Matthew: Where will you go? (25:31-46)

Matthew: Where will you go? (25:31-46)

This sermon was preached to Grace Church Guildford on 16 November 2024. The audio recording of the sermon can be found below along with the transcript.

Beginning, middle, end. Isn’t that what they say? Every story has a beginning, a middle and an end. The beginning, or introduction, paints the picture, sets the scene, the middle develops the plot, and the ending or conclusion brings it all together. All three are important, without them it isn’t a story. And yet, of them, it is so often the ending that hits hardest, lives longest in our memory. Does the hero live happily ever after? Do characters learn their lesson? Does good finally triumph over evil forever? Those are the kinds of details that we discover at the end of a story.

Over the last few weeks, we have been looking at Matthew 25 together. It is part of a sermon Jesus preached a few days before he went to the cross. A sermon which also has a beginning, a middle and an end. It begins at the start of Matthew 24, where we read that Jesus sat down on the Mount of Olives, outside Jerusalem, and started to teach his disciples. He starts in chapter 24 to teach them all about the future, giving a weather forecast for what is coming up ahead. He tells them all kinds of things. However, we have heard that the greatest detail he discloses, the most important thing that he teaches them in chapter 24, is that he is returning, that Christ is coming back again. And so, in Matthew 25, in the middle of his sermon, he goes on to tell his followers how we should live as a result. How knowledge of the future should impact our life back here in the present. He uses two parables to do this. In the first parable, that of the ten bridesmaids, he teaches us that we must watch, be ready for his return. And in the second parable, that of the talents, he teaches us that we must work, faithfully steward all that he entrusts to our care. And so now, in this last part of the chapter, he brings his sermon to its great end, ties everything together, shares his conclusion.

However, these verses do not simply function as a conclusion for Jesus’ sermon. But rather, they contain an even more significant ending. For these verses tell us about the conclusion to end all conclusions. They are not just the ending to Jesus’ sermon, but they show the ending for all of history, the great conclusion for all humanity. Having told us two parables, Jesus now gives us this prophecy, explains how the story of this whole world will end.

And that’s important for you to know tonight, for what we have here is not just the end of the overall human story, but also the ending to your own personal story. You see, like any story, the story of your life also has a beginning, a middle and an end. Everyone in this room will have a slightly different storyline. For example, our stories all have different introductions. We are born in different places at different times. Our lives all have different middles. We all do different things and have different experiences. And yet, we see here in Matthew 25 that all our stories, will have the same ending, share in this same conclusion. Friends, no matter where your story started, no matter how it is currently going, here in Matthew 25 you can see how your life story will end, come to its final and forever conclusion. How will your story end? (1) Jesus will be your judge; and (2) love will be his law. [...]

1.     JESUS WILL BE YOUR JUDGE

We start by focusing on Jesus this evening, because that is who we find at the centre of every part of this prophecy. Did you notice that when we read it together? Just how central Jesus is to everything we see here? […] In 25:31, we read of the Son of Man (a title Jesus used for himself) coming in glory to sit on his glorious throne. We are told all the nations will be gathered before him in 25:32. And not only will he have the job of judging them, either sending them to heaven or sentencing them to Hell, but later we learn that this decision will be based on how we have treated him. Whether we have visited, fed, clothed, cared for Jesus. We often live as if we are the main characters in our story, that our lives revolve around us. And yet, the Bible is very clear, that our stories are simply part of a greater story, a story in which Jesus is the main character, and we are simply the supporting cast. As the Christian cliché goes, here we see that history really is his-story. For in this final scene of human history, Jesus will take centre stage.

And I think we should remember just how remarkable this must have sounded when Jesus first said these words. As he sits there on the Mount of Olives, he is days away from being forsaken by his followers and put on a cross. And yet, Jesus can see beyond that suffering and glimpse the glory to come. Yes, he knows he will soon be put on a cross, taking the punishment for sin. However, he also knows that he will sit on a throne. That after that day of suffering, there would be a final day of triumph. Yes, Jesus knows that this sinful world is about to judge him. And yet, here he is able to look further into the future, and speak of that day when it will be his turn to judge them.

Here in Matthew 25, this judgement is likened to separating sheep and goats. There in 25:32-33, we read: [READ]. I’ve said that this last part of our chapter is not a parable, but a prophecy. However, Jesus does use some symbolic language to picture what will really and truly happen on that last day. It is a picture that his hearers would have been very familiar with. In the land of Israel, there were many shepherds in those days, and it was common for flocks to be a mixture of sheep and goats. Both looked quite similar when spread across the hillside, but there was a key difference between them, for sheep were able to withstand the cold night air due to their fleece, while goats would have perished overnight, and so had to be brought into some form of shelter for warmth. As a result, every evening, the shepherds would carefully work through their flock, separating the sheep from the goats, sending the sheep back to the hillside, but leading the goats into a shelter. If you want a modern day, British equivalent, you might imagine a farmer who (for whatever reason) has a mixed herd of dairy and beef cows. And so, every morning and evening, when it comes time for milking, he would have to walk through his herd, separating the dairy cows from the beef, one by one, so that he could take the right cows down to the milk parlour. […]

That is the picture Jesus gives us of this judgment. It is universal. We read in 25:32 of all nations being gathered. Everyone from everywhere from every time will be brought together into a great flock. It is a universal judgment. And yet, it is also very personal judgement. For after we are all assembled, Jesus will go through us one by one, as a shepherd goes through his flock, to separate the sheep and the goats. On that day, Jesus will judge everyone and every one.

In the days of Jesus, the flocks on the hillsides would be mixed, would contain both sheep and goats. And you know that’s true for our gathering here tonight. There will be a mix of those who follow Jesus and those who don’t, those who are his sheep and those who are not. And you know, as I stand here at the front, looking out at you all, I can’t really tell which flock you will finally fall into. And yet, we see here on the last day, you won’t be able to hide in the crowd. For Jesus will judge us one by one, to discover if we are a sheep or a goat, belong to him or not. Friends, just because we are all sitting together today, does not mean that we will all stay together on that last day. For here we see that when Jesus comes, he will split humanity in two, divide us into two flocks, to go to two very different destinations.

And if you know your Bible, you will know that this is what it teaches from beginning to end. As we heard this morning, from Genesis 3 on, from that moment that sin entered our world, humanity was split in two, and there became an inside and outside. […] two groups we can belong to tonight. We are either with God or against him. Either his child or his enemy. We see that throughout the Bible, but we also see that throughout this very chapter. Did you notice over these last few weeks? In both parables, we heard about two groups: wise and foolish virgins, faithful and faithless servants. And we see there same here, Jesus says that on that last day, we will either be a sheep or a goat. We will go either to the right or the left. There are only two ways. When you stand before Jesus on that last day, there is no middle path to take. When he comes to you, you will either be sent to Heaven or be sentenced to Hell.

Maybe you are here with us this evening, and you think that is all rather old fashioned, a bit too black and white. The idea of God sending anyone to hell just seems unjust and unloving. If so, I’d love to talk with you afterwards. Feel free to grab me at the door on your way out. However, for now, I just want you to see that what I am saying is simply what Jesus is saying. I am just passing on his message, sharing his sermon with you. For there in 25:46, we read that he brings this whole sermon to an end by explaining that: [READ].

Jesus only gives us two options: eternal punishment or eternal life. Heaven or Hell. That is how Jesus ends his sermon. And friend, this is not an unusual thing for him to say. For these realities of heaven and hell are regular emphasises in Jesus’ preaching. Indeed, no author in the Bible will speak of them more often than Jesus. I’ve said before that Jesus preaches five sermons in Matthew’s Gospel. His first is the Sermon on the Mount, and his last is this Olivet Discourse. And did you know all five sermons end the exact same way? With Jesus speaking of these two realities: the hope of heaven and the horrors of hell. From Matthew’s Gospel at least, it almost seems like Jesus can’t preach a sermon without speaking about such things. The joy of heaven is so much on his mind, he must tell you about it. And the terror of hell tugs so strongly on his heart, he must warn you about it. Must make sure you know that on that last day, he will be your judge, and there are only two places you can go, only two ways you can be sent, only two possible endings for your life story: heaven or hell.

We see here in Matthew 25, not only how history will end, but how your story will end. Jesus will be your judge, and he will either send you to heaven or to hell. Bring you into eternal life, or cast you into eternal punishment. And so, friend, you need to realise, that whether you decide to make Jesus a part of your story or not, you will be part of [t]his story. No matter how your life starts, no matter how it is currently going, this is how it will end. Jesus will be your judge. And one of these two realities, either heaven or hell, will be your home forever.

2.     LOVE WILL BE HIS LAW

That’s what judges do, don’t they? They apply the law. They are like a referee at a football game, a police officer at a crime scene. Their job isn’t to make the rules, but to apply them. They take legislation passed by Parliament, and apply it to those who come into their courtroom. Judges decide cases, hand down sentences, by applying the law. And in Matthew 25, we see this is also true in this courtroom, for Jesus decides where we go by applying a particular law.

In 25:34, he explains to the sheep: [READ]. And then he gives them the reason why they are being sent to heaven, are allowed to enter into his Father’s eternal kingdom. I wonder how you would finish that sentence? [For...]what? Why will someone go to heaven on that last day? Perhaps a verse like Acts 16:31 comes into your mind, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.’ Or maybe 1 John 1:9, ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ And you would be absolutely right to think of such verses. If you are here tonight, and want to know how to go to heaven, then the Bible has a clear answer. If we confess our sin and believe in Jesus, if we turn from sin and trust in him, we will be saved. If this future reality of coming judgement is looming over you this evening, if you are convicted of your sin before God, then you need to know that you can find shelter in the Saviour, find forgiveness at the feet of Jesus. Come to him. Come to him now, even as you are sitting in your seat, cry out to him and confess your sin, and you will be saved. The only way to heaven is to let go of our sin and to take hold of Jesus, the one gave himself for us on the cross.

Friend, if you want Jesus to tell you to ‘come and inherit heaven’ on this last day, you need to come to him today. And yet, did you notice that Jesus puts it slightly differently in our passage. Does that surprise you? I hope so! For we can see that it surprises those who are there on that day. Both the sheep and the goats have to ask Jesus for further clarification, to explain the basis for his decision. And it is because rather than focusing on faith, he instead looks to the fruit of faith. Rather than basing it on belief, he bases it on the behaviour that is born from belief. We see that elsewhere in Scripture too. Matthew 7:20, ‘You shall know them by their fruit.’ James 2:17, ‘Faith without works is dead.’ This law that Jesus applies in our passage is not the law of faith and repentance, but it is rather the law of love. Which is always the fruit of our faith, the result of our repentance.

There in 25:35 we read: [READ]. These six examples are clearly important to Jesus, for he repeats this same list four times in the passage. Lists these examples out again and again to show us what this love looks like. None of them are miraculous or spectacular. As one commentator points out, Jesus does not say that they broke him out of prison or cured him of sickness. No, they simply visited him and comforted him there. These six acts are all very simple ways of meeting the basic needs of others. Anyone here this evening could do these things for anyone. And that is Jesus’ point. Such simple acts of compassion, even small ministries of mercy, demonstrate the difference Jesus has made in our life. The greatest evidence that we are Christians is not whether we call Jesus Lord, but whether we show Jesus love.

Did you notice that in the passage? There in 25:37 and 25:44, both the sheep and the goats call him lord, claim some kind of allegiance to this king. And yet, it is only the sheep who have shown it, demonstrated their love for the lord by actually giving him food and drink, welcome and clothing, visiting him when he was in need. Or rather, visited his brothers, fed and watered his people, given a welcome and clothed his church when they were in need. That is what confuses both the sheep and the goats in our passage. They can’t remember ever seeing Jesus hungry or thirsty, visiting this king in prison or welcoming him as a stranger. And yet, in 25:40, Jesus explains: [READ].

As a church here in Guildford, we had a great responsibility to reach out to  show love to the community around us. Our support of CAP and Besom, such as through the Christmas hampers that are happening at the moment, are a keyway we do that. And we pray that there will be men and women, boys and girls, who find themselves among the sheep on this last day, because we showed Jesus’ love to them, and shared Jesus’ message with them, grew in Guildford!

And yet here in Matthew 25, we see something slightly different. Oh yes, love for the world around us is crucial. And yet, here Jesus is not speaking of love for those around us, but those among us. It is not just the least of these, in 25:40, but it is the least of these my brothers and sisters. Here Jesus is speaking not of our love for the world, but our love for the church. Not those out there, but those in here. Our brothers and sisters in Christ, family of faith. As one of the leaders of the early church, Tertullian put it, ‘When you see your brother, you see your Lord.’ What we do to each other, we do to Jesus. Oh yes, all people are made in the image of God, and so have equal worth and value. […] And yet, Christians are united to God’s Son, been bought with his blood and brought into his body, this family of God. And so, yes we should love all people. And yet, we should especially love God’s people. The church should have a special place in our hearts. Isn’t that what Paul says in Galatians 6:10? ‘As we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, especially to those who are of the household of faith.’ And we see the same thing here in Matthew 25, where Jesus identifies love for God’s people as the greatest evidence, clearest demonstration, of a changed life. Indeed, there is such a close correlation, exact match up, between believing in God’s Son and loving God’s people, that our eternal destiny can be decided on that basis. For if you have confessed your sin and come to God’s Son, you will have compassion for God’s people. As Jesus says, John 13:35, ‘By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’ That is, people out there should know that we belong to Jesus, by how we treat each other in here. And indeed, we learn that that is how Jesus himself will know that we are his disciples, by the love that we have for one another.

Brothers and sisters here at Grace Church, yes, you are saved by your faith, and yet we see here that you are also judged by your works on that last day.  Friends, our enteral destiny will be decided based on how we love each another. That’s the very simple lesson we learn here in Matthew 25. And we see here that Jesus isn’t just looking for some general warm feelings of love in our heart, or some vague intentions of showing love in our head, no he is looking for very concrete acts of love in that we actually do with our hands. He lists such simple examples out of the kind of thing he is looking for. I wonder how many of them can you see in your own life? When a brother or sister asks for practical support, are you quick to give it? If someone looks left out after a church service, do you go over to draw them into a conversation? If a member of your fellowship group is unwell and so stuck at home or in hospital for a season, do you visit them? Or message them? If a family at church are struggling, passing through a difficult season, are you there alongside them, walking with them, carrying their burdens, bearing their sorrows?

Brothers and sisters, Sarah and I have walked alongside you for three years now at Grace Church, and praise God for the great evidence we have seen in many of your lives of this kind of simple practical proactive love. It is my prayer that you continue to demonstrate you are Jesus’ disciples by your love for one another. Friends, do not grow weary in doing good. Don’t get distracted by any other projects or plans. Never overlook the obligation you have to love one another. For it is by our love that churches will be judged on that last day.

To paraphrase Paul in 1 Corinthians 13, no matter how well we might seem to do as a church together, if we have not love. We are nothing. Indeed, here Jesus says that we can’t even expect to get into heaven. And so, brothers and sisters, no matter what happens in your life together as a church in the future, or in your own life as a Christian, make sure that you put love at the top of your list.

Make sure you are seeking above all else to grow in your love for everyone out there in the world, and even more so your love for everyone here in the church. So that, on this last day, when you stand before our Saviour, the substance of your faith will be shown by the strength of your love. That Jesus will know that you really are his disciple, by the love that you have shown one another.

CONCLUSION

Here at the end of Matthew 25, we not only have the ending for Jesus’ sermon,  but we have the ending of all things. This is how your life, your story, will end. Jesus will be your judge, and love will be his law. That is what he’ll look for on that last day. And so let’s ensure that we show it in our lives today.