Seeing Jesus Now Before We See Him at the Judgment
Text: Matthew 25 I. THE TEACHING OF JESUS IN MATTHEW 24-25
OCCURS IN ONE SITTING: THE MOUNT OF OLIVES JUST AFTER JESUS HAD DENOUNCED
ISRAEL FOR HER UNBELIEF. (Matt.24:3)
A. Matthew 24 deals primarily with the Judgment of unbelieving Jerusalem in 70 AD. B. Matthew 24:36-25:46 is a warning given
to the church to be on the alert/keep awake/keep watch, for you do not know
which day your Lord is coming. II.
SOME OF THE STRONGEST PASSAGES IN ALL SCRIPTURE THAT SPEAK OF ETERNAL AND
CONSCIOUS PUNISHMENT IN HELL ARE DIRECTED AT PEOPLE WHO PROFESS FAITH IN
JESUS BUT NOT HAVE WORKS.
A. “will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 24:51). B. “and the door was shut…Truly I say to you, I do not know you” (Matthew 25:10,12). C. “You wicked, lazy slave…Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:26,30). D. “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels…These will go away into eternal punishment” (Matthew 25:41,46). III. THE GATHERING OF THE NATIONS (Matthew 25:32-33)
A. I don’t think Jesus’ point is for us to think that the United States and all its citizens will be in heaven or in hell. Rather, I understand the nations in this context to be all the peoples of the world (Matthew 25:32). B. Everyone from the ends of the earth is gathered together in v.32, and then Jesus makes a distinction between the sheep and the goats. C. Jesus is using the language of Ezekiel 34 (see especially vv.3-6,17,20-23). Chapter 26:2 of the Westminster Confession Saints by profession are bound to maintain an holy fellowship and communion in the worship of God, and in performing such other spiritual services as tend to their mutual edification; (Heb. 10:24–25, Acts 2:42,46, Isa. 2:3, 1 Cor. 11:20) as also in relieving each other in outward things, according to their several abilities and necessities. Which communion, as God offereth opportunity, is to be extended unto all those who, in every place, call upon the name of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 2:44–45, 1 John 3:17, 2 Cor. 8–9, Acts 11:29–30) D. Jesus is teaching that we can see Him now, before we see Him in the Judgment. The way we see Jesus now is by looking at our brothers and sisters in Christ who are hungry, thirsty, naked and in prison. 1. Brothers = disciples (Matthew 12:48-50; 23:8; 28:10) 2. Least/Little Ones = believers (Matthew 10:42; 18:6,12,14; cf. 11:11) IV.
MINISTERING TO THE LEAST OF JESUS’ BROTHERS IS GREATER THAN RAISING THE DEAD,
PROPHESYING, AND CASTING OUT DEMONS! (cf. Matthew 7:22-23; note the following passages on helping the downtrodden:
Deuteronomy 15:11; Job 31:19ff.; Psalm 11:7; 41:1; 50:14; 112:9; Proverbs
14:21,31; Isaiah 58:6-8; Jeremiah 22:16; Daniel 4:27; Amos 2:6,7; Luke
10:30-37; 12:33; 19:8; John 12:5-6; 13:29; Acts 2:41-45; 4:32,34; 6:1-4;
9:36,39; 10:2,4; 11:29-30; 20:35; Romans 12:8; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 9:11-14;
2 Cor.8-9; Galatians 2:10; 6:10; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 6:18; Hebrews
6:10; 13:16; 1 John 3:16-18)
“For this is a great good and a gift of God [giving]; and rightly done
assimilates us, so far as may be, unto God; for such an one is in the highest
sense a man. A certain one, at least, giving a model of a man has mentioned
this, for "Man," saith he, "is a great thing; and a merciful
man is an honorable thing." (Prov. xx, 6. LXX.) Greater is this gift
than to raise the dead. For far greater is it to feed Christ when he hungered
than to raise the dead by the name of Jesus: for in the former case thou doest
good to Christ, in the latter He to thee.” Citation: St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Second Corinthians: 2
Cor.7:13 Ministering to the needs of people within the church was a top
priority! Ø After Pentecost, members of the church sold property and possessions and gave to those in need (Acts 2:44-45; 5:1-11). Ø In Acts 6 deacons were chosen so that the Greek Jewish widows would not be overlooked in the daily distribution of food. Ø
In 1
Timothy 5 Paul lays down the guidelines for taking care of widows. Ø I think that one of the reasons Paul gives strict qualifications for the diaconate in 1 Tim.3 is because of the eternal importance of faithful stewardship of the church’s resources. Ø After Paul was converted and went to Jerusalem and had been recognized by the leaders as an Apostle to the Gentiles, the leaders of Jerusalem asked Paul to “remember the poor” (Galatians 2:10). Ø Paul spent nearly twenty years of his ministry collecting alms for the church in Jerusalem (cf. Acts 11:27-30). This collection is mentioned in three of Paul’s letters (Romans 15:25-28; 1 Corinthians 16:1-4; 2 Corinthians 8:1-4; 9:1,2,12). One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, And He will repay him for his good deed. (Proverbs 19:17) QUESTIONS FOR
SABBATH DISCUSSION & MEDITATION Take what you have learned this morning and make it into a prayer. How can we see Jesus now
before we see Him at the Judgment? What is a sin of
omission? What is a sin of
commission? Do you tend to think of
both as just as damnable? Does everyone who feeds the
hungry, invites the stranger, clothes the naked etc. go to heaven? Why or why not? Why is feeding a hungry brother in Christ a greater work than raising
the dead? How do we know that the early church took the poor seriously? For next week: Can
those who have never heard the gospel be saved if they live a “good
life”? Can anyone live a good life
apart from faith in Jesus? (see Question 60 of the Larger Catechism and
Chapter 10, paragraph 4 of the Westminster Confession) Digging Deeper: “While ‘Justification’ is a forensic or judicial term, it is used in Scripture to denote, sometimes in the acceptance of a sinner as righteous in the sight of God, -- sometimes the manifestation or proof of his acceptance, by which it is attested and made sure: and this variety in the application of it is the ground of an important theological distinction, -- the distinction between ACTUAL and DECLARATIVE Justification…. “The distinction between actual and declarative Justification may be still further illustrated by what is said in Scripture of the final judgment at the last day. No one will be actually justified then, who was not justified before: but every believer will be justified declaratively, when he is openly acknowledged and acquitted by the sentence of the Judge. No one will then be forgiven or accepted for the first time; for as there is no repentance, so there is no pardon in the grave; the day of salvation terminates at the close of life; and over every deathbed this solemn inscription might be written, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” But the righteous and holy, who have been already justified and sanctified on earth, will be publicly declared to be “blessed” in that day which is emphatically called “the day of the Apocalypse, or revelation, of the sons of God.” And on that solemn occasion…the acquittal and acceptance of the believer will not only be authoritatively declared by the sentence of the Judge, but that sentence will refer to the fruits of his faith, and especially to his love to Christ, as manifested by love to His afflicted people: “Inasmuch as ye did it to one of these my brethren, ye did it unto me.”” (James Buchanan, The Doctrine of Justification [1867], reprinted by Banner of Truth Trust [1991], pp. 233-4,237-9) |
