Second-to-Last Sunday of the Church Year (Trin 26) – November 17th, 2024
Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church, Block, Kansas
Rev. Joshua Woelmer
Text: Matthew 25:31–46
“The Sheep and the Goats”
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our old red hymnal, the TLH, had these words at the end of the Second Article of the Nicene Creed: “He shall come again with glory to judge the quick and the dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end.” As a young boy, I always thought this was a weird contrast. Why say “quick” as the opposite of “dead”? After all, aren’t there a lot of people who aren’t dead but also can’t run very fast? Although, I suppose everyone is quick when compared with the dead. And then, is Jesus going to judge between the quick and the dead: “You’re quick! You’re dead.” Well, such were the thoughts of an eight-year-old. Later translators obviously thought along those lines, which is why we now confess that Jesus will “come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead.” Although, if you really want to know about the word “quick,” it comes from an old English word meaning “alive.” When a baby starts moving in its mommy’s tummy, that was called its “quickening.” I mention all this because whether you are fast or slow, six feet tall or six feet under, you will one day stand before the throne of God.
When the Creed says that God will judge the “quick and the dead,” he means that he will raise the dead on the Last Day and then judge them. He will quicken them again. This leads me to four key points that you should know about the End Times. All the details about End Times prophecies can be filtered into these four. First, Jesus will come suddenly and without warning. Second, he will raise the dead and give life to their bodies. This will happen both for believers and unbelievers. All will be raised. Third, there will be the final judgment between everyone. Fourth, God will destroy this earth and create a new heavens and a new earth.
On that last point, Peter in his second epistle has a lot to say. “The heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved” (10). They “will melt as they burn” (12). Look around sometime at the hills and mountains of this earth. They will disappear in fire and lava. “But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (13). Great stuff, isn’t it?
The reason I give you these four simple points is that there are many people out there who try to scare Christians with End-Times prophecies that are frankly unbiblical. Some try to predict the “rapture”—which isn’t real. Some talk about us bringing about a thousand-year reign of Christ, forgetting that numbers in Revelation should be interpreted symbolically. Or that modern-day Israel and the temple mount matter anymore—they don’t. If you stick to the simple four points I mentioned, you have what you need to know about the End Times: sudden coming, resurrection, judgment, new creation.
We will discuss the sudden coming of Christ next week. It all about that sense of waiting and expectation for something we don’t know when it will come. Today it is important to touch on the Final Judgment of Christ. There has been confusion about this too. First, does God reward the righteous for their works? If He does, how does that fit into Scripture’s teaching that we are saved by grace through faith? Second, should we fear the Last Day and tremble at the thought of it, or is there nothing to fear at all since we have been forgiven all our sins.
In the first place, God does reward the works of believers. In the parable, the sheep are honored for what they have done. They have been merciful even as God Himself is merciful. They have given as they have received. But, these works did not cause God to love them. He already loved them from the foundation of the world. They did not earn salvation and a place in His Kingdom by their works. An inheritance is never earned. Rather, works follow faith.
God separated all people by those who had faith and those who did not. Then, he commended the believers for also doing works, even if they did not recognize those works. Perhaps we could make a distinction between “good works” and “good deeds.” Good works follow faith and are done in faith, not to please God, but to serve the neighbor. Unbelievers do good deeds. They may look the same as the believer’s good works, but they are not done in faith. In fact, they may do good deeds in order to prove to God that they are good. Consider a scale. Many people think that they need to have their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds. This is what the goats complain about: didn’t we do all these things for you? Jesus responds, no—you did these deeds selfishly, trying to earn salvation instead of out of faith in God and love for the neighbor. So judgment will happen based on faith, not works, though works do follow.
The second questions is whether we should fear the Last Day and its judgment. It is important to ask what you might mean by fear. If you mean that we should be scared of it, not knowing the outcome of our eternal destiny and wracked with worry and doubt, then the answer is no. At the same time, we should fear God as sons fear their loving father. We know that God is powerful and mighty and will judge all. If you had been disciplined by your own father growing up, you know what he is or was capable of, and you probably kept that fear and respect for many years. The same is true of God. We Christians know what God is capable of, both in blessing and in punishment. God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, the city of Jerusalem twice, and he took down the Assyrian Empire upon Hezekiah’s prayer.
This wrath will be poured out on unbelievers, and we ought to have trepidation for their sake and what they may experience if they do not repent. God is also merciful. We take comfort in the promises of Scripture as found in the stories of Jesus’ life. He forgave the woman caught in adultery. He spoke kindly to the woman at the well. He forgave the penitent thief who, after a lifetime of sin, was welcomed into paradise. No one shall snatch us out of our Shepherd’s hand.
What He has won for us on the cross, He bestows for free. Our sins, though they were like scarlet, are white as snow. We see in the sheep their wonder that their good works are praised. None of their sins are mentioned or judged. The faithful are not judged by their works. Christ has already been judged in their place.
Our goal then is to be ever mindful of the Last Day. Do not forget what is coming and be lulled into a false security. Rather, be ready for it and look forward to it. That will be the message next week. Nonetheless, it is always good to hear, because our Savior, our Lord, our Redeemer, our King is coming. So whether you are quick or slow or dead, if you are believer, you will see him and rejoice.
Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.
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