Matthew 25:31-46

Matthew 25:31-46

Initial Thoughts

• Human One vs Son of Man in the CEB explained

• “Calling all sheep! All sheep, head this way to heaven! Thanks for feeding and clothing the poor. PS Sorry, goats, you’re on your own.” Matthew 25 from Twible by Jana Riess

• King is a political term. We are still dealing with effects of an election. What does it mean to declare that Christ is the political head and sovereign? How does that compare or contrast to being a shepherd?

Bible Study

• Literary Context

• After a series of parables about the coming, or the delay, this one has the returned King in place.

• “Critical to the interpretation of this passage from the vantage point of the reader is the threefold rendering of the presence of Christ. Most obviously, Christ is anticipated as the exalted Son of Man, who comes in glory… Second, Christ is present in ‘the least of these,’ the needy with whom he has identified himself and who become the locus of his presence. Third, Christ is present as the Son of Man, who suffers and is crucified… The all-embracing authority of Christ the King makes sense only in light of this three-fold rendering of Christ’s presence.” (Charles Cousar, Texts for Preaching, Year A,  p. 576)

• Who is Jesus talking to? (for more on this see Greg Cary at workingpreacher.com)

• v. 32- “Nations” (ethne) can be translated at nations or Gentiles

• Focused at Christians - commanding them to be faithful

• Seem to make sense that this entire discourse, the “second sermon on the mount” is directed at the disciples

• However also leads to a justification by works (not an issue for Matthew, but will be for later Christians)

• Focused on “Gentiles” meaning non-Christians dictates a justification by faith. Those who believe (and whose believe is shown in their faithful works) will be saved

• “The least of these” could be his missionaries, sent out into the world, and the Gentiles are in the Kingdom if they received them. “The passage is intended by Matthew to encourage these vulnerable missionaries by announcing that pagans will be judged on the basis of how they treat these “least” of Jesus’ followers.” (Douglas Hare, Interpretation: Matthew, p. 290)

• A description or a command? Is Jesus telling us to care for the least of these or simply saying there are those that care for the least of these and those that do not: there are good trees that bear good fruit and bad trees that bear bad fruit.

• Where then is grace?

• Comes down to doing good because it is good, bearing good fruit and being faithful for their own sake, not for the hope for reward or fear for punishment.

• Francis Clark said, "To feel sorry for the needy is not the mark of a Christian—to help them is."

• Thomas Long: "not the power elite or the moral majority, forcing their will on the nations: they are identified with the weak of the earth and are more likely to be found in hospitals and prisons than in palaces" (Thomas Long, Matthew, Westminster Bible Companion)

• From Kathryn Matthews (Huey) Sermon Seeds: “David Mosser sums up the thoughts of many writers when he notes that in this parable, Jesus "never asks either group what they think about him." On this Judgment Day, "salvation belongs not automatically to those who have faith, but rather to those who do faith." Still, as much as Judgment Day strikes a measure of fear in our hearts, "God does not see the story of our lives as we see the story of our lives. God sees as God sees. This becomes our saving grace" (The Stewardship Companion: Lectionary Resources for Preaching).”

• Judgment

• v. 34b “inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you” - Now but not yet Kingdom of God

• Perhaps the Kingdom of God like eternal life is not something that is coming but something that is- when we care for the least we are living in God’s kingdom

• When we are not- we are living in eternal punishment because we refuse to see others as our brothers and sisters and to love them as ourselves.

Thoughts and Questions

• “Homeless Jesus” statue

• Why do we feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit the prisoner? To assuage our own guilt? To make us feel better about us or simply because the hungry, naked, and imprisoned are our brothers and sisters?

• Is the dichotomy between justification by faith or justification by works imposed by Jesus or by the church? Is it a fruitful or fruitless conversation? Can we truly “believe” our way into salvation without taking action? What about those who “bear good fruit” but don’t believe?

• What does it mean to declare Christ as King or the Reign of Christ when all seems to the contrary?

Opening music: Misirlou, One Man 90 Instruments by Joe Penna/MysteryGuitarMan at MIM

Closing Song by Bryan Odeen