“The Case for Christ - His Return As King” (Part one)  

Read Matthew 25:31-34. Keep your Bibles open to this passage as we continue on with our study of Jesus and His endtime accounts. 

Before we begin, let me say that I fully realize there are a number of issues in this account that have put Biblical scholars into more than a bit of frenzy. Phrases such as ‘the least of these, My brethren’ or ‘nations assembling before Him’ and other such phrases are something of a consternation for many.    

However, it is not my purpose to address any such issues, but to simply look at what Jesus said.   

We will start examining this dialogue this evening to discover some of the surprising facts He uttered about Himself and then, next week, Lord willing, we will go on to the application of what He said.

So - let us start with the first fact Jesus revealed. And - what was that? He said He was going to return! 

Why was that so surprising?

It was surprising because this prophecy was given just a few days before His cruel murder. 

At this moment, as we look at the surrounding circumstances, there is only defeat and death looming for Him. The disciples were gloomy and sullen at what lay ahead. Jesus was about to be put to death and there was no way to stop it! The opposition against Him was mounting and it was winning.  

He had just come from the Temple where there was an encounter with the rulers. He had just uttered His prophecy about Jerusalem’s downfall and of the razing of the Temple. Their reaction to His prophecy only strengthened their resolve to kill Him just as quickly as possible!
 
Yet - here He stood, before His disciples, facing a very cruel, undeserved death at the hands of murderers, and He is announcing, with all dignity and certainty, that - in spite of the dark circumstances - He was coming back!   

What a lesson this alone is for those who follow Him! He  is looking far beyond the moment. He is looking through all that darkness to the light behind it! He was looking through defeat to the time of His victory when He would return to earth again! 

That must have been puzzling enough for the disciples. But what was more puzzling, perhaps, was the second fact that He said He was coming back as a king. He was going to come in ‘glory with His angels’ as King! 

The next time the world would see the Son of Man is as king, as the supreme Sovereign over all things, coming in this imperial magnificence, in regal majesty, with all of His angels, in all of His glory! 

What a jolt that must have been to those disciples, if they indeed heard what He was telling them in this instant. 

Yes - I am sure they were aware of what Zechariah announced about the coming of the messianic ‘King’; and, yes, the multitudes greeted Him at the city gates, with their waving branches and their short-lived shouts of honor and glory.

Yet, we have to wonder if they really understood what He said here in verses 31-34.   

Let us read it again: ‘When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will take His seat upon the throne of His glory,...then shall the King say...’.

‘Then shall the King say...’: the King is speaking! Jesus was facing an ignominious death and still, He says He was returning - and returning as a King, no less!

And, again, in verse 34, Jesus startled His disciples, by divulging that those on His right hand were to ‘inherit the kingdom prepared for you’!  
 
A king must have a kingdom to be a king - is that not so?

There is no doubt that Jesus always had a purpose and a passion for this earth. While He was here, He detailed why life is and how it should be. The things He taught and did were laid down for men to follow. And they were not laid down for them to follow in the hereafter, but they were to be followed in the here and now.

They were to be followed with His present Kingship in mind, with His present authority in mind. His death and resurrection was about to usher in a new dispensation of His kingly rule.   

You will well remember that He taught His disciples to pray: ‘Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come: Thy will be done, on earth - note that please - on earth, yes, on earth, as it is in heaven...’.

He made known here the often-overlooked fact of His mission: that His kingdom was to be continued upon the earth. 

Is that not what Isaiah said of the Messiah, when he said: ‘Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and upon the kingdom, to order it, to establish it with judgment and with justice...the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.’

Of the increase of His government, there would be no end - His governing rule was to go on and on and on. It was to be ordered by Him, established by Him with judgment and justice.

The continuous increase of His kingdom under His governing rule would be the way a kingdom is prepared for Him when He returns with His holy angels in glory. 

It was to come through the way of peace, as Isaiah wrote. The way would not be observable for ‘the kingdom of God cometh not with observation’, Jesus said in another instance.

Of course, this new epoch of His reign would still be a matter of faith and hope. So those who would live under His government would do so here upon earth while waiting for the return of the Son of Man.

They would live in His kingdom, be a presence in the world affecting the lives of others. They would be the ‘salt of the earth’, that pervading influence toward His eternal purpose.

And - they would live by faith in Him and His government and in the hope of His return.

So, He boldly and calmly declared that beyond all the circumstances of the dark moment, which spelled out defeat and death for Him, the Son of man will be returning. And - not only that - He will return as King and - to add to that - He will be manifested as a King coming to a kingdom prepared for Him. 

This is why - when the end comes - He will have a prepared kingdom to deliver up to God.

Let me read 1 Cor 15:24-25 to you in this regard: ‘Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and all power, for He must reign, till He put all enemies under His feet.’

Before the final end, there is this rule of Christ upon the earth, preparing a kingdom in which He is putting all things under His feet to be delivered up to God the Father.

Now - in this particular discourse, He did not reveal to the disciples that He would establish a mediatorial kingdom upon the earth.

Later on, He did tell them that ‘All authority is given unto Me in heaven and on earth - and on earth.’ And that implied His mediatorial work in His ascended, exalted place during His reign of grace, during His present work upon the earth. It was then that He gave them the commission to let this influence of His authority pervade the earth.  

Let me emphasize here: the deep emphasis upon His return as ‘King’ was not regarding the soul’s destiny. He is only showing them that there would be a kingdom ready for Him when He returns.

As far as their continued life upon earth, the disciples could know that the kingdom could be entered here and now. Each one could let Him assume the reins of government in their lives, each one could show how to live life on earth in accordance with Him and His life, each one could influence and prepare for His victorious return.

After all, was not the central point of the kingdom of God God’s rule that was to be realized in the human heart? The Old Testament confirmed this - did it not?

So, the thought of the present beginnings of the kingdom of God that will be ready for His return rests here with Jesus’ teaching of it.

Now - that was a very surprising, startling revelation He gave His disciples.

And, then, the next stunning fact in this passage is shown in verse 34, which reads: ‘Then shall the King say...Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world...’.

‘...come ye blessed by My Father...’: the precursory benefit for those who lived in His kingdom during their earthly lives was the promise of being blessed by God the Father.

How were they blessed?

Upon them, He bestowed His salvation through Christ, delivered them from the power of sin and its destructive force, gave them a right standing before Himself in the abundance of His grace and in the gift of His Son’s righteousness, wisdom, sanctification and love so they could reign in life by Him. 

Rom 5:17: ‘...much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.’

And - as they reigned in His mediatorial kingdom under His governing grace, God was preparing everything perfectly for the new nature of the sanctified soul.

So that - when the Son of Man returned - they have been prepared to fully receive the kingdom of His glory and their inheritance to reign together with Christ as ‘kings and priests’.

God had this in His mind from the foundation of the earth - He knew everyone who is to be included in this call and He knew how His grace would succeed in making each one ready for this very day of the return of the Son of Man as king.

Thus - Christ’s supreme authority and power was going to be in effect all along - in spite of the dark circumstances that lay ahead of Him in the next few days, as He spoke this prophecy to His disciples. And this company of people before Him, and countless others, would be proof of that fact for all time and eternity.  

And, here again, Jesus made it clear, once and for all, that no opposition would be able to stand against Him. Yes - at this moment it looked hopeless. But - whether it was the ‘rebellious human will or the hostile pagan people or the demonic forces of the spirit world’ - nothing was going to be able to stand against Him and thwart this divine plan!

Dan 7:14: ‘And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed’ - ‘it shall not pass away...it shall not be destroyed’!

It is God Who will bring about this second coming in His own time, as Paul wrote in 1 Tim 6:12-16: ‘...Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called...’. In the sight of God, Who gives life to everything, and of Jesus Christ, Who...made the good confession, I charge you to keep this commandment without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in His own time - God, the blessed and only ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords,...To Him be honor and might forever. Amen.’

We will stop here for tonight. This is only the first part of this prophecy Jesus gave His disciples. Lord willing, next week we will go on with this. And - we will deal with some other facts Jesus revealed to them about the end time.

I hope you will have an opportunity to read through it once again in the light of the surprising facts Jesus told His disciples about Himself.

In the meantime, let us keep this much before the Lord in prayer and give the Holy Spirit ample opportunity to open our hearts and minister His word to us in reality. 

Take it with you this week - ponder it - and let the Lord bless you through it as you make it your purpose to be  effective witnesses of Jesus Christ in this world system.

Amen. Let us pray. 

Song: ‘Now unto the King Eternal’