assignment
of those who have done evil to eternal fire and those who have done good to
eternal life (25:31-46) provides a definitive conclusion … to all the
teachings of Jesus.” In fact, “Not only are readers informed that there
will be a judgment but also that Jesus will be the Judge. His words are God’s
words, and those who have neglected them have done so to their own peril.”
Ultimately, then, “unbelievers who have falsely attached themselves to the
church are revealed and judged (25:41).” (David P. Scaer. Page 354.)
And that, my dear fellow baptized believers in Him who is the only
Savior and Redeemer of sinful mankind, brings us full circle on this Last
Sunday in the Church Year to where we began one year ago and will begin
again next Sunday on the First Sunday in Advent, namely, that …
“He Will Come [Again with Glory] to Judge [Both] the Living and the Dead.”
So, always remember that the whole liturgical church year focuses
on Him who is the Son of God and Son of man—our congregation’s namesake,
Immanuel, God with us. Remembering such, always realize that …
I. Eternal Unity With Jesus Awaits All Who Believe in and Confess Him As
Lord and Savior. (34-40) but …
II. Eternal Separation From Jesus Awaits All Who Reject and Deny Him As
Lord and Savior. (41-46)
With those all-important truths taught by Jesus Himself in your
hearts and minds, cling to the message of today’s Introit antiphon: “In
keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new
earth, the home of righteousness.” (2 Peter 3:13 NIV) As you do so,
continually pray what today’s Collect expressed: “You have appointed Your
Son as judge of the living and the dead. Enable us to wait for the day of
His return with our eyes fixed on the kingdom prepared for Your own from the
foundation of the world; … .” Do so savoring the fact that as Baptized
believers in Jesus, “[You] are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.
[You] have washed [your] robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb.” (Rev. 7:14b ESV) After all, as Saint Paul declared in today’s
Epistle Reading, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Cor 15:26
ESV) … and Christ Himself has already done that with His own death and
validated it with His own resurrection from the dead.
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
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