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The 19th Century Scottish Presbyterian minister Robert Murray McCheyne in a sermon entitled ‘High Time to Awake out of Sleep’ preached on April 2nd 1840 said:

‘I remember what a woman once told John Newton on her deathbed: she said “You often spoke to me of Christ; but oh! You did not tell me enough about my danger!”’

It is vital that those who share the gospel make clear to people along with the good news of salvation in Christ the danger of judgment. Warning of judgment will include the danger of dying without the Saviour as well as the truth that ‘the Lord Jesus Christ… will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom’ – 2 Tim 4 v 1. The fact that there will be ultimate judgment at the end of this age is clear. Jesus Himself spoke of it. Just a few days before the Cross He delivered to His disciples what is called, ‘the Olivet Discourse’ (Matt 24 v 3) in which He spoke about the end of the age and His return. 

The Lord Jesus told of the time when He would return to establish His kingdom and sit upon the throne of His glory. We read Christ’s words in Matthew’s Gospel chapter 25 vs 31-46.
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Matthew 25:31–46 (NKJV)

Judgement of the Gentiles

31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
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44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

What He says can be summarized by these two headings:

1. The Return of the King – Jesus is Coming Again v 31
2. The Authority of the King – Jesus will Judge the Nations vs 32-46

1. The Return of the King – Jesus is Coming Again v 31

Part of the good news of the gospel is that the King is coming; He will return to this earth. The request of the prayer recited over the centuries by millions will be fulfilled: “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” – Matt 6 vs 9-10 (KJV). This may be far sooner than we think. When the Lord returns for His church as He promised He will, the end of the age will unfold within a period determined by God. So should the Lord Jesus come today, according to His promise for His church, His return to earth as King will follow within a few short years. It really is time to get ready.

The Imminence of the Cross
Isn’t it amazing that although Jesus spoke about sitting upon “the throne of glory” in the future by the end of that Passover week He was hanging on a Cross outside the city wall of Jerusalem. Rejected by His people and crucified by Rome, He hung impaled to a wooden Cross with the words: ‘JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS’ – John 19 v 19, fastened above His head. He didn’t look like much of a king. Yet, His hanging on the Cross guaranteed that He would ultimately sit on His throne. How so? The Cross of Christ is the centre of God’s redemptive plan. God has acted in history to accomplish redemption. God’s redemptive plan is about liberating man and the world from sin and Satan. It is unfolding in two stages. God has first sent His Son as Saviour to pay the price of sin on the Cross so sinners can be liberated from sin’s bondage and Satan’s power and the world ultimately released from sin’s curse. The second stage is the Lord Jesus returning as King to judge His enemies and establish His reign of righteousness and peace. Christ paid the price of this redemption by the sacrifice of Himself upon the Cross. We can be liberated from sin’s power and punishment as well as Satan’s control because Christ died for us on that Cross. The bible says: ‘But now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself’ – Heb 9 v 26 and the gospel declares that ‘when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly’ – Rom 5 v 6.
Those who know the power of the Cross and believe in Jesus, the rejected Messiah, as Lord and Saviour will share the glory of His kingdom.

Yes, the shadow of the Cross was cast over the Saviour as He sat on the Mount of Olives and the intensity of His overwhelming sorrow would soon be experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane, but as another has said: ‘The King was looking through darkness to light, through defeat to ultimate victory’ (G. Campbell Morgan). He saw beyond the Cross to the day of His earthly coronation and glory.

The Anticipation of the Crown
The Son of Man, as Jesus so often called Himself, will come “in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him” to “sit on the throne of His glory” – Matt 25 v 31. He is coming to rule and reign not based on a democratic vote, but by divine appointment. God has spoken prophetically: “I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion” – Psa 2 v 6. Jerusalem is where He is coming to in the glory of His power and in the greatness of His might (2 Thess 1 vs 7-10). The city where he was humiliated is the city where He will be crowned and glorified. Of course the nations will rage and object, but men always seem to forget one simple yet profound truth, this is God’s world not theirs. He created it they didn’t. He has the right to rule it, they don’t. Again, to quote from Psalm 2:

1       Why do the nations rage,
         And the people plot a vain thing?
2       The kings of the earth set themselves,
         And the rulers take counsel together,
         Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
3       “Let us break Their bonds in pieces
         And cast away Their cords from us.”

4       He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
         The Lord shall hold them in derision.
5       Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
         And distress them in His deep displeasure:
6       “Yet I have set My King
         On My holy hill of Zion.”
 
2. The Authority of the King – Jesus will Judge the Nations vs 32-46

So when Christ is enthroned in Jerusalem the peoples of the nations still alive at His coming will be summoned before Him – Matt 25 vs 32-46. Three things to notice:

He will Gather the Nations – Demonstrating His Authority v 32a
He will Separate the Nations – Showing His Knowledge vs 32b-33
He will Judge the Nations – Applying His Test vs 34-46
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He will Gather the Nations – Demonstrating His Authority v 32a

Such is the immensity of the event it seems reasonable to assume that all the nations will be physically gathered before the King and in His very presence. It’s the right of the king to do so and none will resist His power or disobey His summons.

He will Separate the Nations – Showing His Knowledge vs 32b-33

Under the figure of sheep and goats the nations are divided. They are separated according to character and placed on the King’s right hand and on His left which indicates favour and disfavour. The standard of the King’s judgment for both “the sheep” and “the goats” is how they treated His brethren in their time of need. This test demonstrates just exactly what they thought of Christ, though it would seem that neither group grasped the real significance of what they were doing. They had not understood that even “the least of these” – vs 40 & 45 could be of such importance to the King.

As we have seen all too often, when people are reviled and hated how quickly they lose their value and worth in the estimation of others and are treated accordingly. Here we learn that the brethren of Christ so despised by the world are of infinite worth to Him. In Christ’s kingdom everyone absolutely counts because they belong to Him and “the least” are actually considered the greatest (Matt 18 vs 1-6). As already said, how someone treats the King’s brethren displays their attitude to Christ Himself and shows exactly what they think of Him. Saul of Tarsus learnt this reality as he travelled with persecuting zeal to Damascus only to encounter Jesus the risen Lord who said to him:

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”
Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” – Acts 9 vs 4-5

What Saul did to the Disciples of Christ, He was doing to Jesus Himself.
This occasion then represents a great separation as well as a great revelation. In eastern lands sheep and goats weren’t so easy distinguished. The King knows them that are His. He sees what is done to His people and feels the persecution perpetrated against them in the dark places of this world. 

He will Judge the Nations – Applying His Test vs 34-46

The Sheep vs 34-40
Notice that He refers to “the sheep” as “righteous” – vs 37, 46 and “blessed of my Father” as He invites them into the kingdom not merely as guests, but as rightful heirs to it. They “inherit the kingdom prepared” for them “from the foundation of the world” – v 34, that is from the beginning of time. The entrance of sin into the world did not thwart the purpose of God that this world was made to be His earthly kingdom.

These Gentile “sheep” are God’s children. We read in John’s gospel concerning those who received the Saviour: ‘As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God’ – John 1 vs 12-13.

What they did to His “brethren” didn’t make them righteous or merit them the kingdom. No they did what they did because they were righteous having accepted the gospel the “brethren” preached. Jesus Himself said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” – John 3 v 3 and He explained how new birth is experienced by the work of the Spirit of God – John 3 vs 6 & 8 and through the gift of eternal life:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life – John 3 v 16.

Therefore as the righteous go into “eternal life” – v 46 they are entering into the fullness of the life they already possess and are assured of by faith in Christ into a kingdom of which they are already members.
Thus when they did all the acts of kindness and showed compassion toward the King’s brethren they did so out of a heart transformed by grace and out of love toward God. A person can do ever so many ‘good works’ toward others and that is to be commended and appreciated at a human level, but what is not done out of a heart transformed by grace and out of love for God has no value before Him with regards forgiveness or eternal life. According to Jesus the first and greatest commandment is “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind… And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” – Matt 22 vs 37, 39. But to truly love God and others we need His life in us ‘for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God’ – 1 John 4 v 8.

Therefore we must understand the character of what the Bible calls ‘good works’ – Eph 2 v 10. They are works done by those who know and love God. These works don’t save people, but they do prove they are saved (Eph 2 vs 8-10). Sadly, within the realm of Christianity there are those who are all about works and yet they have never come as a sinner to Jesus for forgiveness. Such people, probably faithful church members, think they are meriting a place in God’s kingdom and pleasing God. Then there are those who say they have come as a sinner to Jesus for forgiveness and yet their lives lack good works and therefore the evidence that they are truly saved.

Those who the King identifies as “My brethren” – v 40, are a separate group from the nations He has gathered and at the centre of the King’s test for judgment. Jesus was a Jew and Israel His people (Rom 9 vs 1-5). While they rejected Him nationally, it was the case that many believed in Him personally (John 1 vs 11-13). According to the Bible, at ‘the time of the end’ (Dan 12 v 9) many will again repent and believe in Him as their Lord and Messiah from among the Jewish people and will suffer for so doing (Matt 24 vs 22, 24, 31). Their accepting of Jesus as Lord and Messiah will mean their rejection of the antichrist. It is therefore reasonable to assume that when the King refers to “My brethren” it is His Jewish brethren. Yet, it is perhaps a more specific identification than that. From among His believing Jewish people He will send forth His servants and messengers to proclaim to the nations what the Lord Jesus and His apostles proclaimed to Israel during His earthly ministry, “the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” – Mark 1 v 15; (Matt 24 v 14). It is likely that those who fulfill this ministry like the apostles once did are particularly in view and called by the King “My brethren” (Matt 10 vs 1-42; 28 v 10; John 20 v 17). They will experience the privations described by the Lord Jesus and yet receive the ministry of compassion extended by “the sheep”.

The response of “the sheep” and indeed of “the goats” to these servants of the King demonstrates what Jesus said to His disciples elsewhere: “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me” – Matt 10 v 40 and “He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me” – Luke 10 v 16.

The Goats vs 41-45
When it comes to “the goats” it’s what they didn’t do to His brethren that demonstrates what they thought of Christ. How they responded to, and treated His servants revealed the reality of their unregenerate hearts. It’s not that they actively harmed His brethren, rather they ignored them, turned their back on them and closed their hearts to them. They are not called “blessed“, but “cursed”. In other words they are rejected by the King and considered His enemy.

Here is the important point to observe in all of this. The test of acceptance or rejection with God is determined by what you think of Christ. John Newton the author of the beautiful hymn Amazing Grace that so many love to sing, also penned these words:

What think ye of Christ? is the test
To try both your state and your scheme;
You cannot be right in the rest,
Unless you think rightly of him;
As Jesus appears in your view,
As he is beloved or not,
So God is disposed to you,
And mercy, or wrath are your lot.

The contrast of what the King says to “the goats” on His left hand compared to the “the sheep” on His right couldn’t be starker. To the sheep: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” – v 34 then to the goats: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” – v 41. This latter statement is shocking for it shows the reason for which everlasting fire was prepared and it highlights how sinners who reject Christ will share the same fate as their master and deceiver who is the inveterate and irredeemable enemy of God and all that is good. This is eternal banishment from God and the reason for fire is because ‘God is a consuming fire’ – Deut 4 v 24. His justice is holy justice which can only be satisfied by its righteous demands being met and its punishment for sin borne. This is what the Cross is about. God’s love provided the answer to His justice. But when divine justice condemns to final judgment, it is the judgment of consuming fire which can never be quenched nor will it ever be escaped. The final statement of Christ as He foretells the future stands as a warning to the rebellious and as an assurance to the righteous: “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” – v 46.

Eternity where? Is a question often asked by those who preach the gospel. It is vital I answer it. God gave His Son to die for our sins and save us from eternal judgment. The Cross is not just another thing, another story, another religious belief. It is thee thing, it is everything. The dimensions and implications of the Cross are eternal and how I respond to the Lord Jesus now will determine where I will be forever.

Jesus sincerely and earnestly invited the weary to rest when He was here and His invitation is as real today as it was then:

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” – Matt 11 vs 28-30.

Faith in Christ will save you, His word will assure you and His peace will comfort you. 

AJC