Jesu Juva
St. Matt. 25:31-46
November 22, 2020
Last Sunday A
Dear saints of our Savior,
And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead.
That’s what we believe. That’s what we confess. Those were the words that came out of your mouth just a few minutes ago. We believe and confess that Jesus Christ—who is today reigning and ruling over all things from the Father’s right hand—will reappear on the Last Day in great glory to judge the living and the dead.
Meanwhile, here in the year of our Lord 2020, we have come to the end of the church year—the last Sunday. Next week (should Jesus not return in the meantime) we will start it all over again with Advent and preparations for Christmas and Epiphany. But today, judgment. But even before judgment, there’s going to be a big surprise—a resurrection. The Last Day is first and foremost a day of life. If Jesus is to judge the living and the dead, then He first has to raise the dead and change the living. You can’t have a judgment without first having a resurrection.
But the big surprise about the resurrection is that all will rise. Not just a chosen few, not just the faithful, but all—every last one. Every last dead person will rise to greet the coming Lord at the sound of the trumpet call of God. That also includes the unbelieving dead, the agnostic dead, the atheist dead, and every other sort of dead. “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” And what a surprise that will be—especially for those who thought this Jesus stuff was just a bunch of fairy tale nonsense. Even those who spent a lifetime on earth refusing Jesus and rejecting Jesus and urging others to do the same—even they shall be raised.
That resurrection will bring to light who Jesus actually is: He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He’s not simply the Savior of some, but the Savior of the whole world. In His flesh, He embodies all people. When Adam fell into sin, we all fell into sin and death. But Jesus in His humanity, is the second Adam—Adam 2.0—Adam set right before God. In the first Adam you die; in the second Adam you live. In the first Adam you are condemned; in the second Adam you are justified and forgiven. For as by a man came death, by a man has also come the resurrection from the dead.
After the resurrection will come judgment . . . and along with judgment the second surprise of the day. You expect the judgment to be all about works—the things you’ve done that you shouldn’t have done and the things you haven’t done that you should have done. Sins of commission and sins of omission. Sins of thought and word and deed. Whenever anyone mentions judgment, it’s always in those terms. Judgment, most people believe, will be based upon what we’ve done or failed to do. Works figure prominently in today’s Holy Gospel.
But here we need to listen very carefully to what our Savior says concerning the sheep and the goats. As Jesus reveals what will happen on the Last Day, notice that first of all, right off the bat—the first item of business—is a separation, a
sorting. Only after the separation is there a discussion of works. First, the sheep and goats are separated. Sheep on the right; goats on the left. During the day, the sheep and goats grazed together as one flock under one shepherd. Right now, as we speak, the whole world grazes together under the reign of Jesus, who now shepherds the world from God’s right hand.
But at the end of the day, as the sun is setting, the shepherd sorts the sheep and the goats into their respective places: Sheep to the honorable right, goats to the dishonorable left. Notice what’s going on at this point: It’s not about what they did or didn’t do; it’s about what they are. What they did or didn’t do was merely a reflection of what they are. Sheep do sheep stuff. Goats do goat stuff. Good trees bear good fruit because they are good trees.
The sheep and the goats grow up together. Righteous and unrighteous pasture together. They have the same shepherd. But on Judgment Day they part company forever. The righteous sheep go to an eternal kingdom prepared for them since before the foundation of the world—since before God ever uttered, “Let there be light.” The unrighteous goats go to eternal fire—fire prepared not for them (God wants all people to be saved, after all)—but fire prepared for the devil and his angels. And all this, not on account of what they did or didn’t do, but on account of what they are.
And what are they? The sheep are the “righteous.” That means that they are justified by grace, through faith, for Jesus’ sake. The difference between sheep and goat is the difference between faith and unbelief. Without faith it is impossible to please God, no matter how much good you do. No matter how many hungry you feed or how many naked you clothe or how many prisoners you visit—without faith it is impossible to please God. But as for the faithful—as for those who believe and trust in Jesus—you will receive what has always been yours since the foundation of the world—an eternal kingdom.
On the Last Day the good works of the righteous—no matter how small or seemingly insignificant—are magnified, honored, elevated and celebrated: I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; thirsty and you gave me something to drink; a stranger and you welcomed me; sick and you visited me; imprisoned and you ministered to me. The surprise is not that the faithful did these good works. Of course they did! How could they not? (Faith without works is dead.) The surprise is that these good works were done to Jesus: As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.
And just who are the least of Jesus’ brothers? For although it’s true that we should do good to all people—yet all people are not the least of Jesus’ brothers. In Matthew’s gospel in particular, the word “brother” always signifies a fellow believer—a fellow disciple—and in some instances it refers in particular to apostles and to pastors as those who are hungry, thirsty, and imprisoned. This means that the good works most honored by Jesus on judgment day—the works we do that are of greatest value—the works that will shine in splendor for all eternity—are those that we do for our fellow believers—for the household of faith. The good that we do for one another—that sacrifices that we make for one another—the burdens that we bear for one another, brothers and sisters—these are the works that most clearly identify you as the light of the world. Whatever you do for the least of these brothers and sisters of Jesus, it is just as if you did them for Jesus Himself.
Do you believe that? If we really believed that, then [Luther writes], there would be nothing so costly or nothing so difficult that a Christian would not undertake for the sake of his brothers and sisters in Christ. Luther writes that if we really believed this—that the good we do for one another we are really doing for Jesus—well, then, “our coffers . . . and compassion would be open at once for the benefit of the brethren. There would be no ill will . . . and we would seize upon this honor and distinction ahead of others and say, ‘O Lord Jesus, come to me; enjoy my bread, [my]wine, [my] silver and gold. How well it has been invested by me when I invest it in you.’” (Treasury of Daily Prayer).
Do you ever think about your offerings that way—as an investment? I think we usually consider our offerings as a gift or as a donation. Investments are something different, right? But your offering is really an investment in Jesus. Where else will your money get a more miraculous return? With whom else will your meager gift get such amazing results—or meet the needs of so many brothers and sisters in Christ around the world? With whom else can you be sure that your investment won’t be wasted, but be miraculously multiplied to help a hurting brother, to proclaim the gospel, to help an expectant mother choose life? Whatever you invest the least of these, you invest in Jesus.
As you look around here today, do you see Jesus in those gathered here? Beloved in the Lord, your ability to see Jesus in me or in anyone else begins right here—begins by seeing Jesus Himself. For you’ll never see Jesus in the least and the lowly until you first see Jesus Himself as the least of all. On the cross Jesus became the least of all to save us all. On the cross, bearing your sin, Jesus was literally hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, imprisoned, a stranger to this world—all so that He might save the world, including you. When you see a brother hurting, think of Jesus who hurt on the cross. When you see a helpless sister, think of Jesus who hung helpless on the cross. When you come across someone who is crushed by the burdens of this world, remember Jesus who was crushed for our iniquities—who died for our sin and rose again to give us eternal victory.
It’s not always easy to see Jesus in one another; so be thankful that when God looks at you, He sees Jesus—Jesus in you. It’s true. The all-seeing, all-knowing God looks at you; and He chooses to see in you His own dear Son, Jesus the Christ. He looks at you and He sees a sheep of the Good Shepherd, faithfully following in faith. Jesus says that when you serve your brothers and sisters, you serve Him. You serve them not to earn the right to be a righteous sheep; you serve them because YOU ARE A SHEEP of the Good Shepherd—because a heavenly inheritance is waiting for you—waiting for you since before time began.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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