Sitting on HIs Glorious Throne

 Matthew 25:31-46
 

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. – Matthew 25:31
 
Why is Jesus talking about this issue? I think it stems from the question back in Matthew 24:3 in which the disciples asked, “what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” So, it seems as if Jesus is still answering their question. To my knowledge Jesus is only going to return once. Once he is here, he will reign for a thousand years.
 
The first time that Jesus came, he came as a lamb to be slaughtered. He was born in a barn with no glory. He was born to two parents who were simple. They did not have much and they did not look like much. As a young man he worked as a carpenter. He probably had to deal with customer service issues. Like me, in my business, he probably did not just have one boss, he had many bosses to please. I bet there was messiness involved. Before he started his travelling missionary work, he was baptized by a man who wore clothes made out of camel hair, and he ate locusts...with a touch of honey. He gathered 12 men who were ordinary and unschooled as it says in Acts 4:13. That does not sound too much like a glorious entourage for a king. He was not like charismatic evangelists of our time, waiting for people to come to him at his event. In Luke 19:10 Jesus said that he was going be the one to do the seeking. In Matthew 20, some of his disciples were jockeying for a better position in the group. He corrected their mindset by saying, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) Later, Judas betrayed Jesus to be arrested by the Romans. Instead of demonstrating his glory, power and authority, he said, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” (Matthew 26:53-54). None of these things seem to portray a king who has glory. Well, where I come from, we had a saying. “You ain't seen nothin’ yet.”

The Bible describes Jesus’ return as something very different than when he first appeared. What is Jesus going to do when he appears a second time, “with all his angels with him”? Why is Jesus going to return and what will his glory look like? Paul gives us insight when he said, "This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8)
 
Instead of having a gentle touch of compassion he will smash the wicked to pieces: “You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” (Psalm 2:9)   Instead of searching for people in order to save them, he will be searching for people in order to punish them: “At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.’” (Zephaniah 1:12) As a baby he was probably wrapped in whatever clothes Mary and Joseph had available. When he returns, he will wear a robe. Revelation 19:13 says that he will be “dressed in a robe dipped in blood.” It will be dipped in blood because of the wrath that he is going to pour out on people who are against him.
 
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, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers 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, ‘I tell you the truth, 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.” – Matthew 25:32-46
 
Not everyone has the same interpretation of this passage. What observations can we make for certain? First, Jesus is going to be judging people. Second, the kingdom will be inherited by those who are called “blessed” and eternal punishment will be given to those who are called “cursed”. Third, “The kingdom” was prepared for the “blessed” before the world was created, and the place of “eternal fire” was “prepared for the devil and his angels.” Fourth, the manner in which Jesus’ brothers were treated was a reflection of how they treated Jesus himself. Fifth, the blessed and the cursed were surprised at the connection between the treatment of Jesus’ brothers and the treatment of Jesus himself. Sixth, the sheep and the goats were both judged on how they treated Jesus. The treatment of Jesus’ brothers was evidence of ultimately how they treated Jesus.
 
Over the years I have talked to many people who are unsure of their forgiveness. Many times, they are focused on the wrong thing. They talk about how good or bad their behavior is. I often ask these people what their experience has been with Jesus. That is the main thing. Many other things will flow from whether or not they have a restored relationship with Jesus. A couple Fridays ago I met a student at Clemson. He was not sure if he had received God’s forgiveness. I shared 1 John 5:12 which says, “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” We met two days later. We went over the story of the sinful woman in Luke 7. We met again two days after that to talk about the story of the two men praying that is found in Luke 18. I tried to focus the conversation on the nature of God. We also talked about what it means to be justified by him and what it means for someone’s life to be changed by him. It is important to distinguish between knowing about Jesus and actually knowing him. After a person receives a restored relationship with him, the fruit of that relationship will become evident over time. In less than a week he went from uncertain to certain.
 
About a month ago, before I was assigned this passage, I talked with our fellowship on Wednesday night and talked with my family about these same verses. On Wednesdays we ask each other about our walk with the Lord. The typical response usually centers around how we have been doing reading the word or praying. It is a normal response we all would probably give. But I threw out something different to think about. In addition to things like reading the Bible and praying, our relationship towards the disciples of Jesus could also be a reflection of how our walk with the Lord is doing. If we have helped a disciple of Jesus, then we have helped Jesus. If we have sacrificed for a disciple of Jesus, then we have sacrificed for Jesus. If we have been devoted to a disciple of Jesus, then we have been devoted to Jesus. Our relationship with the disciples is a reflection of our relationship with Jesus. In the scriptures, the disciples are called “the body of Christ.” In Acts 9, there is a similar thought as we see in Matthew 25. Paul, who was known as Saul at the time, was on his way to Damascus. He had been persecuting “the Lord’s disciples”. Jesus appeared to him and said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:4) Paul never laid a hand on Jesus’ physical body. Jesus had died, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven by this point. Jesus was saying that Paul was persecuting him by persecuting his disciples.
 
I want to take a moment to talk about a possible application. As we take communion, it is a good time to reflect on our relationship with Jesus. We spend time by thanking him for what he did for us by coming to this earth and dying on the cross. We also tell him about anything that is bothering us or any sins that we need to confess. It also may be a good time to reflect on how we have been doing in our relationships with the people in this room. Have we been committed to one another? Have we been considerate to one another? Have we sacrificed for one another? No one in the history of the world has loved God or the disciples perfectly. But maybe God has one particular person on your mind and one particular thing that he wants you to do for this person.