Matthew 25:31-46 Judgement of the Nations

Chuck Musselwhite

Matthew • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

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Intro:

Saudi Arabia update

Spent close to two weeks tracing the footsteps of Moses

Saudi Arabia has opened for tourism, which has opened suspected sites

We visited the only known place in the world with Midian artifacts

Moses’ Well

That’s important because Moses’ father in law was a Midianite

We stood on the banks of the Red Sea and saw one of the logical places where Israel could’ve crossed

Red Sea

We climbed up to the Rock of Horeb, which Moses struck and water poured out. We saw the erosion on the stones

Rock of Horeb

Finally, we climbed to the base of Jabal Maklal which is an alternative to Mount Sinai and saw the burnt rocks, the altar at the bottom, and the cave of Elijah

Mount Sinai

It was both an educational and emotional experience

Read Matthew 25:31-36

Transition:

This section of scripture is the end of what is known as the Olivet Discourse

I want to thank Mike and Tim for doing a great job teaching the last two weeks

I bet you never realized the parable of the talents had to do with end-times judgment

In fact, chapter 25 shows us the three major judgments in the end times

Three Judgements

Great White Throne Judgment

Revelation 20:11 ESV

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.

Parable of the virgins depicts this judgment

This is the worst of all the judgments

Judgement Seat of Christ (Bema)

1 Corinthians 3:13 ESV

each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

Truly at the day of judgment we shall not be examined on what we have read, but what we have done; not how well we have spoken, but how religiously we have lived.

Thomas à Kempis

Thrown into lake of fire

Parable of the talents depicts this judgment

Judgement of the Sheep and Goats

Matt 25:32-33

Sheep and Goats are Jews and Gentiles

We are going to talk about this judgment this morning

In the process we are going to look at a well known passage that is always used out of context

Jesus on the Throne vs. 31-33

For the judgment of the nations Jesus will be on the throne

vs. 31 Second Coming

Read verse 31 to yourself again

Soak in the magnificence of what is said

The Son of Man is Jesus and he is coming in His glory

This is the second coming of the Lord

He will establish his rule during the millennial reign

He will sit on his glorious throne

There will be peace in the land

Isaiah 11 gives a great picture of this reign

Isaiah 11:8–9 ESV

The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

vs. 32a All Nations Gathered

His throne will be in Jerusalem

This is why the abomination of desolation is so bad.

That altar where the sacrifice is done and where the Anti-Christ proclaims himself god is holy ground

All the nations will gather to him

First key word

Nations = Ethnos

It is where we get ethnicities

Notice it says all the ethnicities

The gospel will be preached and every people and tribe will be represented in heaven

That should give you goose bumps because it shows us the power of the Gospel

vs. 32b-33 Separating the Sheep and Goats

When Jesus is on the throne he is going to conduct the judgment of the sheep and goats

This is important to understand

This judgment is for a specific group of people

It happens after His second coming

That means He is judging those in the tribulation

The sheep are those who have come to faith in Jesus

The goats are those who have rejected Jesus after all of the judgments

Being placed on the right means favor

Being placed on the left means judgment

After two weeks in Jordan and Saudi Arabia I have seen more goats and camels than I had combined the rest of my life

Goats are everywhere

You often saw women in Burqua’s herding goats

Camels are like deer in America

You’d be driving along and the was a pack of camels, not the cigarettes

Inherit the Kingdom vs. 34-40

For the judgment of the nations the righteous will inherit the kingdom

vs. 34 Inherit the Kingdom

First, Jesus turns to the sheep

He calls them blessed by God

They inherit the kingdom

It was prepared from the foundation of the world

Imagine living for yourself before the tribulation, coming to Jesus during, then enduring the tribulation

To hear these words will be one of the most amazing things

vs. 35-39 Caring for the Downcast

Remember I told you that there was a passage most will know that is always taken out of context?

vs. 35-36

This passage is used by a lot of social justice people

Jesus says He was hungry, thirsty, naked, and sick and these people took care of Him

These are things every Christian should do and are supported elsewhere in scripture

But they’re not being spoken to the church, which has been raptured

It’s being spoken to tribulation saints

After hearing the blessing right before this has to be puzzling

They ask Him when they did these things

Before I get to the answer let me explain something

Your salvation is a gift by grace alone

Ephesians 2:4–5 ESV

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

You can earn your salvation or do any good works to get into heaven

After the rapture and during the tribulation your salvation will be evident by your works

vs. 40 The Least of These

Jesus answers, “When you did it to the least of these”

It would be easy to stop there but look at the next two words

“My brothers”

Notice there is no comma there?

Second Key Word

Brothers = Literal brothers, having same ancestry

What Jesus is saying is those who treat the Jews well during the tribulation

The Jews will be persecuted by the Antichrist

Depart from Me vs. 41-46

In the judgment of the nations Jesus will tell the wicked “Depart from me”

vs. 41 Cursed to Eternal Fire

Jesus will say “depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire”

Depart = to go out

These people are going out of the presence of the Lord

There is nothing scarier in the world than being removed from the presence of the Lord

That is why Jesus cried out on the cross

Not because he was in pain, but for the first time, he was out of the presence of His Father

That is what Moses and Elijah ministered to Jesus about on the Mount of Transfiguration and Jesus sweated drops of blood over in the Garden

vs. 42-44 When did we see you hungry?

vs. 45-46 Eternal Punishment

There is a great video online of a Jewish doctor who lived in London during World War II

He was responsible for the evacuation of hundreds of Jewish children during the war

He was able to get them to England and place them in British homes

In the 1970’s there was a TV show that brought the doctor and his wife on the show

They were sitting in the audience, and unbeknownst to the couple, they were surrounded by all the children who were adults now

The host asked everyone who was rescued by the doctor to stand up

Thole section stood up, shocking the doctor

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