November 20, 2011
Matthew 25:31-46
Matthew 25:31-46
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Sermon
On November 8, just under two weeks ago, a meteor the size of an aircraft carrier flew by the earth in what astronomers called a “near miss.” It came within about 200,000 miles of use, which in cosmic terms is just a whisker. Had such an object actually hit the earth it would have completely ended life as we know it. You could say we dodged a bullet and again we are reminded how quickly things can change. And how they will change! For just as surely as massive meteors have hit in the past and changed the face of the earth, there will be another in the future. It’s not a matter of if but when.
Today in Matthew chapter 25:31-46 Jesus himself raises the specter of all life ending as we know it. There is going to come a day when everything we know comes to an end. And for Jesus it’s not a matter of if but when. As Jesus tells it when that time comes he will be coming back in all his glory as a great and mighty king. He is going to gather the nations before him. Every last one of them, from every corner, every nook and cranny of the globe, will stand before him. And he is going to divide them up into two groups like a shepherd separates sheep and goats. Then you’re life will never be the same.
As the idea of massive change coming to your life at the end of the ages sinks in, keep this in mind: You are the sheep. In the Bible, sheep are used as a symbol for God’s people. All throughout the Old and New Testament, sheep stand for people who are the special object of God’s desire. They are the special object of God’s attention. They are under the care of God.
“The Lord is my shepherd.”
Throughout the Bible, God is pictured as a shepherd caring for his flock.
That is what the Psalm we just sung says:
“For the LORD is our God,
and we are the people of God's pasture
and the sheep of God's hand.” (Psalm 95:7)
Jump over to the New Testament and we see that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we are his flock.
“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,” (John 10:14)
Jesus knows who you are. He has studied you and observed you. He knows your personality and thoughts. He knows you in every detail. That’s what good shepherds do. You are the special object of his desire and the apple of his eye. How he loves to walk you through the valley of the shadow of death! What pleasure it brings to him to lead you to the still waters! Such joy it gives to him to take you to the green pastures!
When it comes to the end of life as you know it, my friends, know this . . . you are the sheep.
Just as our planet had a near miss a couple of weeks ago, there are times in your life and my life when we experience a near miss . . . a time when you suddenly realize how short and precious and fragile life is. How things can change in an instant. Karin and I had one of those moments a couple of months ago when we were at Marsh checking out at the self-serve checkout line. It was Friday afternoon and we were getting ready to party at our house that night with our kids and a movie. Chips, salsa, queso, coke, everything you need to have a good time. In the middle of checking out, Karin gets a phone call. It’s Rachel our oldest. She’s been hit in a car accident. She had just got her license and was on her way home from her new Catholic school when she was stopped at a stoplight and someone behind her didn’t stop. Rammed right into her. Of course, we dropped everything and left all of our stuff at the register and ran out the Marsh front door. Jumped in the car and drove about hundred thousand miles an hour to get to our daughter on 135 north of Stop 11. Well, as it turns out she wasn’t hurt. Thank God. The bumper on our Honda was beat up (still is). But she was fine. The other car, driven by a Center Grove teacher looked totaled. That’s what we call a near miss.
Many of you have had near misses recently. Many of you will in the next year. You might see someone ahead of you run a red light and think to yourself, “I’m glad I was wasn’t going through that intersection then.” You might get some test results from the doctor and realize that you have been skating on thin ice for a while. And it’s lucky you caught it early. You might be a part of a company that is downsizing and half your department is gone. And you had a near miss.
These near misses raise the specter of how life can change so suddenly and so completely. How our world will someday end as we know it. Know this, my people, when it comes to the end, you are the sheep.
You are not the goat.
If sheep have a symbolic meaning in the Bible and stands for the people of God, what does the goat stand for? Goats are not like sheep. Yes, of course, they have four legs and forage of the ground for their food like a sheep, but goats are as different from sheep as night is from day. Sheep will eat grass and clover. They’re cute and fluffy. Goats are maingy looking creatures. Those goats will eat about anything: twigs, thorns, thistles. They’ll eat your shoes and shoe laces. They’ll even eat a tin can. They aren’t too particular.
But more than that, in the Bible the goat has a special role. If you go back to the days of Moses and Aaron his brother, you see that the goat had starring role on the Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement was a great day each year when all the Israelites could experience a new beginning by being cleansed from their sins and restored to fellowship with God.
"On this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord" (Lev 16:30).
Throughout the year and on the Day of Atonement the guilt and burden of the sins of the people were transferred to the Temple by the blood of a sacrificed animal. On that day, a goat was selected and the burden of all the sin of the people was transferred to the goat. The blood of sacrificed animals was poured or otherwise applied to the goat. Then the goat was driven into the wilderness where it would perish.
With a starring role on the Day of Atonement, the goat represented all that is wrong in the world. It represents all the guilt and shame and rebellion against God. It represents all the abuse and violence and darkness that are a part of our lives. The goat represents everything that is ugly and despised and to be driven out.
You are not the goat. You are not to be driven out.
When life as you know it comes to an end, you are welcomed in. That’s what Jesus says to the sheep, to his people,
“'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;”
You are one of God’s blessed ones. When the end is here you will know where you stand with the Lord. You belong to God. When the bottom falls out, and when the sky has fallen in upon you, you will know right where to stand.
What Jesus wants you to know my good friends is that as his sheep there will no depression so deep that you cannot walk out of. There is no valley so dark that he will not light the way. There is no rock so large that he will not lay aside for you. Because you are his sheep, the people of his pasture.
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