Matthew 25:31–46

Sunday of the fulfillment

³¹"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³²Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. ³⁴Then 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. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' ³⁷Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' ⁴⁰And 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. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³I 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.' ⁴⁴Then 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?' ⁴⁵Then 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.' ⁴⁶And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Have you ever been someplace where people had prepared for your arrival? Perhaps you went on a business trip or to a conference. At the registration table was a packet of information for you, with a nametag. The conference was prepared for your arrival.

You've heard stories of how hotels and resorts plan for the arrival of a celebrity, a politician, or someone famous. The resorts stock the celebrity's favorite luxuries or his favorite wine, beer, and spirits. If the celebrity likes a certain type of fabric for his bedding or a certain type of exotic food, these hotels and resorts make sure they have it on hand. The celebrity knows the resort has prepared for his visit.

In the Gospel for today, we hear of Jesus' coming to judge the living and the dead. Usually texts that focus on the end of the world tell us to prepare for Jesus' coming. We often hear how Jesus will return like a thief in the night, how he'll return like a king from a long journey, how he'll return in some other unexpected way. We're given signs that his return is soon and we should prepare.

Today, we hear that Jesus has made plans for us when he returns. To those on his right hand, those who are faithful and are counted righteous, Jesus says, "Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (v 34). What an amazing thought! Before Jesus made the heavens and the earth, he already had you in mind. Before the waters were separated to form the dry land, the sea, and the sky, Jesus had you in mind. More than that, Jesus prepared his kingdom for you.

Jesus prepares His kingdom for you before the foundation of the world. This fact provides us with the greatest comfort. Most people find that a discussion of the end of the world is frightening. We associate the end of the world with images of doom and destruction. Today it seems as if, more than ever, there is fear in the world. People are almost paralyzed with fear over the many things that seem to be going wrong. We see the economy, the society, and the world itself coming to an end. Many are afraid of global warming. Apocalyptic stories and movies of destruction by an asteroid abound. There is the ever present fear of terrorism, war and nuclear holocaust. Today we add to it the fear of economic collapse, looming depression, loss of jobs, loss of homes, bankruptcy and crashing markets. It seems like our demise as individuals and as a society in general is right around the corner. It's almost like Jesus' description of the Last Days when people will see signs in the skies, there will be earthquakes and famines, wars and rumors of wars and people will faint from fear. People today are fainting from fear; fear of an uncertain future; fear of certain destruction they see coming.

As frightening as the end of the world may be, there is something even more fearful. Judgment before and eternal, holy and just God is an even more daunting prospect. For while one might prepare for the worst economic crisis or escape the worst war, there is no escape from God's eternal judgment. Not only is there no escape, we all are guilty and deserve to be judged and receive condemnation. Moreover, God's judgment and condemnation is forever. There is no end to it. While an economic depression is only temporary, God's judgment is eternal.

The Ten Commandments show us that we all deserve to be judged and receive condemnation. God's law always accuses; no matter what we do; no matter how hard we try, there is no getting out from under the Law of God and everyone stands accused by the Law. There is no one righteous; no one who has done all that the law requires. We all fall short and are found lacking. I'm not just talking about the so-called "bad" people. Those whose sin is obvious and blatant. I am talking about the good people. Us! Those who do not go around committing crimes or doing bad things. Those who even try to do what is right and help others.

Hear what Jesus says: "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....and they answered him and said, 'when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick of in prison and did not minister to you?'" They thought they had done all these things. They had done many good works in their lives. They had given to the poor, donated to World Relief, given food to the food pantry, donated time to serve at the food kitchens, volunteered at Wayside Cross. Apart from Christ, no work we do is considered good or pleasing to God. Apart from faith in Jesus Christ, none of our good deeds are of any profit or merit before God. Our works do not earn heaven for us; they are not worthy of salvation and eternal life. Only the works of Christ are of any merit before God. Only those works motivated by Christ's love and brought forth by the Holy Spirit. None of us has earned salvation. None of us deserve God's gifts of eternal life. None of us has done what the law requires. The Ten Commandments show us that we deserve to be judged and receive condemnation.

But punishment was NOT prepared for people from the foundation of the world. Hear what Jesus says, "Depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." Hell was created for the devil and his evil angels for rebelling against God. It was not meant for humans! Nor did God create some people to be condemned. He did not predestinate anyone to hell. Jesus did not decide to save some and not others. He did not die for the sins of only a few people and not the rest. The place of eternal punishment was prepared for the devil and his angels. Hell was not made for people.

Jesus desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. That is why he came to the world; to die for all mankind and forgive the sins of all people. Jesus died so that the death would have no power over us.

Therefore, Christians can eagerly anticipate Jesus' return because of what he has prepared. He has prepared a place for us in his kingdom. He will come again to take us to that place of full communion with God and full peace and joy which he has prepared for us.

This lengthy discourse on his return comes just days before his death. Everything to follow had been planned by God from the beginning of the world. He came to earth to prepare for us a place in heaven. His death on the cross was to prepare us for his kingdom. By his death on the cross he paid for our sins and reconciles us to God. By his death on the cross he gives us the right to be the sons of God, and in our baptism he makes us God's sons and daughters. By the body of Christ that was nailed to the cross and pierced through the side, and by the blood that was shed for you and for me, our sins were forgiven, the very body and blood we receive in the Sacrament. He took the punishment we deserve. He paid the debt we have before God. What Jesus did on Good Friday was to prepare us for his kingdom.

What Jesus did on Easter prepares us for eternal life. For as he rose from the dead on Easter, so too will he raise us from the dead and our mortal bodies will be changed into immortal bodies, and corruption will become incorruptible.

Jesus prepared a place for us in his kingdom when he came to fulfill the law for us. He came to do all that the law requires of us so that we are freed from the demands and curses of the law. Now we have received his righteousness by faith. Every act of love that he did counts as ours. Every good and righteous deed Jesus did is credited to us. So to those who were on the right hand of Jesus in the judgment he said, "Come, you blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For is 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." Then the righteous will answer him saying, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?" The believers in Christ receive Christ's righteousness. Every act of love he has done is counted as ours. The demands and requirements of the law have all been fulfilled because Jesus fulfilled them in our place. Now his obedience is counted to us as if it were our own.

Therefore we are freed to love our neighbor. We are no longer under the force of law or the threat of death. Now we can love our neighbor freely and do good unto all people. Now we can feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, welcome the stranger, and come to those in prison. Especially we can come to those who are still in prison to the guilt of their sin and the corruption of death. We can come to them with the Gospel of forgiveness and life in Jesus Christ. This same message that Jesus has prepared a place in heaven for all people who believe is the news we have to spread to all the world.

Our Lord tells us that he prepared a kingdom for us to comfort us. In the midst of uncertainty today; in the midst of fear and worry about the economy, the political situation, about all the things that could possible destroy our lives and our world, we do not need to fear his return. Because he has forgiven all our sins, we will be found at his right hand. We will receive the kingdom that he has prepared for us. He loved us so much that he planned our salvation and our reward before the foundation of the world. We are the guest our Lord has been waiting to receive for a very long time, in fact since before time began.

Amen.