Great Judgment

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon is entitled Three C’s of the Great Judgment, and my focus is Matthew, chapter 25 where we read: “‘As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me’ and ‘As you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

One of Martin Luther’s gifts to Christianity was his Small Catechism. Luther was not the first to pen a catechism. Matthew the Evangelist penned his 1,500 years earlier. Matthew’s first catechetical lesson – Beatitudes. His final exam – The Great Judgment. Our grade? 3 C’s: Characters from Matthew, Catechism from Luther, Commencement from experience.

First, characters. Matthew employed five characters in his parable: Son of Man, King, Sheep, Goats and Least Ones.

Son of Man existed before Jesus’ earthly ministry. It was used prominently in Daniel and in several other books. Matthew referred to Jesus as Son of Man in his ministry, passion and resurrection, and as one coming at the end of the ages. Because Matthew wrote to demonstrate that Jesus fulfilled Scripture, he portrayed him as Son of Man, a judicial figure that possessed righteousness, vindicated the righteous and judged people according to their deeds. What Jesus said in chapter 25 reflected what he taught throughout his life.

As a Jew, Matthew’s concern with keeping Jewish law held great significance, but of greater significance was following Jesus and his teachings: faith, justice and mercy – as taught in the Beatitudes. Mercy is the weightiest as demonstrated in Jesus’ repeated citation of the phrase, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.^[1] Hence, Son of Man judges people’s deeds of mercy, such as feeding the hungry, welcoming strangers and visiting the imprisoned.

From Son of Man to King. Note that Son of Man appears only at the beginning of the parable, while the King conducts the dialogue.^[2] Matthew made the change because the Son of Man as King exercised his Father’s will. There is change, but also continuity. Let me explain.

In chapter 16, Matthew wrote the Son of Man would come in his father’s glory,^[3] whereas in chapter 25, he wrote the Son of Man would come in his own glory, but the reference to his father in v. 34 is a reminder that like a King, the Son of Man judges people based on their deeds of mercy. Jesus never referred to himself as a king. Why, then, did Matthew use the title in chapter 25?

Kings are mentioned throughout Matthew. The newborn king threatened King Herod.^[4] Jesus, the donkey-riding humble king of triumph acted unlike other kings who persecuted disciples and resisted God.^[5] As king, chapter 25 depicted Jesus exercising God’s rule over all and sharing in his Father’s authority.^[6] This also prepared readers for Jesus as the mocked king throughout his passion.^[7]

Who is the king? God. God, who identifies himself with every wretched, needy and suffering person. Like a king, God judges people according to their attitude towards the least. Jesus compared God to a king and a shepherd. At the last judgment, on the day his dominion is realized and his kingdom established, God will separate people like a shepherd separates sheep from goats.

Before I identify sheep and goats, note that Matthew mentioned separation several times: wheat from chaff, weeds from wheat and types of fish.^[8] In each case, separation is delayed until the proper time, that is, after all nations heard the gospel.^[9] Only after the nations have been confronted with the Christian message will the judgment come.

Why separate sheep and goats? To deepen our understanding, we look at Palestinian culture during the time of Jesus. First, Jews considered sheep more valuable because their white color, in distinction to the black of goats, made them a symbol of the righteous. Second, shepherds customarily mixed their flocks. Sheep and goats grazed in the same pasture during the day, but every evening, the shepherd separated them because goats need to be kept warm at night, for cold harms them, while sheep prefer the night’s open air. So, this separation symbolized the final judgment.

Because they are separated, our challenge is to discover something negative about goats that would make their condemnation seem proper.

In the eyes of a Palestinian Jew, sheep and goats are different. Does that make the goat worth less than the sheep? … Yes! … What answer were you expecting? … Now, because a ten-dollar bill is worth less than a twenty, it does not mean that we throw them away. Similarly, Matthew expected his audience to have a positive attitude toward goats that would make their condemnation shocking. Shocking to complacent Christians who regarded themselves righteous despite their acknowledged occasional failures. … We do this all the time – I sin, but I am not a murderer. … Seemingly minor and forgivable delinquencies like failure to be ready with oil, failure to increase the master’s property, or failure to recognize and serve the Son of Man in his least brethren will not be minor or forgivable in the eyes of the divine judge. In short, Matthew took great pains to urge readers to recognize the rigors of God’s demands.

Matthew listed 37 episodes that linked behavior and consequence, which tells me that following Jesus can be arduous. Yet, if I believe I am saved by faith alone, the demands of following a Savior who loves me should be easy to keep. … In short, sheep and goats represented the acting and non-acting members of Matthew’s church. The sheep are blessed because they tended to the needs of the King/the least. The goats did not. As to whom the least were is now what we discover.

If we look at the least elsewhere in Matthew, we hear Jesus saying, “Whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple will surely not lose his reward!”^[10] We read that the requirement for entering the kingdom of heaven is to become like a little child. Jesus also used the phrase “little ones” to mean disciples who believed in him.^[11] By the time Matthew wrote his gospel, “the least” were poor, wandering missionaries who depended upon the hospitality of Christians to provide for their needs as they made the gospel known to all nations. In short, “the least” represented Jesus. Whether people recognized Him in “the least” is our next matter.

The members of Matthew’s church were aware of Jesus’ demands. They also remembered that in their own congregation, love grew cold, lawlessness gained the upper hand, and hatred and power grabbing thrived, which is why Jesus sharpened his message regarding humility and service.^[12]

Christians realized that though they were the light of the world, their claims could turn into triumphalism. To combat that, the true disciple reminded himself that his relationship with God could not be disconnected from his relationship to real persons in the congregation who represented Jesus. To honor Jesus meant nothing more than to do what he commanded, and above all to take seriously his command regarding faith, love and mercy.

In light of His passion, this parable provided insight into what could happen to followers of Christ. Jesus, who was a homeless stranger and suffered hunger, would have worse things happen to him than being thrown into prison.^[13] The Great Judgment reminded Christians that God is truly with us in the least.

For Christians living as a minority population, the parable offered hope to the Christians themselves, and to the people they loved and served. Despite unsanitary and overcrowded living conditions and the general misery of poverty, Matthew’s Christians used limited resources to meet the basic human needs of the poor. They saw themselves not only in the righteous sheep who took care of the needy but also in the needy least ones. The comparison between sheep and goats urged Christians to be righteous by caring for the neediest, and encouraged them to become ‘the least’ as they brought God’s kingdom to the world.

Matthew’s catechism challenged Christians to bring God’s kingdom to the world, and that brings me to Luther’s catechism, which also challenges Christians.

First, we know works do not save us, but to quote the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the “justified necessarily produce good works or good fruits.”^[14]

I am a good person because I worship God, respect seniors, do not steal or murder. Yet, as Luther explained, the Fifth Commandment extends far beyond killing. “We should not use our tongue to advocate or advise harming anyone.”^[15]

Luther then turned to Matthew 25. … If you send away one who is naked when you could clothe him, you caused him to freeze to death. If you see one hunger and do not give him food, you caused him to starve. If you see one innocently sentenced to death, and do not save him … you killed him. You - killed - him.

Finally, commencement. Commencement is a ceremony when schools confer degrees or grant diplomas at the end of the academic year. Its Latin roots mean to initiate or consecrate.^[16] Today is a new beginning, the first day I realize how much the Lord Jesus loves me that he lived and died not only to set me free from Satan, sin and self, but also to call me to love the least in our world as he loved them.

Jesus said, “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”^[17] … I suggest you let the disadvantaged take advantage of you. Why? Because in our sinful state, you and I took advantage of Jesus for the sake of salvation. We took advantage of God’s mercy when He offered it. We take advantage of God’s mercy daily. When will I learn the meaning of the phrase, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice? When will I realize that I am a sinner redeemed by His Blood? When will I realize that I am like Christ when the disadvantaged of this world take advantage of my Christ-like mercy?

Do not misunderstand me. I am not saying allow every greedy or gossipy person to swindle or slander you. Do not be the doormat of society’s bullies.

I am saying our world is over-populated with people who suffered at the hands of others. The institutionalized and incarcerated, true victims of physical, mental or verbal violence, men, women and children deprived of wealth, health and love. We are overwhelmed with people looking for Christians who live the meaning of the phrase; I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.

I leave you with one example. For over a year, I ran a program at the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh that served incarcerated mothers. We named the program “I to I” or Incarceration to Independence. Our goal was to create a seamless transition from incarceration to independent living so that these young mothers could raise their children.

The women – arrested for nonviolent crimes – solicitation, theft, possession and so on – were abused by adults since they were young girls. … Over the course of a year, I met with 50 women at the jail. … I will save the details for another day, but I remember walking to the jail one afternoon and into my head pops, “I was in prison and you visited me.”

Branded into my brain – the Scripture passage. Seared onto my soul – visits to incarcerated mothers. Blessed are we when, in light of God’s mercy, we, poor miserable sinners, allow ourselves to serve God and neighbor by letting the least turn to us. Friends, show mercy to the least in your world, and when you do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.^[18]

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[1] 9:13; 12:7-8; 18:33.

[2] 25:34-36.

[3] 16:27.

[4] 2:2.

[5] 21:5; 10:18; 14:9; 17:25.

[6] 28:18.

[7] 27:11, 29, 37, 42.

[8] 3:12; 13:24-30; 13:47-50.

[9] 24:14; 28:19-20.

[10] 10:42.

[11] see 18:1-4; 12:49-50; 18:15-35; 23:8; 28:10.

[12] 24:10; 18:1-5; 20:20-28; 23:8-11.

[13] 8:20; 21:18.

[14] Book of Concord, Page 171.

[15] Ibid, p. 412.

[16] www.etymonline.com.

[17] 9:13.

[18] Some books to read include: Charles A. Kroloff, 54 Ways You Can Help the Homeless. West Orange, NJ: Behrman House (1993); Robert E. Goodin, Protecting the Vulnerable: A Reanalysis of Our Social Responsibilities. Chicago: University of Chicago Press (1985); Gene Outka and John P. Reeder, Jr., editors, Prospects for a Common Morality. Princeton: Princeton University Press (1992); Kim Hopper, Reckoning with Homelessness. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press (2003).