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+ + + In Nomine Jesu + + +
This weekend Pastor Galler is away on his final week of vacation for 20-14. Before he left, he revised for our use this morning a sermon on today’s Third Reading that was written by The Rev. E. J. Harmann, then pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Mayville, Wisconsin, and now retired to near Waco, Texas. The sermon was published in the 19-99 edition of Concordia Pulpit Resources, and is used here today by permission of both C-P-R’s editor and the sermon’s author, who added the personal prayer that the message might be a blessing to those who hear it. The revised sermon reads as follows:
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
The judgment scene of our Third Reading is disturbing, distressing, and opens the door for distortion and misunderstanding. We might ask, “Am I a sheep?” and respond, “I hope so!” We might ask, “Am I a goat?” and respond, “I hope not!” We might ask, “If works do not count, why will all nations be judged on the basis of what they did and did not do?” The more we think about this Reading, the more we want to put it aside and go to something else!
But we cannot put the Reading aside; we must deal with it, difficult as that might be. What does this Reading say to you and to me about our lives? That is a question we ask and must answer, for this strange, unearthly scene will involve all nations, including you and me. Well, “What Did I Do?” to become involved in this unearthly, judgment scene? Nothing other than to be part of creation, for, as St. Paul writes to the Romans “we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:22‑23). Thus, as St. Paul writes to the Thessalonians, we “wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
As we have been reminded by our Gospel Readings the last two weeks, the coming judgment will reveal that there are only two kinds of people in the world: believers and unbelievers—those who accept the Word of God and those who reject it. There is nothing in‑between: either I am a believer in the truth of God’s Word that for Jesus’ sake and sacrifice I have been made a child of God, redeemed, forgiven, and restored; or I am an unbeliever, one who says, “I cannot believe it. I cannot buy into that church stuff.” Believers and unbelievers are the only two kinds of people in the world for, Jesus says, “whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” (Matthew 12:30).
Can I change sides and switch from unbeliever to believer? Do I have the right to change my mind? Then change will be impossible, for it will be too late: it will be the end of everything “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him” (v.31). Before then change is possible, by the power of the Holy Spirit working through His Word and Sacraments. Before the end comes, change is possible, but only before the end comes, for, as St. Paul writes the Corinthians, “Now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). That is a point of this strange, unearthly judgment scene.
“What Did I Do?” to be herded like an animal? For, the Third Reading says, “He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left” (vv.32-33). That separation is degrading and demeaning! Does Jesus not say that we are much more valuable (Matthew 6:26)? The “sheep” will be on his right—the “good” side. Well, that is me, alright: “The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1). I am okay.
The “goats” will be on his left. “Left” is the sneaky, subtle, sinister side. Jesus was crucified with two robbers, “one on the right and one on the left” (Matthew 27:38). We might think the one on the right was whom Jesus told, “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).
Still, that separation is strange, degrading, and demeaning! What right does anyone have to call another person a “sheep” or “goat”? When it comes to this unearthly judgment scene, we might try to say, “No, thank you. I will pass?” Saying that will not work, however, for “all nations will be gathered before him.” “All” means “all”—with no exceptions or exemptions. Everyone—believers and unbelievers—“will be gathered before him” for “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Cor 5:10).
“What Did I Do?” to be judged “good” or “bad”? Why should one be told, “Come,” while another hears, “Depart from me”? That doesn’t seem right or fair! Yet look again at the words of our text: “Come, you who 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 drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me” (vv.34-36).
When Jesus comes again in glory, He will reveal the faith of his followers by their works. Once and for all, let us get and keep this Biblical truth straight: works save no one. Jesus Christ alone saves. Yet, works are important, for faith is never alone. Works are the “fruits” of faith, not the “roots” of grace. If you plant an apple tree, you have every right to expect apples—not walnuts. When there is faith, there is always a corresponding action in works. Paul makes that clear when he writes to the Thessalonians about his “remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.... an example to all the believers” (1 Thessalonians 1:3, 7).
What about those who will hear the harshest words in all of Scripture, “Depart from me”? “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. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 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’” (vv.41-43). What did they ever do to deserve such a sentence? Nothing. That is just the point! Their lack of “fruit” is the evidence of their lack of faith.
Would a loving God—a good, kind, gracious King—really send people to hell? We might say that the good news is, no, he doesn’t! In that case, the bad news is, man does it to himself by entangling himself in the eternal fate prepared by God “for the devil and his angels.” The unmerciful have committed themselves to the unmerciful enemy of God and share his doom—eternal fire. People have ample warning. Through Jeremiah God said, “The LORD will roar from on high; and from His holy habitation utter His voice; He will roar mightily against His fold, and shout, like those who tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth, for the LORD has an indictment against the nations; He is entering into judgment with all flesh and the wicked He will put to the sword” (Jeremiah 25:30-31).
Of course, each one of us wants to hear, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (v.34). What do we do in order to inherit the kingdom? What does anyone do to receive an inheritance? Nothing. An inheritance is given only by the goodness and kindness of the giver. Our Third Reading makes clear that the Father’s blessing comes first. We have been blessed by the Father for, as the Psalmist says, with Him “there is forgiveness” (Psalm 130:4), on account of Jesus’s death on the cross for us. When we repent and believe, there is forgiveness with Him even for our failures to do the kinds of things the Third Reading describes.
The “kingdom” is the kingdom of glory—life eternal with God in heaven forever. The Kingdom is already done—finished, completed, ready and waiting for us; Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). His ascension into heaven and His sitting at the right hand of God the Father guarantee to those who live and believe in Him a place in His kingdom “prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (v.34). What love the Father has for His creation! From the beginning—“from the foundation of the world”—He had us in mind as He prepared his kingdom for us.
No wonder Paul exclaims, “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, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him” (Ephesians 1:3-4). What did I ever do to deserve such blessing? What did you ever do to deserve such blessing? Nothing! Such blessing is only by the loving, forgiving grace of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Third Reading says that then the unrighteous “will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life (v.46). For “goats” and “sheep,” that will be it—forever! Then it will be too late to ask, “What Did I Do?” for the answer will have been given: by grace through faith “you did”or “you did not do.” The judgment will clearly reveal whether the faith of Christ’s followers was real or not. However, right now “then” is still future. Jesus, the Son of Man, our coming King, has come and comes now through the means of grace, the Word and the Sacraments. As of this Moment, the Son of Man has not yet come “in His glory, and all the angels with Him” (v.31). Now we still have time—time to repent, time to “get it together,” time to strengthen our “work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ”. How long until “when” becomes “then”? No one other than God the Father knows.
As we daily draw on the power and strength that God supplies through His Word and Sacraments and continually look forward to the coming of the Son of Man in glory, we will not ask, “What Did I Do?” but we will look only to what Christ Jesus has done and still does for us. Then we will be ready to stand before his glorious throne and hear him say to us, “Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
Amen.
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
+ + + Soli Deo Gloria + + +