What unfolds is that judgment on the Last Day will have people divided based on how they have received His disciples, those sent with His Word.
The Last Sunday of the Church Year is marked by the culmination of our Lord’s eschatological discourse in Matthew’s Gospel. Here, we have familiar image that will immediately draw the hearers into the text. The glory of Christ is on full display as He comes, flanked by angels, and is seated on His throne. This is the one who arrives with all authority, and this authority will be exercised in the final judgment of mankind.
We are told, “He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” The sheep are invited to inherit the Kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world while the goats are sent into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. It is the final dividing line, and it stands as a warning to all those to whom you are to preach. This age will not stretch on forever. An end will be ushered in by the return of Jesus.
Preaching this text is a challenging task. We hear the words:
“I 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? And 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?’ And 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.’”
The reverse of this is expressed to the goats who “did not do it to one of the least of these” and so, “did not do it to Me.” But how do we proclaim such words to our hearers today?
The popular option, one most of your listeners will be familiar with and is dominant in modern sermons on the text, is to focus them on our Lord’s exhortation to do some particular good work. The “brothers” of Jesus (25:40) are understood to be needy people in general. To serve such people is to serve Jesus Himself, and those who do not serve such people are failing to serve Jesus. Jeff Gibbs names this as the “social-ministry interpretation.”[1] In this reading of the text, our Lord, enthroned in glory, either welcomes or rejects the people gathered before Him based on how they responded to even the least of His brothers in need among them. The focus of such a sermon is usually on the surprise of both the sheep and the goats. The good works are not done consciously but are the fruit of their faith (or lack thereof).
No one is going to be surprised at the end of the age, for the purpose of this very text is to highlight who the “brothers” of Jesus really are.
The problem with this reading and application of the text is that it simply does not fit within the greater context of Matthew. Gibbs, in his commentary, offers three reasons why this reading is almost certainly incorrect.[2] First, “Jesus never identifies Himself with needy people in general or refers to them as His brothers. On the contrary, His brothers are always His disciples.” Second, “the idea that Jesus would place at the front and center of His teaching an admonition to care for the needy in general finds little support anywhere in Matthew. He never says such a thing.” The idea that Christians are to provide for the physical needs of the world is never a central teaching. Third, “any use of a perceived ‘surprise’ motif in the words that each group speaks to Jesus over-reads the text and ignores the question of what the text is intended to do to Matthew’s readers.” No one is going to be surprised at the end of the age, for the purpose of this very text is to highlight who the “brothers” of Jesus really are.
What Gibbs brings to our attention, therefore, is an older, more dominant interpretation of these verses which has prevailed throughout the centuries. He titles it a “missionary-encouragement reading.” This reading begins “with the understanding that the ‘brothers’ of Jesus in this unit are the same sort of people to whom Jesus’ ‘brothers’ always refers in Matthew, namely, Jesus’ own disciples.”[3] What unfolds is that judgment on the Last Day will have people divided based on how they have received His disciples, those sent with His Word. To receive His missionaries is to receive Him. To reject or even mistreat them is to reject Jesus Himself.
The difficulty in addressing the text this way is that preachers get uncomfortable exhorting the people of God to receive them as Christ Himself. It is easier to make this broad and more general rather than specific. Yet, it is the specific which makes this reading of the text more applicable. It is to confess that our God works through means, and those means are those sent to preach, teach, and administer the Sacraments. Here, stories would be of significant help, accounts about receiving and caring for a pastor, perhaps how your parents taught you this, or how you learned to care for your own pastor.
On the flip side, it may be a terrific opportunity to speak about the seriousness with which you take up the task of being a preacher of the Word. Speak of the fear and reverence for the task at hand. The reminder of this text is that Jesus goes with you. He does not leave you to work it out yourself. Yet, it remains one carried out in faith as the words proclaimed are received by faith. Such a sermon would be rich in the promise that Jesus is our Immanuel. He is God with us. It would highlight that you and the congregation gathered are in this together, so that Christ alone remains central.
God bless your preaching!
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out 1517’s resources on Matthew 25:31-46.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Matthew 25:31-46.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
[1] Gibbs, Jeffrey. Concordia Commentary Series: Matthew 21:1-28:20. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2018. 1343.
[2] Gibbs. Concordia Commentary: Matthew 21:1-28:20. 1345-1347.
[3] Gibbs. Concordia Commentary: Matthew 21:1-28:20. 1347.
