Matthew 25:31-46
25:31 "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."
The separation of the sheep from the goats (based on the works they have done) brings up the old grace versus works arguments. We are saved by the grace of God, but apparently the works we do matter to God. How will we teach from this passage without overemphasizing (or underemphasizing) good works?
Like Ezekiel, Matthew employed the images of shepherd and judge. This time, the king is separating people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats (verse 32). Although goats were important for both meat and milk in everyday life, they frequently were a symbol for things undesirable. The sheep were placed at the King's right hand, the goats at his left. (It bears notice that in a number of Middle Eastern cultures the left side or left hand continues to be a place of dishonor.)
The familiar conclusion to the scene is that those who responded with compassion to the needs of others received an eternal reward while those who did not received eternal punishment.
The church has been in great controversy over the years about the criteria for receiving eternal punishment. Since we believe that salvation is by the grace of God and not by the works of human hands (Ephesians 2:8-9), we avoid the pitfall that we are condemned to eternal punishment solely on the basis of works. On the other hand, the harsh treatment of the goats in the passage forces us to seriously consider the importance of works of justice and mercy. Salvation is supposed to bring about a change in the life and mind of the believer.
Matthew 25:31–46
What Does God Want? The criterion for the separation of the sheep from the goats was a simple yardstick for righteousness also articulated in Micah 6:8, which says: "What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Both sheep and goats were judged by their responses to those around them who were indigents, strangers, prisoners, or those suffering from illness. Although we do not believe in salvation through works of righteousness, it does seem to follow that God is very concerned about our responses to the myriad needs around us. How can we, as individuals and as churches, respond more faithfully to the cries of the indigent, to the ever-increasing numbers of strangers and prisoners, and to those who are chronically ill?
Who Are “The least of these?” In Jesus' day, the marginalized were easily definable, just as they are today: they were those who hungry, who need clothing, who are imprisoned (some falsely), and those who are outside the borders of their own family and kin like the lepers and those with AIDS. If we were called upon today to define the least of our society, who would they be and what would they need? Perhaps we might consider: those suffering from AIDS, the increasing number of people being persecuted for the Christian faith, or the orphans from the many wars being waged across the globe. Maybe they are not so difficult to find; for example, the elderly or the recently unemployed in our communities who will find it increasingly difficult to pay their bills this winter.
For the past 8 months I have worked for the state of Texas determining eligibility for Food Stamps and Medicaid. I have worked with “the least of these” and know firsthand the crisis facing many people in our communities. The breakdown of the family, the lack of moral consciousness, the depressed economy, and the number of undocumented aliens create a crisis of poverty that has not been seen since the 1930’s. The difference is that in the Great Depression, there was no Health and Human Services, Food Stamps, Medicaid, SSI Disability or Medicare to shore up the country from the economic crisis. The churches, civic groups, and philanthropists had the responsibility of caring for a needy population.
To put this in perspective, in 1933 official unemployment reached 24.9%. One quarter of the nation was unemployed and either hungry or starving. 3.8 million Americans lost their jobs in 2009. Many estimate that the real unemployment rate today exceeds 23% if you count those unemployed by loss of self-employment, part-time job loss, and those whose benefits have expired but are still unemployed. If those who have given up looking for work altogether were counted, that would add more than another nine million, according to John Williams at ShadowStats.com. This is confirmed by a recent Gallup poll that nearly one in every five Americans describe themselves as underemployed but it doesn’t count those who hold more than one job just to make ends meet. 14% of the population of the US is on food stamps.
How do we as individual Christians and the Church as a whole meet the challenge of poverty today? Do we proclaim that all who are in crisis are there by their own choice? Do we believe they are all just lazy? Should we try to meet the needs as Jesus taught his disciples with the feeding of the 5000, or the healing of multitudes in physical crisis? How do we approach the homeless, the mentally ill, and the poverty stricken in our communities who have no place to turn for help? What does the political rhetoric that we choose to espouse say to those disenfranchised about our faith?
I do not have the answers for you, nor will I tell you how to vote. But this passage in Matthew is disturbing when we realize that God cares about those who are the “least of these”. Our salvation by grace comes with a duty governed by the Lordship of Jesus Christ to “go ye therefore, preaching the gospel, making disciples, and baptizing in the Name of Jesus”. Jesus message was one of compassion. If our faith is devoid of compassion for those who are lost in poverty, sickness, hunger, mental illness, and homelessness; what is our witness worth to those who hunger for a relationship in faith with our Savior.
"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.
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.'
I challenge you this year as our country struggles with the economic issues that have led us into massive social crisis; to reflect on your own view of the Christian’s role in the society, reflect on your own rhetoric with regard to those disenfranchised by our economic crisis, reflect on the Christian’s responsibility for meeting the needs of the impoverished, sick and dying.
Remember that when we get to heaven, it won’t matter what kind of car we drove, but it will matter who we gave a ride to that didn’t have a car.
Resources used from GBOD.ORG/Worship and Wikipedia.com
by Earl G. Presley for Sermon on 11/20/2011 at Copperas Cove Christian Church
