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

Tonight, let us read together the second part of the dialogue Jesus had with His disciples concerning the end time in Mt 25:34-46 - Mt 25:34-46. 

Jesus revealed some very surprising facts to His disciples in this discourse with them.

He predicted His return to earth, in spite of the murderous death that lay before Him. And - He predicted that in His return He was coming as King. And, not only that, He predicted His return as King was going to be to a prepared kingdom - the kingdom, that, later, Paul foretold, would be the kingdom that would be delivered up to God, His Father, in the last day.

Tonight, let us go on to discover some more gems hidden away in this important prophetic announcement Jesus made to His disciples.

Starting with v 34, we find that He is addressing those He called sheep. He placed them on His right hand and then addressed them as ‘blessed’. And He gave them their inheritance as God designed it from the beginning.  

The separation issue itself is a curious thing. I will not concentrate on it, except to say, that - of course - it causes a great deal of shock and revolt to the modern reader.

To that, I can only say once again: ‘The Lord is in charge!’ The author, Skinner, said it aptly when he wrote: [quote] ‘The scope of who it is that God means to invite to the feast, you see, is not ours to define. We are not put in charge of the guest list.’ [unquote] 

I think we can fittingly apply that to this end time prophecy as well - can we not? With that, I leave the action of the dividing into two groups to the Lord alone.

After the separation, Jesus went on to address the two groups. With this, we take notice of more facts He revealed.

First, to the sheep, He said: ‘Come...inherit the kingdom...For I was an hungered,...ye gave me meat: I was thirsty,...ye gave me drink: I was a stranger,...ye took me in: naked,...ye clothed me: I was in prison,...ye came unto me.’

Jesus listed a number of deeds this group of sheep had done. They were all fundamental, practical things needful for every human being. They were humanitarian actions that every one who is able to do so, can do.

But - in reviewing these practical, humanitarian deeds, Jesus is, once again, revealing the heart of God for all of humanity. He made it known that God has such a deep, profound love for all mankind, that He identifies Himself with them, even in their basic human needs.

Of Him, it was said in Isaiah 25:4: ‘...for Thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat...’.

He characterized His love for humanity by identifying Himself with them in these needs. 

And, so Jesus, the Son of God, identified Himself with man and used these humanitarian deeds these sheep had done to highlight this profound fact of the divine. 

Now, let us go on to the second fact found in verses 37-40: ‘Then shall the righteous answer him saying, ‘Lord,’ [notice] ‘Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 

When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’ 

Many do not realize this important issue of how Jesus was addressed. I pray, after tonight, this will cause each one of us, as well as the Lord’s entire church, to pay attention! 

But, before we go on, please look at verse 44 and see how those on His left hand address the King. They, too, call Him ‘Lord’ - do they not?

You also notice that when Jesus divided them into the two groups, He asked nothing of either group. There were no questions asked of how, and when, and why the decision to acknowledge Him as Lord came about - is that not so?

He did not ask a single question - and neither did He need to! He already knew those who really did acknowledge Him as Lord in their lives. He just went right on with the kingly duty of designating rewards. 
 
And - what is He doing when He does this?

When He makes the separation, it is on the basis of their actual godliness - their actual godliness! 

He was narrowing the issue to just one matter: it is the  indication of what impact His Lordship really had! 

Simply put, it is: ‘What effect did the Lordship of Jesus Christ have upon your lives? What impact did the knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord have upon the life of the church?’ That is all!

By doing this, Jesus made it clear in this end time prophecy that His transcendent Lordship represents what the important matter really is of life!

Sometimes I am afraid that we have the tendency to forget what will be inevitable - that we let our religious thought be occupied with so many debatable and secondary parts, so much so that we overlook the important part which Jesus proclaims here in this passage. The most valuable and important part is that which centers itself squarely in the identification with Christ Himself.

We tend to forget that He is the ‘food’ upon which our faith must richly feed. Look at Paul - he pressed on to ‘the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus’ - forgetting all that was behind and moving on in Him.

Notice how he put emphasis on the ‘prize of God’s high calling in Christ Jesus’, on ‘godliness’, in other words. 

In 1 Tim 4:7, he told Timothy to ‘refuse profane and old wives’ fables,’ and to exercise himself ‘rather unto godliness’.  

In chapter 6, he wrote: ‘If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness’, have nothing to do with him. ‘Flee these things’ he told him in verse 11, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness: fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life...’.

Paul acknowledged the ‘truth which is after godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.’ (Titus 1:1-2) 

To Paul, ‘Jesus is Lord’! There was no question about that! And he desired that the Lordship of Christ would have the impact upon himself, and those he taught, as the final issue of their lives, just as Jesus taught in this Matthew end time discourse. 

Another fact that ought to cause us to ‘sit up and take notice’ is seen in how each group reacted.

Please note further: both groups addressed Him as Lord, but there were two different reactions to Him when He recounted the deeds done or undone.  
   
The righteous are totally surprised: in fact, they seemed to have no recollection of their deeds.

Those on His left side said: ‘Lord, when did we do these things and still did not minister unto you?’

They are quite different - are they not? 

One expresses sincere humility, very unpretentious and unassuming.

The other expresses conceit, rooted in self-delusion: to put it in the vernacular, it is, as if they were saying: ‘we would have really tried harder had we known we could have gotten some extra credit!’   

Basically, however, the sheep replied to the Lord, ‘Lord, it was so little to supply their basic needs. We did not even give it a second thought! It was nothing so outstanding - anyone could have done it.’ 

They were surprised to learn how really deep the scope of their deeds went.

It was as though they were realizing that God gave them the means to supply the need and they just shared what He had given them. They did not even congratulate themselves! Probably, as is true of subjects who know the King, ‘the right hand did not even know what the left hand did’, so oblivious were they to any great ‘recompense of reward’ for their deeds!

So absorbed and infused with Him were they that they did these things quite naturally, extending this very part of Christ to others, serving Him with ‘all their heart and with all their soul.’

It might do well to check back to Deut 10:12 to see the Lord’s heart in this matter. It reads: ‘...what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.’   

Responding in deeds of love and in the compassion of Christ, the sheep aligned themselves with the Messiah Who identified Himself with them. Why? It is because they are totally assimilated with Christ Who returns as King.

I remind you of 1 John 3:2-3: ‘...we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.’

Lord willing, I would like to view this verse next week with you along with this Matthew prophecy. 

But, for right now, let me just say, that these verses in 1 John do not mean merely being purified under the Holy Spirit’s influence. They deal with the ultimate assimilation of Christ which makes up the believer’s hope.

In this end time prophecy given by Jesus, there was such a likeness between the sheep and Jesus, such an assimilation of Him, that what they did was just to Him, by Him, and for Him - that is all!

The hope in Him opened their spiritual eyes to see as He saw and that is what separated them from all selfishness, insincerity, competitiveness, duplicity, and slothfulness which are all traits that do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord in actuality!

You see - the direction the sheep had was in this hope in Christ to be like Him when He shall appear. And with that before them always, they run their course straight in that direction into actual godliness!

‘This kind of fusion with Him means likeness of character and purpose’.

It means, essentially, that we look at the world and our own lives from a different viewpoint. We see the world as He sees it and we break into the design He has for the world, 
become assimilated into Him in it, are infused with the same sense of mission Jesus has.

It is this constant sense of oneness with Him, at home in Him and He in us while we are in this world. And we think, act, care about others just as He thinks, acts, and cares about them. We are friends together with Him, even in His thought.’

This is the spiritual standard to which we Christians are held. This is the kind of righteousness Jesus is to others - and the kind of righteousness He is in us. He is interested in none other. It is the exclusive work of God in Christ through man.

You see - this group, standing on the right side of Jesus, became this ‘spirit-empowered change-agent’ for the kingdom of God as God was preparing it upon the earth.

And - without even fully realizing it - its significant influence in His kingdom prepared it for the time of Christ’s return.

I will leave it here for tonight but I pray, with all my heart, that each one of us will move this in our hearts before the Lord this week. 

But, before we close, let me read you what Paul wrote in  1 Cor 15:58. Take it with you and let it become real in your own heart.

It says: ‘Therefore...be steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know your labor is not in vain in the Lord.’  

Amen!   So be it!

Prayer: