“Problem: Submit to the New Way in Jesus”

Scripture:   Matthew 10:26-39

Today we consider our fifth troubling issue in scripture - one that is fairly widespread within the United Methodist Church, as well as a concern for others in other denominations.  And in many instances, it is a silent objection, and not openly stated!  The problem?  Submission to the teachings of Jesus Christ!  I don’t have a good sense of why, except that God tends to go against everything that the world stands for, and that’s a tough row to hoe for many.

Today, we consider Jesus’ teaching that if we are to be his disciple, we need to submit to him and the new way that he brings.  Now it’s important to understand that “submission”, in this context, isn’t a negative, it doesn’t mean that we are to lay down and accept everything that comes our way.  If we ever tried to do that, confusion and turmoil would reign in our life!  Rather, we are to set the routine standards of earth aside, those ways that we have been guided by all of our life, and accept the new way that has come to us through the life, the ministry, the sacrifice that Jesus has made for every person in the world.

Quite honestly, the issue isn’t even about the teaching – it is actually about the authority, the perfect love, the infinite wisdom of our Almighty God!  So why don’t folks readily accept the new way?  Let’s see!

Read Matthew 10:26-31

Our passage begins with a call against the fear that may rise up in our lives when we make that drastic and radical decision to give up our dependency on the ways of earth, and instead, put our hope and life in the way of Jesus.  The Lord is saying that Truth should never be feared.  Remember that in John 14:6-7, Jesus tells us that his Way is the Truth, and that his Truth leads to a Life eternal with the heavenly Father.  

The world still believes that it holds the truth for this life, when in reality, their thoughts are nothing more than an opinion that presents a divergent perspective, and it has nothing to do with Truth.  And this is what Jesus is telling us should be feared.  Anything that deviates from the way of God is misleading, and it takes us away from the eternal path that leads to True Life.

He says that one day, all will be made perfectly clear – that nothing will be able to hide from the Light of Christ.  And he goes even further, in that we are to proclaim his Truth even while we are still immersed in the world.  Listen carefully in the darkness, and proclaim loudly in the silence. Now there is a word that we all should live by.  And the only thing that the hatred of the world can do about it is to further the distance that already exists between them and the Lord.

And he gives us a reason to trust him and never fear to follow him – we have great worth in the eyes of the Father!  Don’t fear hatred; don’t fear persecution; don’t fear the lies of earth; don’t fear attacks on the body.  The only thing we should fear is what the Lord’s decision will be when we stand before him at the Judgment Seat.  And that should be enough to keep us in his way!

Read Matthew 10:32-36

Jesus is constantly telling us that God is balanced when it comes to the relationship that we desire in him.  In Matthew 7:1-2, we read that however we judge others, that is the way that the Lord will judge us.  It we decide that others are falling far short in faith and will be condemned for it, then our faith, too, will be judged as inadequate.  That doesn’t mean, of course, that we should let others go on believing anything that they want.  We are to be decerning, not judgmental, of what is God’s way and what isn’t.

And here, we read that Godly balance is still upon us.  If we proclaim Jesus and his Truth as the only way, then he will proclaim us before the Father.  If we celebrate some other way and neglect our growth in Christ, we may as well forget about Jesus standing with us at the Judgment.  We all know the old saying “what goes around, comes around!”  It means that there will always be consequences, regardless of what we do – they could be good, or they could be bad, and it’s all up to us to decide if we will follow God’s way, or if we will decide that his way is off track and that we know much better!

Our denial of Jesus can occur in three different ways.

The first way is by the words we speak.  If we use words that contradict the ways of Jesus, we have denied his Truth and teachings.  We are to be different than the people of earth, and that must include the things we say.  In 2 Corinthians 11:3-5, we read that if anyone proclaims a Jesus that is different from who he truly is, it is a denial of his Truth.  And if we accept that same divergent word easily, we have been deceived, and in turn, will become deceivers ourselves.  William Barley writes in his commentary on Matthew (Volume 1, page 391) “The Christian can never escape the duty of being different from the world.  It is not our duty to be conformed to the world; it is our duty to be transformed from it.”

Second, we deny Christ through our silence.  The Lord brings many opportunities into our lives to proclaim him to the world.  But if, due to our fear of what others may think, we fail to speak a word of glory to the name of Jesus, our failure, our silence, will condemn us.  And just as important, if we fail to take a stand against evil, that too is a denial of Christ.  This is the easy way out, which will never be the way of God.  Silence, in the presence of evil, is just as certain a word of endorsement as it is when we overtly speak in its favor.

Third, we reject Christ by our actions.  The Greek word that is translated “hypocrite”, means two-faced.  It means that our outward appearance is different from our inner self.  If we want to be faithful to Jesus, not only must our actions reflect him, but our heart must love him.  And conversely, if we act as though we are faithful Christians, then there had better be a heartfelt Christian substance behind it.  There’s another old saying that “actions speak louder than words”.  If we allow the world to have control over our outward life, regardless of what we may want to live, then what will that tell others about our faith?  Nothing good, I assure you.

And Jesus tells us that by choosing him and his ways over the ways of earth,  great divisions will come to be.  We’ve been experiencing that within the United Methodist Church for as long as 50 years, give or take a few.  And families have known that same divisiveness.  And it’s not just a difference in opinion!  I’ve known people who had grown up in other faith expressions, such as Hindu, and Islam, and even Judaism, and when they chose to convert to the way of Jesus, they were not only berated by their loved ones, but they were actually shut out of the family.  He may bring an overwhelming peace to our lives, but that peace will usually become a sword that destroys our relationships in the world.

Read Matthew 10:37-39

This is the extent that we must be prepared for when we choose Jesus over the world.  The Lord isn’t saying that we must stop loving our family, but simply that we are to love the Lord more than them.  We need to be willing to continue to love them, even when their love for us begins to wane.  

And this is where “taking up our cross” comes in.  It’s about surrender and submission to a new way – a way that will always have consequences, a way that will always have detractors, a way that will always demand commitment and fortitude, a way that will always stand in conflict with what our worldly friendships and relationships demand, a way that will always require our peace and love in spite of the sword that will be wielded by the world.  Our cross, the cross that first belonged to Jesus Christ, is far more about our love and compassion than it is about the hammer and nails that are brandished by the world.

We have been called to sacrifice our personal ambitions, our plans and accomplishments in careers, those things that we enjoyed and relaxed with, our dreams, our honors, our old hopes – for these all deserve to be hung on the tree of Christ, too.  This life can no longer be about our desires and will and effort.  As a Christian, our life now resides and rests within the life and love and will of our Almighty God.

This is the way of a Christian – never easy, never peaceful, but always a joy beyond anything that this life could ever conceive of on its own.  You see, submitting our selves to Jesus is not something to fear – it is something to embrace.  Saving the things we have come to know and enjoy in a worldly sense is easy – just say “No” to Jesus.  But if we are to gain the life that awaits us in Christ, the old must fall away to make room for the newness of God.  

“Whoever loses their life for my sake will find it” anew in the Lord Jesus Christ.  And that is a promise that comes straight from our Almighty God.  

Amen.

“Problem: Testing the Spirit”

 Scripture: 1 John3:18-4:6

To test God, or not – that is our “problem” today, just as it has been for centuries.  Deuteronomy6:16 tells us “Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.”  It was at Massah, which means “testing”, that Israel put the Lord to the test over the lack of drinking water.  (Exodus 17:1-7)  Moses tells the nation that God should never be tested. 

In Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus is tested by Satan during his 40 days of fasting in the desert.  And in response, he quotes the above referenced passage from Deuteronomy 6.  Jesus was constantly being tested by Satan and the Pharisees, and every time, he triumphed over the tests.

 It would seem that the command to never test God wasn’t so much that he didn’t want to be tested, but that he wanted us to trust him.  The  Lord would always prevail over the tester, so why insult the Lord by even trying?  A test of God’s way is nothing short of a sign that we don’t trust his wisdom, as well as the implication that we know better than God!  Who in their right mind would ever think that they know more than the Lord God Almighty?  I guess the answer to that quandary, at least in my own mind, is that anyone who believes that they’re smarter than God is never in their right mind.

 But there are many scriptural passages that speak of our testing.  As an example, in Exodus 16:3-4, God has just told Moses that he will be sending manna to the people for nourishment every morning, and were to gather only as much as they needed for that day.  He says that this is a test to see if they will obey him.  In Luke8:4-15, Jesus tells the parable of the soils, and he says that the “rocky ground” are those whose faith is so shallow that when the “time of testing” comes, their faith fails.  God’s testing of our faith, many times, ends in failure.

 And yet, in today’s passage, we are told that we should test the Spirit that comes to us and calls us, to determine if it is truly of God.  Why the need for this testing?  Let’s see!

 Read 1 John 3:18-20

 Love not with words, but with the example that we set before the world - for true love comes from God, through our heart, and into the life of another.  Love isn’t a matter of logic or personal decision, but rather one that exists because of our love of God.  And therein lies the need for “truth”.  God’s love and God’s truth are mutually dependent – without both, our “love” isn’t God’s love and our “truth” isn’t God’s truth.  As a matter of fact, in Psalm24:3-6, we read that those who have “clean hands and a pure heart” will stand in the “holy place” of God.  Without Godly love and truth in our hearts, we should never expect to come into the presence of our Lord.

 And when our tongues utter words that do not match the love and truth of God, implying that we know better (!), the Godly wisdom that resides in our heart overcomes the conceit of our mind and tongue.  In James3:1-6, we read about the problem with our tongues, when he tells us that “⁶ The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”  Our words and attitudes will be our own condemnation, so we need to test the spirits that are encouraging us and guiding us, for nothing that we will ever do or say or think can ever be hidden from God.

 Read 1 John 3:21-24

 As John continues, he writes that IF our hearts do not condemn us, that is, if the love and truth of God guides our lives, and if our tongues do not deceive us, we will have “confidence” in our relationship with the Lord.  Our faith will be strong, we will trust in the word that God has set down for us in the scriptures, we will have the conviction that the Lord’s truth and love is for us to share with the world, and that we will be loyal to him and he with us.

 And the results of that “confidence” are confirmed.  In John 14:10-15, Jesus tells us that if we truly believe in him (in his life, his resurrection, his work, his teaching!), we will be doing 1) all that he has done and even greater things, and that 2) he will do for us whatever we ask for in his Name.  And if we love him with a heart-felt and Godly love, we will obey his commandments and teachings, and we will receive the Holy Spirit who will help us in all things.  So it appears that if we trust and love the Lord, he will bring far more to our lives than we could ever imagine.

 But how do we know if we are truly living in the will of Almighty God?  It seems to hinge on obedience.  When we obey the commands that Jesus has handed down to us, life takes on a whole new perspective.  A life in Jesus Christ is not one way – it isn’t just that we give ourselves to him!  He also gives himself to us.  John 14:15-21 reminds us that if we love Christ, then we will also obey him, and when we obey him, the “Spirit of Truth” will live within us.  God’s Spirit is not available to those who love the ways of earth, but only to those who love, and obey, the Lord. 

 But how do we know if the Holy Spirit lives within us?

 Read 1 John 4:1-3

 This is where the testing comes in.  Notice that we aren’t being told to test God to see if his word is true or false, but rather if the word we are receiving is from God or the world.  But you may ask if that shouldn’t be obvious to us – that we should readily understand if the spirit within us is of God or Satan!  The problem though, which I’m sure we have all experienced at some time or another, is that Satan is known as the great deceiver, and he is readily able to convince us that his way is far better, and makes far more sense, than anything we have read in the Bible or anything we have heard from the Holy Spirit.  And the test, if you will, is whether the spirit that is speaking to us acknowledges that Jesus is truly from God, which means that the words that are coming to us are in sync with what scripture tells us about the Lord.

 And the fact that the spirit of the world can never acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior shouldn’t amaze anyone.  That spirit comes from Satan, and Satan would never openly acknowledge Jesus as God, and would never want us believe that Jesus is God either.  And the spirit that he sends out into the world is of antichrist.  And quite honestly, we don’t preach nearly enough regarding the being of Satan!

 So here it is in a nutshell:  Father God is of light, while Satan is of darkness; Jesus is the Son of the Living God, while Antichrist is the son of defeated Satan; and the Holy Spirit carries on the ministry of our Savior, while the False Prophet does the bidding of antichrist.  It appears that we have a Trinity of Light, versus a trinity of darkness; a Trinity of Life, versus a trinity of death and destruction.  Within each of these relationships, they all have one mission and one thought, and it is all about us – whether we will know victory in life with our Triune God, or defeat in condemnation with the trinity of death.

 Read 1 John 4:4-6

 The basic truth that surrounds testing is that it is far more important for the student than it is for the teacher.  And testing of the spirits that are striving to teach us and guide our lives is relatively simple: 1) does it acknowledge Jesus as the only legitimate Redeemer and Savior, and 2) is it in connection with the heart of God that we have received through his word. 

 And what, more specifically, are the differences between these two teachings?

1)  If the spirit sounds too much like the ways of earth, beware!  If it appears to contradict common sense and good reason, then grasp it and hold on for Dear Life!

2)  If it encourages and enables obedience to the life and way of Jesus Christ, it is of God.  But if it denies and maligns Christ’s teaching, it is of the world. 

But that doesn’t mean that a cursory understanding of what God would have us know is sufficient.  It demands in-depth Bible study, constant and regular reading of all scripture, of loving others in the way of Jesus and not being judgmental or despising of some while embracing others and their ways.

3)  And always test and trust in what the Holy Spirit speaks to us, and never doubt the word that comes from God, for it is the best that our lives will ever know.

 And may we never get the two mixed up!

 

          

“Problem: Feast on Me”

Scripture: John 6:35-60 

 As we continue with our look at faith issues and scriptural passages that some may find troubling, today we consider some of the problems that revolve around the sacraments. Both baptism and communion are misunderstood by many, which is, in itself, a big concern. The problem? 

 First, baptism. Baptism is seen by some as their ticket to heaven, which of course is false. Others believe that baptism is a membership ritual, and some only desire baptism because their grandparents encourage them to do it. 

 In a document prepared by the General Board of Discipleship (“By Water and the Spirit”), we read “Many in the Church regarded baptism, both of infants and adults, as a dedication rather than a sacrament. The commission pointed out that in a dedication, we make a gift of a life to God for God to accept, while in a sacrament, God offers the gift of unfailing grace for us to accept.” 

Eternal life is granted to those who give authority over their lives to Jesus Christ and his teachings, and surrender their own desires to him. It is God’s to give, and ours to accept, not the other way around. 

Communion, the only other United Methodist sacrament, is not only misunderstood in many ways, but communion liturgy is also portrayed, by some, as objectional! And why? Because we are told that we should “feast on the body and blood of Jesus”! Apparently, they don’t think that what the Lord intended should matter, but it does. So let’s discover what he did mean. 

  Read John 6:35-40 

Preceding this passage is the time when Jesus fed the five thousand with 5 small barley loaves and 2 small fish. That night, Jesus and his disciples cross the Galilee, and when the people follow, he tells them that he knows that they aren’t actually looking for him, but rather for more of the food he had given them the previous day. And he continues with a discussion of how God had fed them during their time of travel to the Promised Land. Manna would never become a cherished meal, but he reminds them that it had also become known as “the bread of heaven” – that it was God-given! And he concludes with “… the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (John 6:32-34) And that is the context for today’s word. 

His statement “ I am the Bread of Life” is the first of the seven “I Am” statements that we find in John’s gospel. The purpose for each, individually and collectively, is to reveal just who Jesus is for the world. The problem, though, is that far too many people focus just on the words, and not on the context for each. Every one of the seven is surrounded by a significant discourse that describes just what each “I Am” is meant to be for us. 

One point that is evident in each, if not explicit, is that these are attributes that his Heavenly Father had ordained. God sent the manna during their 40 year journey to the new home. He conquered nations to clear their way in life. He raised up Judges and Kings and Prophets to guide their way in authority. And he sent Jesus to complete the promise he had made to send a Messiah to redeem them from the ravages of earth. But they couldn’t believe in Jesus because he looked too plain, too gentle, too earthly to be their Deliverer. God gave, but they just wouldn’t accept. 

 So Jesus begins offering them the proof of his divinity by telling them that he is their bread of life – a life that would come to them completely through the eternal love, the infinite goodness, the absolute truth of their Lord and God and Savior. And he makes the comparison between the world’s bread and the bread of heaven. 

 The bread of earth makes for a pretty good sandwich, but a few hours later, we will always be hungry again. But the “bread” that Jesus brings to our lives is totally different. It doesn’t satisfy the grumbling in our stomach like a sandwich does, but it will always fulfill the yearning of our soul. Feeding on the things of earth require a constant renewing, over and over again, day in and day out, and each time, our hunger will only be relieved temporarily. The bread of Jesus, on the other hand, doesn’t address our physical needs – it is the answer to the question of hunger for eternal life, and it only takes one helping of Jesus to complete the task. 

 But the problem, again, is that even though people see and hear and experience the presence and work of the Lord, far too many still don’t believe, but faith in the life of Jesus will always be the key to feasting with him. And the entire concept isn’t Jesus’ idea – it is the Father’s. It seems that Jesus is as much a servant of the eternal God as we should be. And God’s will? That all would feast on the Son by faith, and discover the divine satisfaction that only he can provide. 

 The blessings and works and promises of God have always been perfect, but while the people knew the joys of the Lord, their faith always fell short. But Jesus tells us that IF we come to him, it’s forever!

Read John 6:41-46 

 And some things never change! The Jews groused through their entire 40 years of wilderness living, and they were still complaining! They got a little hungry then, and told Moses that life had been better back in Egypt because they, at least, had food to eat back there. (They had forgotten what that life had really been like!) They wanted some food, but when Jehovah God sent them manna every morning and quail every evening, it wasn’t very long before they started complaining that they didn’t like the diet. What would it take to satisfy them? Apparently, nothing! 

 Another problem for the crowd is that some of them knew Jesus’ family. They knew that Joseph and Mary were his parents, that he is a human man, so how could he ever be from heaven? It’s true that Jesus was fully human, but he was also fully God, and there’s the rub! It was a totally foreign concept for them, as no one had ever done that before – or since then, for that matter. So his claims, his teaching, couldn’t possibly be true. 

 And then there are these words – no one comes to Jesus unless the Father draws them to him. More words that are misunderstood. This is one of those passages that lead some to believe in predestination, that God has already decided who will be saved in Jesus, and who will be condemned for eternity. But as we read further, we discover that this drawing comes through listening to and learning from God’s word, and not by some random, indiscriminate, irrational decision on the Lord’s part. It’s the divine plan for salvation that comes from “feeding” on Jesus in faith! 

  Read John 6:47-52 

 And here it is – not only is Jesus the bread of life, but that this life resides in his flesh. So all that we have to do is eat it! You’re right – in a literal sense, that is gross! But as we have discussed in previous messages, Jesus always used worldly terms to describe spiritual concepts. The worldly message is that no matter how much food we eat, no matter how healthy it may be, no matter how lovingly we may encourage others to eat well, everyone will, one day, die. It isn’t because the food lacks in nutrition – it’s just that the world’s food is incapable of saving us forever. 

 But the food that Jesus prepares for us is eternal. It is based in the humanity that he was to surrender at Calvary, the place where his flesh suffered so terribly at the hands of the very people he had come to save. The flesh that he relinquished for our benefit, the human life that he lived, and the human life that became the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the world, would become the perfect and eternal nourishment for all who would surrender their own lives to him in faith and trust. 

 The fleshly, human existence of Jesus that has taught us all what Godly ways are all about, is the very spiritual nourishment that our frail existence is in such dire need of. And if we never again hunger or thirst in the Spirit, we will also never know spiritual death. 

  Read John 6:53-60 

 And the sacrament of communion is introduced. But we have to take a moment to consider the significance, in a slightly different way, of eating the flesh of Jesus, and drinking the blood that he shed.  

First, the “flesh” of our Lord would be resurrected on Easter morning. The humanness of Jesus would no longer be bound by the limitations and frailty and death of earth. When we allow this freed and eternal Being of Jesus into our lives, we, too, will no longer be bound to the certainty of death that is the world’s only option. Eating, or consuming, or being nourished by the life, the new, resurrected, eternal life of Jesus, we will, one day, know the same resurrected and eternal life that Jesus now lives. 

As for drinking his “blood”, the ancients believed that the life force of any being – human or animal – resided in their blood. And if they conquered an enemy who was recognized as being more powerful, stronger, wiser, greater than they were, and if they drank the life’s blood of that defeated enemy, they would gain his great abilities. In Matthew 26:26-29, we read that by drinking from the cup of Christ - the cup that represents the new covenant of eternal life, the cup that represents Christ’s blood - that it isn’t life or power or wisdom that we receive, but forgiveness for our sin. Jesus was the perfect man who was without sin, and by partaking of the perfect blood of Jesus, we, too, will be as though we are without sin. God’s gift, that we have to accept. 

 “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.” Faith and nourishment in Jesus and his teachings is the only way that anyone can ever become part of him for eternity. Manna, the original bread from heaven, was able to sustain the people of Israel for 40 years of wilderness living, and during those years, the Lord also set down his expectations for the people, but in the end, neither manna nor adherence to the God given law, could provide them with eternal life. So the Father sent his Son to the lost souls of earth, to provide them with a path to eternity. Jesus, the perfect man, would become the one-time blood sacrifice to atone for all of the sins of the world, and he would rise from the grave as a sign that a Godly life could not be contained by human death. 

 And when this lesson is taken literally in the words and meaning of earth, it makes no sense. But when the lesson is put into spiritual truth, it means everything for us. It demonstrates the great and undeserved love that Almighty God has for the unworthy likes of you and me. Communion, in which we are told to “remember” all that Jesus is and did for us, represents the culmination of Christ’s great act of redemption. Of course, that includes far more than just his experience at Calvary. It includes his leaving glory to become a part of the creation that he took part in. It includes the teaching of God’s will to the unbelieving, unfaithful, unworthy, incapable of understanding the greatness, commitment and passion of our Messianic Savior. It includes the insults, the lies, the abuse, the hatred, the conspiracies that were hatched against him and then forced upon him. And it especially includes the moment that he took the sins of the entire world onto himself – an act so horrible and un-Godly that his own Father had to turn away from him. (Mark 15:33-34) 

 God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – went through unbelievable trials, just to create a way for us to live with him in eternity. Imagine how he must feel when people proclaim that his final act at Calvary, and the lesson that Jesus taught, that we must receive his flesh and consume his blood - is nothing short of disgusting and inconceivable. May our hearts and lives receive him today, and may we know the fulness of the truth of Jesus Christ. 

 Amen.

“Problem: Be a Sheep, Not a Goat”

Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46

Today, we consider our second problematic passage from scripture. At first glance, it may not seem to be troubling, but for some, it is. Is it, as the title in many translations implies, really about God’s judgment of our faith? Is it really about the Lord’s expectations of those who desire to be his people? Is the list of services, which we will be talking about, absolute, or are they optional, or do they mean something totally different than what they appear to mean? And what are those titles “sheep” and “goats” all about?

Have any of these issues every bothered you, or seemed confusing to you? If so, don’t feel bad – you’re not alone. Even first century Israel had problems with fully grasping Jesus’ teaching, so why shouldn’t we? But have you ever thought that Jesus might have done it that way, just so we would have to think about his words?

Interesting thing about having to think about what we are learning. Without thought, the topic enters our memory, and never quite makes a connection to the other things we have learned. Consider this – have you ever tried to remember a person’s name? How do we usually do it? By creating a mnemonic – something that helps us to associate with the name.

When I worked at New York State Electric and Gas in Western New York, our Operating Superintendent’s name was Bill McCann, and his wife’s name was Sue. Unfortunately, my wife, Diane, had trouble remembering both of their names. So I decided to help her.

I suggested that she might remember that his name was similar to Tom McCann, a regional shoe company, and her name was similar to “shoe” – Tom and “Shoe” McCann. The only thing Diane would have to change would be their first names – that his wasn’t Tom, but Bill, like mine, and her name was similar to “shoe”, except it was really Sue.

I was pretty proud of this approach - except that it backfired. The only names that Diane actually remembered were Tom and “Shoe”, and for quite some time, she still had to ask me to explain the mnemonic again – usually when we were at a company function, preparing to greet the McCann’s!

See what I mean? When it comes to learning from Jesus, we need to put the entire truth of his teaching into his context, and not ours. And the message that Jesus presents in the coming verses will be vitally important to us as they would be his last lesson for all disciples.

Read Matthew 25:31-34

The passage begins with a double reference – first to Jesus as Judge at the Final Judgment, and second, to the Judge as a Shepherd. We might see this as an odd pairing of images, but quite honestly, this would make for the perfect judge – one who cares about those who come before him, as well as one who makes the perfect decisions for those under his care.

But this shouldn’t surprise us. After all, scripture is very clear, that at the last day, God, and only God, will have the final say as to who will know eternity, and who will only know condemnation (Zechariah 3; John 5:22-30). And the reference to the Shepherd? This shouldn’t be new to us either. In John 10:1-18, Jesus tells us that he is our Good Shepherd, the one who brings us truth and compassion, that he is the only one who is able, and willing, to put us first in this life, and that he will also be the only one who will put his own life on the line for all who will choose to be one of his “sheep”.

And the important issue here is that no one will be exempt from the Day of Judgment. The word “nations” doesn’t imply that judgment will be by group or national identity, but rather everyone on an individual basis. Each and every person will have to stand on the life they have lived, and not on the collective life of humanity.

But this separation of sheep and goats – what is that all about? For Israel, their grazing flocks consisted of both sheep and goats, as either one could be used for sacrifice or meat, but as I understand it, only the sheep would be used for their wool. So before the shearing, the sheep would be separated out from the goats to make the process a little simpler. Jesus uses this understanding of separation as an analogy for the Judgment – that only the ones who bring to the Lord the gift that he needs will be welcomed.

These are the ones who will receive their eternal inheritance.

Read Matthew 25:35-39

As Jesus reveals these six gifts that we can give to others, it can also create a confusion factor. These verses can easily be mistaken as the means of entrance into the kingdom, instead of a demonstration of the heart that we have for the Lord’s command to love one another just as he has loved us (John 13:34-35). So the point that Jesus is making is that when we love others, as demonstrated through these selfless acts, we are also expressing our love and faith and trust in him.

So how do we respond to God’s great gift of Jesus? Do we commit our lives to him? Do we follow his example? Do we accept the call he places on each of us to continue in the ministry that he began so long ago? Does he really want us to literally carry out the acts that he lists here, or is there more to it?

I believe that in every parable, every sermon, every word that Jesus ever uttered, those commands that are based on the things of this human life, there is also a spiritual meaning behind every single one of them. So while I truly believe that the Lord wants us to show the love and support that is laid out in this literal listing of compassionate acts, I believe that there is also a deeper meaning, so let’s consider the following:

1. Feed the hungry – In John 6:57-58, we read that eternal life depends on whether we “feed” on the word that Jesus brings or not. God is a living Being, and by learning and accepting and absorbing all that he brings to us through Jesus, our “hunger” - our search for absolute truth - is satisfied by feeding on Him.
This is how we are called to spiritually feed others – to relieve the hunger of earth’s emptiness from their lives.

2. Give a drink to the thirsty – In John 4:7-15, we read of the meeting that Jesus had with a woman of Samaria. She had come to the community well to draw water for the day, a task that she performed every day. Jesus had asked her to give him a drink of water, and when she expressed the age old concern that Samaritans and Jews should never interact with each other, he tells her that if she had asked him for a drink, he would have given her “Living Water”, which is Jesus’ term for eternal life.
This is the “drink” of salvation that we are to bring to the world.

3. Be inviting - In the “Parable of the Wedding Feast” (Matthew 22:1-14), Jesus tells of a king who invites his friends and associates to celebrate the marriage of his son. But when they all decline, claiming that they had more important things to do, he begins inviting others, including strangers in the town and even passersby on the roads that led through his kingdom.
“I was a stranger, and you invited me” – who do we invite to our Savior’s eternal banquet? Only those whom we know and like, or everyone, including those unworthy strangers?

4. The proper clothing - In Luke 12:22-34, Jesus tells a story that is sometimes known as the Lilies of the Field. Wild flowers are very beautiful, but Jesus tells us “If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!”
Do we lead others to be clothed in the glory of Jesus Christ, or do we let them continue to falsely trust in the world’s garments that can only lead to the “fire”?

5. Care for the ill – In Matthew 9:9-13, Jesus has just called Matthew, a tax collector for the Romans, to be his disciple, and they are having dinner with a wide variety of people, including several Pharisees. They accuse Jesus of sinning because he spends so much time with other sinners. And he replies, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” And in the next verse, “For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The spiritually ill, those who have yet to know the forgiveness and love of Jesus Christ, need to be “looked after”, too! But do we?

6. Visit the prisoner – Jesus knew the persecution and hatred of this world, and its oppression is not unlike being in prison. In Luke 21:10-13, the Lord says that we will be put in the prison of earthy condemnation, and judged by the leadership of earth – and how well he should know! And the people of this world are still languishing in the prison of spiritual darkness, and will perish there, if someone doesn’t show them the way to the light of heaven.
Will you “visit the prisoner”, and offer them freedom from the world’s darkness?

Read Matthew 25:40-45

And if we choose to ignore the needs of others – both physical and spiritual – we will find ourselves huddled on the outside with all of the other “goats”, looking in on glory, and wondering what had just happened. “Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” – these are the words of condemnation that no one should ever be content to hear.

We need to be sheep in the fold of Almighty God, and of our great Shepherd Jesus Christ, but we must never forget the goats that still roam throughout the earth. The Church – you and I – must give them a chance to also live within the folds of Jesus’ eternity arms.