Sermon: When the Son of Man Comes Matthew 25:31–46

Truth Taught- When Son of Man comes again He will judge all people and assign them to their eternal destination.

Introduction

From Matthew 24:36 the focus of Jesus’ teaching has been on His coming in glory and His command for us to be ready.  Now, in this final section His teaching shows what will happen when He comes and the judgement that will take place.

One thing before we begin with this final pinnacle of this section about being ready is to note that salvation is not by works but, in fact, the exact opposite.  Salvation is completely by grace through faith.  Yet the true believer will engage in acts of caring and kindness because of the new heart God gives all at salvation. 

To read some of the older more liberal commentators who claim that being ready for Christ’s coming means that we are to be working to alleviate social injustices and that type of volunteerism will earn a reward when Christ comes are completely wrong.  They are approaching very close to Pelagianism. 

Pelagianism being the heresy that teaches man’s free will and that salvation is earned by good works.  That is utterly false and condemned by the Church at the Council of Carthage 418 AD.  

In this section the true believer who is ready for Christ’s coming will be manifesting care not so much to people in general but to God’s people in particular.  Jesus uses the term one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’  So, the care extended to other believers, Jesus called his brothers is what being ready looks like.  We are to be caring for those within the Church.

As we care for other believers within the Church family, we are serving Jesus because they are his representatives here.  They belong to Him.  They are, in many ways the riches we have been entrusted with.  So the recipients of kindness and care are Jesus’ smallest brothers and sisters, His little ones, His least of these.  Our Lord tells us that what we have done in love toward them we are actually doing to Him.  

Thank you for serving.  Thank you for caring.  Thank you for going out of your way to show kindness to your brothers and sisters here in this Church.  Because as we are going to learn today, when you serve your church family you are actually serving Jesus.  

In Jesus’ parables, He teaches that when the Son of Man comes, He will repay every person according to what they have done.

Matthew 16:27 (ESV) 

²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 

This is one of Matthew’s themes.  Some see it as opposed to free and saving grace but, in fact, they are meant to be seen as fitting together and working in unison.  Much like how some mistakenly think that Paul and James differed on their view of salvation.  

What Jesus is about to tell us is not really a parable in the normal meaning of a parable but more of an apocalyptic discourse.  In other words, it has a closer resemblance to the Book of Revelation than to Jesus’ parables.

Pray

Matthew 25:31–46 (ESV) 

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by 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 welcomed me, 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 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ 

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal 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 welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they also will answer, 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, ‘Truly, I say to you, 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 eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” 

1.  The Son of Man, the Sovereign King and Judge

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.

What we see here is that Jesus, the Son of Man is the Messiah King who is Sovereign over all things.  He is not only the King who sits on His throne but He is also the judge of all people.  Jesus is the Judge who will separate the people placing some on His right and some on His left.    We must see here that Jesus is declaring the absolute fact of God’s eternal judgement.  When He comes there will be the great separation.  God’s people will be set on Jesus’ right-hand side and the lost who do not know God will be set on His left-hand side.

We also see here that the angels come with Jesus.  They are present to magnify the King’s glory and to perform a task.  They will gather the elect and the non-elect.

Matthew 24:30–31 (ESV) 

³⁰ Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 

Matthew 13:41–43 (ESV) 

⁴¹ The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, ⁴² and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. 

2 Thessalonians 1:5–9 (ESV) 

⁵ This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— ⁶ since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, ⁷ and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels ⁸ in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 

We also see this gathering by the angels will consist of all people…³² Before him will be gathered all the nations.  This means all people regardless of social status or race or abilities or fame.  All people will be gathered and brought to the King for judgement.  

The angels bring the gathered from all the world to the King for eternal judgement. 

Jesus compares this separation to how shepherds separate the sheep from the goats.  It has been noted that the sheep know the Shepherd’s call and come running while the goats do not.  During the daytime the sheep and goats intermingle while out in the pasture but then are separated from each other at night.

John 5:27–29 (ESV) 

²⁷ And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. ²⁸ Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. 

Romans 14:10–11 (ESV) 

¹⁰ Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; ¹¹ for it is written, 

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, 

and every tongue shall confess to God.” 

While all people are brought before the Son of Man who is seated on His eternal throne, those who are elect and love the Son are not judged but given rewards and given their place in the Kingdom of God.

John 5:24 (ESV) 

²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 

2.  Those on His Right, blessed by the Father and Given an Inheritance

 ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by 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 welcomed me, 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 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ 

Those who are placed on His right-hand side are blessed by the Father.  They are given their inheritance, the Kingdom that has been prepared for them before the foundation of the world.  

Included in this Kingdom inheritance is the promise that all who are blessed by the Father already know King Jesus and will continue to know Him in a closer relationship.  All on His right are welcomed home.  All on His right will enjoy the long-awaited fellowship with Jesus that they could only dream of before.  Now, they are all privileged to a face-to-face fellowship with Jesus.  

All on Jesus’ right-hand will experience salvation to the fullest and salvation here and now.  We have been waiting to see the completed salvation the Bible speaks about.  In this moment salvation will be complete and full.

We are heirs of the promise.  We are heirs by right.

John 1:12–13 (ESV) 

¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 

On that day we will receive what we have been promised.  By faith we were placed on Jesus’ right-hand side and now at that moment we are given what we could only believe by faith.  Our faith is made sight.

So, there is really no judgement but a giving of inheritance on that day.  On that day we are given what God had prepared for us already.  inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world

Ephesians 1:3–4 (ESV) 

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴ even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 

From eternity past, God had chosen you who are in Christ and also from eternity past has prepared a place for you.  You are matched to your new home perfectly.  All this was accomplished by God before He created anything including you and I. 

What are God’s people doing in this interim time, while we are waiting for Jesus’ coming?
Those who are saved wait for Jesus’ coming not by being idle but by engaging in wonderful acts of love.  These acts are much like what we saw Jesus doing while He was on earth.  

Their good works are the fruit of grace not the root of grace.  We must remember that the root of grace produces a fruit which is good works and shows that there is actual salvation by grace present within a person’s life.  The root of grace produces the fruit of righteousness and good works.

Notice that their love for Jesus produced a love for Jesus’ disciples without them really knowing it.  Does your love for Jesus manifest itself in loving His followers? 

³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 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 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ 

Do you see how Jesus’ people are caring for Jesus’ people and low and behold, in the process are also loving and serving Jesus.  Our Lord has a direct connection to His people.  What is done to them is done to Him.

We see this same thing when the Apostle Paul, before his conversion, was persecuting Jesus’ people.  Jesus viewed it as persecuting Him.

Acts 9:4–5 (ESV) 

⁴ And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” ⁵ And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 

The astonishment expressed by Jesus’ followers came from their spontaneous, humble grateful service to other believers and then it seems, was completely forgotten.  However, Jesus never forgets.  We see in those little acts of kindness to other followers of Christ mean much to Jesus.  It is our love for other followers that show our love for Jesus.

3.  Those on His Left, Cursed by the Father and Consigned to Their Place in Eternal Fire

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal 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 welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they also will answer, 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, ‘Truly, I say to you, 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 eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” 

Now, Jesus addresses those on His left.  Here, our Lord describes the punishment of the wicked…all the wicked.  This includes Satan, the fallen angels/demons and all the lost people.  

In this declaration of eternal judgement, we are given some vivid descriptions of the place called hell. 

Hell is a place of separation– Depart from me, you cursed.

The terror of hearing that final verdict.  Depart from Me.  Leave My presence.  Go away forever. 
This is the opposite, isn’t it, of what Jesus said to His followers.  ‘Come, you who are blessed.  Welcome and depart.  We see Blessed and cursed.  Enter into the Kingdom and enter into hell.

The wicked are cast down into the bottomless pit and sink away forever from any hope any love any dreams…all are gone.  To be a naked soul in eternal fire forever.  

Hell is a place of eternal fire- into the eternal fire.  This is fire the devours forever.  This is a flame that burns but does not consume.  This is a fire that is unquenchable.

Hell is a place prepared for the devil and his angels- prepared for the devil and his angels.

Did you notice the difference between the Kingdom of God prepared for God’s people before the creation of the world and hell that’s prepared for the devil and his angels?  Hell was not prepared for people but lost souls will be confined there with the demons and with the devil.  

Believers serve Christ through love and care for His people.  

Unbelievers do not serve Christ by loving and caring for His people.

Just like how our salvation is shown by our love and care for others within the Church, so too the lost’s lack of love and care toward Christ’s followers is also seen.

Conclusion

The root of sin produces the fruit of unrighteousness.  The same is true for the lost.  Their lack of love is the fruit of a lost and sinful heart.

Jesus tells us there is everlasting life for His people and everlasting punishment for those who are not His people.  Jesus also shows us that the reality of one’s salvation by grace is shown in the fruit of love and care shown to Jesus’ followers. 

We are ready for our Lord’s return as we show our love and care to others within the body of Christ.  

Resources Used:

Matthew by William Hendriksen

Matthew by Leon Morris

Matthew by R T France