When the Son of Man comes in His glory

Sermon for Second to Last Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 26)

2 Thessalonians 1:3-10  +  Matthew 25:31-46

When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. We could stop right there today and just think about that day when Jesus returns. As you know, the Son of Man already sits on a throne at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. But it’s a throne that’s invisible to us. It’s a throne that still permits the nations of the earth to plunge into every form of evil. It’s a throne that still allows the demons to exert their foul influence on the governments of the world, spewing lies and hatred, pursuing violence and lawlessness, plotting against all that is good, and seeking to destroy the people of God. It’s a throne that sees to it that the Gospel is preached in the world, and that His people are preserved in faith and given the strength they need for each day, but this throne also sees to it that those who preach the Gospel, and those who hear it, must be hated for it, and must sometimes lose their earthly lives for it.

So some days, some weeks, depending on what’s going on in the world or here at home, it’s all I want to do, to think about the image of the Son of Man coming in His glory, sitting no longer on His invisible throne, but on His glorious throne, with which He will put an end to all the attacks on His people and to all the hardships His people suffer.

Imagine how much more we might focus on that day if things were really bad!

The truth is, you and I don’t feel the tenth of the world’s hatred, not yet. We feel some of it. We see some of it. We know that some Christians throughout the world are really feeling it, and we know that, at times in this world’s history and in certain places, the hatred for Christians has been rabid and deadly. But you and I, so far, for all the daily struggles we still experience, are still able to live in relative peace and safety. We’re still free to gather here on a Sunday morning, without having to answer to anyone, without fearing any physical harm to ourselves or any loss of our property. So far, you and I in this room, at least, haven’t had to stand before a judge and hear him pronounce sentence against us for being Christians.

For as dreadful as such a thing would be, there awaits something far more dreadful, and that is to be found on the left side of the Son of Man when He comes in His glory and sits on His glorious throne, because that Judge’s sentence will be permanent.

Polycarp knew that. He was one of the famous early martyrs of the Christian Church, bishop of Smyrna in the early-to-mid-second century. When threatened with being burned alive if he refused to curse Christ, he said this: “You threaten me with fire which burns for a time, and after a little while is extinguished, but you are ignorant of the fire of the coming judgment and of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly. So what are you waiting for? Do what you will!”

Polycarp was right. It’s better to be burned alive here on this earth, where the burning will quickly be over than to face the burning flames of everlasting condemnation which will be pronounced on the day when the Son of Man comes in His glory.

Today’s Gospel both informs us about that day and prepares us for it.

The first thing to note is that there will be no trial. The Judge isn’t coming looking for evidence or waiting for the accused to defend themselves or to explain themselves. No one will be “given his day in court.” There will be no hearing. As soon as He appears, All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. That’s because your day in court is happening right now. All people are being evaluated and judged right now.

Now, the Law says, He who does these things shall live by them. And Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do all that is written in the Book of the Law. Well, you’d have to be delusional to think that you’ve continued to do all that is written in the Ten Commandments. That’s why the verdict has already been declared: By works of the Law no flesh will be justified. And As many as are of the works of the law—that is, all who are judged by their works, judged according to the Law—are under the curse.

When the Son of Man comes, He will speak to those on His left: Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. These are the ones who were judged already in this life by their works, both the evil they did and the good they failed to do. Paul mentions some of the evil in today’s Epistle: It is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you. All those who have troubled God’s people through the ages will depart into the everlasting punishment. But so will those who simply failed to help God’s people in their time of need. That’s the list of things Jesus mentions in our Gospel. 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 take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me…Inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. And the context makes clear that “the least of these” refers to “these My brothers,” these My Christians. When the Son of Man comes, it will be clear that He has loved His Christians all along and will hold the world responsible for not loving His people, too.

“His people,” the sheep on the right, are those who are not judged according to the Law, but whose names have been written in the Book of Life. Now, everyone, from the time of birth, is judged according to the Law, judged by whether or not they’re righteous, holy, and clean, inside and out. And everyone fails that judgment. But that’s why Jesus came the first time, to be righteous, holy, and clean in our place and to suffer for our sins. Now the Gospel He has commanded to be preached in the world offers forgiveness, rebirth, justification before God’s judgment seat, through faith in Christ. He sends His ministers to baptize in His name, to cover His people with Himself as with a shield against the Law’s accusations. He sends His ministers to hand out His body and blood, in which are life and peace and safety from all condemnation, not only on the day when the Son of Man comes, but starting now. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

So why does Jesus, in our Gospel, focus only on the good works of believers for believers? For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. First, because they’re a necessary product of faith. If you’ve been saved by grace, through faith, then you are, as Paul writes to the Ephesians, God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. If you abide in Christ, and He in you, then you will bear much fruit. So the good deeds Christians do are not the cause of our salvation, but the sign of our faith, which is the cause of our salvation in that it’s what connects us to Christ Jesus.

Second, Jesus focuses on these good works because He is very serious about them; He wants them done. He wants His people focused on helping His people, focused on doing good to our fellow Christians, all of them, elderly men and women, nursing babies, and everyone in between. When Christian parents care for their own children, they’re caring for Jesus. When Christian children honor their parents or treat their own brothers and sisters with kindness, they’re doing it to Jesus. When church members care for one another, they’re caring for Jesus. When offerings are given so that the Gospel can continue to be preached, they’re given for Jesus. When Christians hear of other Christians in need and they find a way to help, they’re helping Jesus. Christians do all sorts of good works for our neighbors in general, but the ones done to help our fellow Christians are the ones Jesus promises to highlight when He comes again in glory.

And finally, Jesus focuses on these particular good works, because this is the special sign He’s given for the world to know His disciples by. Jesus said on the night in which He was betrayed, A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

But your love for one another will always flow from faith in Christ. Where love for your fellow Christian begins to grow cold, it’s a symptom of a faith that needs attending. It’s a warning sign to return again to repentance, to prayer, to the Means of Grace, to seek God’s forgiveness for your faltering love, to be renewed in love by the love of God for you in Christ Jesus. Remember that the Son of Man is coming in His glory and concentrate each day until then on doing the works that He promises to praise when the Son of Man comes.

That should be enough to keep you occupied for now, if you’re focused on those things, to keep you busy so that you don’t spend too much time focusing on all the evil in the news and in the world, except to the extent that, when you see a fellow Christian suffering from some of that evil, you do what you can to help him or her, even if a prayer is all you can offer. It’s not that the evil in the world will decrease before Christ’s coming. On the contrary, it will grow worse. But it will help to focus, not on the evil you’re suffering, but on the good you might do for a fellow Christian who’s suffering. And then, maybe when you least expect it, the day we’ve all been longing for will come. The Son of Man will come in His glory and sit on His glorious throne. And finally you’ll hear the words we all long to hear: Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world! Amen.