"World on the brink of thermo-nuclear war" was the headline in the Daily Telegraph on Good Friday 2017.I've been recently reading through the books of Kings and Chronicles. I was forced to learn the history for my last message in order to understand the situation in Amos's time. Everything looks black and white when you read it. Good king, bad king, black, white, like a chess board. Suddenly it's checkmate.
They should have known it was coming. God always sent his prophets to warn Israel before disaster struck.
But they were fooled by the good times. The people were living in good times when the warning messages came. We know from the history that sometimes this was during periods of sustained idol worship so the people would be thinking - "see the idols are bringing us good luck". But that was not the reality. Sin and corruption were prevalent. Judgement was coming.
Modern Life can be confusing for many of us, sometimes we need an outside voice to tell us what's going on and what we need to do.
Matthew 25:31-46 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
These dramatic words of Jesus concluded his reply to a question from the disciples as to when would be the end of the age, when would He return. The reply Jesus gave in Matthew 24-25 was essentially to look for the signs and to be ready.
The description of the final judgement of the sheep and the goats describes what will follow immediately upon Jesus' return. There will be no time to right wrongs when Jesus appears, it will be too late. History will conclude with a court case.
Jesus made the incredible statement that he would be the Judge for the Final Judgement. Only God is able to say such a thing, none of us is fit to judge anyone else. We are left to decide whether Jesus is God or not and it is very important what we decide.
If we truly believe and are saved then we will surely act now to be counted either as the least of Jesus' brethren or amongst the Sheep. For there are 3 categories of humanity mentioned;
- The least of Jesus' brethren
- The Sheep
- The Goats
In the story, the least of Jesus' brethren have suffered in life - sick, in prison, naked, hungry. Previously I've always understood that to be any person who is an outsider to normal society who is suffering in some way. A lot of good has been done in Jesus name to help the suffering because of this typical understanding.
However, Jesus described John the Baptist as the least in the Kingdom of Heaven so it can also be interpreted that the least of Jesus Brethren are those who gave up everything to follow him. Who went to strange lands so they could tell others the Gospel and suffered hardship because of their devotion. In this case the Sheep are the Christian brothers and sisters who supported them AND those good people from the nation who helped them by giving them a glass of cool water, a meal, a bed for the night. In helping them they were unknowingly helping Christ, hence their surprise when they are thanked at the Final Judgement.
Personal Characteristics
Similarities
The remarkable thing is, that neither the Sheep nor the Goats seem to remember their deeds! Why would that be? Partly because it is the natural behaviour as Sheep and Goats. They just do it without thinking about it. Partly because the present has made them forget the past.
Differences
But there is a crucial difference between the Sheep and the Goats. The Sheep responded to the voice of the Shepherd but the Goats either didn't hear or ignored his voice.
Anyone can live for themselves. It's easy to be a Goat. But selfishness makes the World a worse place to live. What horror for those who will find themselves at his left hand. They were the ones who had the means but did nothing for others.
Following after Jesus is likened to being a Sheep, even a lamb to the slaughter, there is a price. But only those who are like Jesus can change the World for good. When others see these unselfish acts, for some it changes them and makes them want to follow too. By giving up all to follow Jesus or by feeding and clothing the hungry, helping the sick, visiting prisoners they alleviate some of the pain in this World and give hope to the hopeless. They lead by example.
True leadership is following in Jesus' way, taking action, giving your life for others. Does this change the way you want to act, the way you want your Nation to act?
The National Level
The Sheep and the Goats cuts through all the many political and economic issues we hear about and tells us how God wants a nation to behave.
If Jesus is the Judge of the Nations, it is critical what our leaders decide. Our future will depend on the way not just we, but also our Nation has treated the believer, the stranger, the homeless, the sick. Anyone else feeling nervous right now?
We are seeing the rise of nationalism in the big nations of the world. Because of the increase of terrorism, countries are starting to shut up shop. But every Christian has a dual passport. The nation that they were born in, and the Kingdom in which they have been born again.
What does it mean to be a patriot in the Kingdom of God? It still means to reach out to the stranger, to keep an open door, to make peace with the enemy and to make them your friend. We can't deny the problems that have come because of open doors. We opened the door to other religions that set up idols and temples that compete for peoples minds and hearts and prevent them from coming to know the Lord. Not only that, but the system can't cope with the people coming in. 900,000 refugees into Germany in 2015! That is the dilemma some nations are facing. NZ has a policy of allowing up to 1000 per year in comparison.
We have a responsibility to pray for our leaders. The Church has a responsibility to give a clear and strong message to our government but above all to do what Jesus warned us to do in this story. There are various leadership styles but at this time we can't just lead by example, we have to speak!
Final Justice
The story of the sheep and the goats promises justice in the end. Too often in this life we don't see it. Unsolved crimes, corrupt police and judges, miscarriages of justice, refugees from wars that our nation supported. Everyone longs for a day when that will be put right. Don't be confused, Justice is coming!
Often we don't see a reward for our service to Christ either. The missionaries were in China for many years with hardly a soul saved. David Livingstone went to Africa and had only one convert. Paul wrote his last letters from prison and was then executed. Don't be discouraged, the reward is coming! In the end it is promised both the righteous and the wicked will get their reward. It will be black or white on that day for each one of us. Then everyone will see the value of having lived a godly life.
The Sheep and the Goats promises that the righteous and the wicked will get their reward. Justice will be done.
The Verdict
The Sheep are told to come, they are welcomed. They receive an inheritance from the Father as sons and daughters since they have been born again into his family. The sheep do not earn their salvation by doing good but rather they did good because they were sons and daughters of God.
But the goats are told to go - depart from me. They are unwelcome. There won't be any excuses then for the way they have treated others - they won't be able to blame their parents, their teachers, society.
The judgement is fair and final as everyone is fully accountable for their own actions.
