Sunday, November 23, 2014

Here Comes the Judge



Dividing the Sheep from the Goats
 
Pastor Jerry was reading from Matthew 25:31-46,  Jesus was giving a teaching about the final Judgment and that the Son of Man Will Judge the Nations dividing the sheep from the goats; Sheep to the right and goats to the left.

After the division, Jesus spoke about the sheep giving Him food and drink when he was hungry and thirsty, caring for him when he was sick, clothing him, and visiting him in prison. They could not remember doing this, but Jesus said unto them,

Matthew 25: 40 ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Enter into the joys of the Lord.

Those on the left were told they had NOT given him food and drink when he was hungry and thirsty or cared for him.  These also could not remember passing Him by, and asked when did we not do this? Because you did NOT attend to the least of these, you did not do it unto me,

And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

This was a strange story and a metaphor standing for man redeemed and saved, and man condemned and lost. 
 
A casual reading might suggest that good works earn salvation, but the good works mentioned in the parable are not the cause of salvation but the effect of salvation.
 
Doing good to others, because of Jesus living inside of us, is part of our relationship experience with Jesus.  Jesus present in our lives reaches out to hurting people.

Pastor stated:  To be honest, it is harder to be compassionate to those we don’t know or those we don’t like very much.

The Jews knew about sheep and goats.  Sheep are mentioned 500 times in the Bible and goats a few times.  It was necessary at night to divide the sheep from the goats.  Goats has less fur and needed to be kept warm.  The goats are playful, independent and don’t like to be herded, and are not easily led. They are not good followers.

Sheep symbolize God’s people, and need a shepherd to care for them. 

Jesus was our sacrificial Lamb of God.  Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac, but God sent a ram (sheep) to redeem Isaac and take his place.

Consider:  How do you picture Jesus Christ?

He is the Good Shepherd and left the 99 to search for a lost lamb.

He is the healer, he stills the storm, is the tender teacher, and a friend.

We don’t like to picture Jesus as the Judge.  However we loose something if we fail to see Him as the Judge.

As parents we want the best for our children, but at times we have found it necessary to apply discipline because we love our kids.

Ten virgins were present at a wedding, five were prepared with additional oil for their lamps, but the other five were not ready and were severely punished.

Judgment is sure, we just do not know the date or the hour. Many have predicted the time with dates, but they were sincerely wrong.  Jesus said, “Don’t do that, because only the Father knows the day the Son will return.

How does God know the difference between the sheep and the goats?

He alone can look at our hearts and view our choices and our decision to receive Jesus as Lord.

If you have not done so, please make that choice today, because today is the day of salvation, and the Kingdom of God will be within you.
 
 

1 comment:

caryjo said...

Well, as usual, you share and shared and shared some more about how to walk with and turn to, and pay attention to the Word so we know where and how we fit in. The sheep and goats is an actual part of our world today, too. Thanks!