Serving Christ by serving others
Matthew 25:31-46 (KJV)
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, 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. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
In the parable of the Sheep and the Goats from Matthew 25, Jesus paints us a mental image of the final judgment, the day when everyone that has ever existed will be gathered to stand before the Lord and face divine judgment.
Yet within this parable, he emphasises the crucial aspect of how we are to treat and serve others.
And the way that we treat people, is no different from the way that he treated people,
In the gospels, he gave us many examples,
Remember the rich young man who wanted to know what he needed to do in order to be inherit eternal life? Jesus looked at him and loved him,
Remember the Leper? In Luke 5, we read that Jesus reached out and touched the untouchable and healed him.
He told the disciples to "suffer the little children and let them come to me" Jesus turned no one away.
He even washed his disciples feet,
and he taught us the very heart of God’s law in Matthew 12:30-31, which is;
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Jesus loved us so much that with perfect submission to the Father and in complete humility, He surrendered his life on the cross for your salvation and for mine.
And so, it’s no surprise that we are to treat people just as he did, with love and compassion.
On that day of divine judgment, Jesus describing himself as “the Son of Man” said that he will return in glory, accompanied by the angels of heaven, to administer judgment upon all the nations, meaning the gentiles. All the nations will be gathered to be judged, but we won’t be judged as a group, rather we will be judged as individuals. Each and every one of us will have to give an account of ourselves.
Here he uses the metaphor of a shepherd separating sheep from goats as he describes the impending sorting and separation of righteous individuals (the sheep) from the unrighteous (the goats).
How we treat others, especially those in need in this world is significant as it reveals whether or not if we have truly applied God’s command to love others as ourselves.
It's essential to put the parable in context as we delve deeper, Jesus had been teaching about the kingdom of heaven through parables, emphasising themes of preparedness, stewardship, and accountability. But in this passage, he shifts to a direct discourse about the final judgment!
There are four points I’d like to look at a bit closer,
Firstly: The Son of Man's Glorious Return (Matthew 25:31-33)
Jesus shares this parable as part of His teaching about the end of days and the importance for all of us to be ready for His return. He emphasises the importance of living a life that is faithful to God and a life that is marked by compassion and service towards others.
Identifying himself as the Son of Man, Jesus reveals that His second coming is one of triumph and glory, when he will return surrounded by the angels of heaven.
The end of days, and the final judgment is an event that is both terrifying and glorious at the same time. Because this is when judgment takes place, the separation of the sheep and the goats takes place and Christ will take his his rightful position as King and judge over the sheep, the righteous.
Secondly: What about the Judgment Criteria: (Matthew 25:34-40)
Jesus describes the righteous as sheep that he places at the right hand of God who are praised and welcomed into the kingdom.
In life, their deeds of compassion are manifested by caring for the vulnerable—feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming strangers, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, and visiting prisoners—here Jesus highlights these acts of love, done to those in need as actions that we have done to him, our King.
The righteous are commended for their deeds of kindness, revealing that they unknowingly served Him when they fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, welcomed strangers, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, and visited those in prison. Their actions demonstrate genuine love and empathy towards others, that reflected the heart of Christ.
We need to be careful not to mistake Jesus’ teaching as one of “salvation by good works”, this is not the message of the gospel, but rather these deeds are the mark of a true believer just as Paul reminds us in Galatians 6:10 “It is right for believers to do good”
Visiting the sick, all of us do it, some even minister to those in care homes. When we do these things, and serve other through acts of kindness, we reveal the love of Christ and by this we serve and honour Christ.
Personal Reflection: Think for a moment of the times when you served others selflessly, and how you felt afterwards. Who was blessed?
Thirdly: The Neglect of the Unrighteous' (Matthew 25:41-45)
Those who are sorted to the left, the unrighteous, whom Jesus depicts as goats, are rebuked for their failure to show compassion. Through selfishness, they neglected the needs of others, which, in essence meant they neglected Christ Himself.
Condemned for their lack of kindness and compassion, their refusal to help those in need, and their failure to show the love of Christ revealed that they didn’t really grasp the very heart of Christ's teachings.
When I look back at my life there are times when I can see that I too have been selfish, I’ve neglected to visit the sick, feed the poor, clothe the naked, and visit the prisoner.
When we turn our heads away from the plight of those in need, we fail to serve Christ and we become selfish and serve only ourselves. There is no loving others as ourselves when we do this.
Personal reflection: Do you recall times when you were selfish and you turned you head away from helping others?
Fourthly:. The Ultimate Judgment (Matthew 25:46)
In v46 Jesus concludes by affirming the eternal destiny of both groups.
The righteous will inherit the kingdom prepared for them since the creation of the world, while the unrighteous will go to eternal punishment.
There is one of two destinations waiting for us, those clothed in the righteousness of Christ, the sheep, will go to be with Jesus in heaven.
And the unrighteous, the goats, will go to eternal punishment.
Notice also that one of the interesting things about this judgment is that the sheep individuals are surprised at what they hear. They don’t remember serving Christ or ministering to his needs. But just as they lovingly ministered to others, they did it to Christ.
The goat individuals were judged because they did not trust Jesus Christ and demonstrate that faith by caring for his brethren. These are the sins of omission, and when we don’t do good it is the moral equivalent of doing evil!
In this parable of Sheep and Goats, Jesus is telling us of the consequences that await us, which is either heaven or hell.
Summary,
In this passage Jesus challenges us to consider our actions in light of his teachings and how we can apply them to our lives,
1. Firstly, there is Recognising Christ in Others: We encounter Christ in those we serve. Every act of kindness towards others is an act of service to Christ Himself. So remember, we serve Christ when we serve others.
2. Secondly, we need to Live a Life of Compassion: Our faith should be evidenced by deeds of compassion and service. It's not just about professing beliefs but living them out through love and action. The life of a believer is a life called to service.
3. Thirdly, we need to understand Judgment through Service: Judgment is not solely based on religious rituals or verbal professions but on how we treat others, especially the marginalized and vulnerable. We need to use our talents well as we work to serve in the Kingdom of God.
4. Fourthly, we need a transformation of the Heart: This passage prompts us to examine ourselves deeply and in particular our hearts with the objective of aligning our lives more closely with Christ's example of selfless love and service. When I consider this, the words of the prophet Ezekiel come to mind,
I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,
So, to conclude:
The parable of the Sheep and the Goats serves as a poignant reminder that our faith is not merely one of personal salvation, but integral to that, is active service to others. By living out Christ's teachings in our lives through compassionate actions, we participate in building His kingdom on earth and prepare ourselves for the eternal kingdom to come.
May all of us strive to emulate Christ's love by serving others, knowing that in doing this, we serve Him.
Have a super week, and God bless,
Trev.