If you would, let's turn to Matthew
chapter 25. Matthew 25. And I'm going to
read verses 31 through 46. Matthew 25, verse 31. Then, nope, I gotta get in chapter
25. When the son of man shall come
in his glory and all the holy angels with him, then shall he
sit upon the throne of his glory. And before him shall be gathered
all nations, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
divideth his sheep from the goats. And he shall set the sheep on
his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the king
say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungred,
and ye gave me meat. I was thirsty, and ye gave me
drink. I was a stranger, and ye took
me in. Naked, and ye clothed me. I was
sick, and ye visited me. I was in prison, and ye came
unto me. Then shall the righteous answer
him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee in hunger, and fed thee,
or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger,
and took thee in, or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we
thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the king
shall answer, and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch
as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,
ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them
on the left hand, depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. For I wasn't
hungry, and you gave me no meat. I was thirsty, and you gave me
no drink. I was a stranger, and you took
me not in. Naked, and you clothed me not.
Sick and in prison, and you visited me not. Then shall they also
answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee in hunger, or a thirst,
or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister
unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying,
Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the
least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away
into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal." Jesus Christ here is speaking
to us. He's speaking about everyone,
every single individual ever born. But he is specifically
speaking to his people. Those who are not his will not
hear him. This is talking about that time
when Christ will return and the whole world will know that he
is king. Here we have words where the
king of all talks about brethren. And just to hear those words
kind of makes me feel safe. There are some who our Lord calls
brethren. But as we can see, not all those
spoken of here and spoken to by our Lord here are brethren.
We see that some are on the right hand and some are on the left.
This division is made by the king. Jesus Christ makes this
division. He calls them sheep and goats.
So if he does this, there's no need for me to do this. The Lord
knoweth them that are his. Second Timothy 2.19 says, nevertheless
the foundation of God stand ashore, having this seal. The Lord knoweth
them that are his, and let every one that nameth the name of Christ
depart from iniquity. The Lord knows them that are
his. This is a foundation of God. And we know this foundation
is from the foundation of the world. Because in verse 34 we
read, Matthew 25, 34. Then shall the king say unto
them on his right hand, come, ye blessed of my father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
But it is he that has set them. Notice again that it says that
he shall set them. That is, he will set his sheep
on his right hand, and he will set the goats on his left hand.
I just want to point out something, and I'm not going to go into
this in detail, but notice it says he shall come. What does
it say he will do when he comes? It says, then shall he sit upon
the throne of his glory. But isn't he on his throne now?
Yes, he's the king. He's always been on the throne. He reigns as sovereign over all
things as he is seated at the right hand of the father. So
he is not reigning now. Most assuredly he does reign
now, but this is talking about a time when all will know who
he is. It says here, then he will sit
on the throne of his glory. Jesus Christ was made flesh and
dwelt among us. He will sit on the throne of
his glory, and that's just what it says. There's a lot more to
that glory, but it starts with he was made flesh and dwelt among
us. So I want to talk about what it says here in this passage
concerning left and right hand, sheep and goats. So what do we
have in scripture that give us some insight into the right and
left hands? Genesis 48 verses 13 and 14 we
read, and Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand towards
Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's
right hand, and brought them near unto him. So you have Joseph
is on this side and Israel's on that side. So it's saying
he had one child on this hand, one child on this hand. And Israel
stretched out his right hand and laid it upon Ephraim's head."
Ephraim was standing on the other side. It wasn't where his right
hand was. "...who was the younger, and
his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly,
for Manasseh was the firstborn." Israel did this on purpose, and
he put his right hand on the other child, the younger child.
The right hand in scripture as we see here in Genesis 48 is
that which shows blessing to the firstborn usually. Here we
see Israel blessing Ephraim who was not the firstborn. Manasseh
was the firstborn. And you can see from the reaction
of Joseph that it was a big deal that Israel placed his right
hand on Ephraim instead of Manasseh. But I just read this to show
that the right hand in scripture shows it is a place of blessing
We see this in our text. Ye blessed of my father. And
those are on the right hand. But we also read in scripture
that the right hand of God, Jesus Christ, has wrought out the victory
for the Lord and blessed his people. Psalm 98 1 we read, O
sing unto the Lord a new song. For he hath done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm
hath gotten him the victory. Now this first point of mine,
left and right hand, there's not much spoken really of the
left hand. But the right hand seems in scripture
to signify strength and blessing, authority and might. So we can
say that those who are placed on his right hand are favored. Those on his left hand are not
favored. Now in the scripture, it's not
always a bad thing when it talks about the left. I just want to
be clear about that. But in our text, it is definitely
a bad thing to be on the left. Who is it as shown in our text
that are favored or blessed? And who is it that is condemned
as spoken of here in our passage? Sheep and goats. So sheep and
goats. I don't know sheep and goats. I've been around some goats,
but not sheep. But I looked up the behavior
of sheep and goats, and this is what I found for sheep. It
says, sheep are a prey species, and their only defense is to
flee. Sheep display an intensely gregarious social instinct that
allows them to bond closely to other sheep and preferentially
to related flock members. Flock mentality movements protect
individuals from predators. And then I looked up goats. I
couldn't find much on it, but I did find this. Naturally curious
and independent. I know those definitions don't
come from scripture, but this is the behavior of the two in
scripture. The sheep are part of a family. The goats are on
their own. Our Lord knew what he was doing
when using these comparisons of his people and those who are
not his people. There is, as we see in our text,
a separation performed, and it is performed by the king. This is not something he will
figure out then. He already knows them that are
his. He at this time will separate
them out and it will be made known to all who they are. We see the sheep were on the
right hand of him, placed there by him, and the goats were on
the left hand, put there by him. There are some thoughts that
come to mind when thinking about those who are goats. In Leviticus
we read of the scapegoat, Leviticus 16, 21 and 22. And Aaron shall
lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess
over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all
their transgressions, and all their sins, putting them upon
the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of
a fit man into the wilderness. and the goat shall bear upon
him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited, and he
shall let go the goat in the wilderness." Our Lord was this scapegoat. He was this for a particular
group, for his people. He bore their sins in his own
body and he took them as far as the east is from the west.
I gather from this in reading our text two things. These who
were placed on the left called goats did not have this scapegoat
in their stead so they stand as goats on their own. We could
also see especially as we look at this photo that these goats
think that they can stand on their own by their own works. They are independent as they
do not have a redeemer. Now one more point that I have,
and I did not mention to begin with, but I want to look at things
mentioned by the king that were either done or not done. And
this may not be the best way to say this, but I'll just name
this point, the work of the sheep and the work of the goats. To those on the right, he says,
come. These are those who are blessed
of the father. those who are in Christ. The
Father has placed his right hand on the head of the body, giving
his blessing to that one. That one who has complete favor
of the Father, 2 Peter 1 17, for he received from God the
Father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him from
the excellent glory. This is my beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased. This one we are told in scripture
is the head of the church. Those that are his, his sheep,
the church of Jesus Christ, blessed through their head, which is
Jesus Christ. Colossians 1.18 says, and he
is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have
the preeminence. Him being the head and we being
the body, that is His church, His sheep, His people being the
body of Christ and Him being the head, we are one with Him. We are united to Jesus Christ
as one, and we have always been united to him in the mind of
God. Remember his prayer to the Father, Joe. John 17, 21 and
22, we read, that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art
in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us. that the
world may believe that thou hast sent me, and the glory which
thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as
we are one. What does he tell those who are
his, those on his right hand? Come, inherit the kingdom prepared
for them, for you. The word there for kingdom means
reign or to rule. So what do we inherit? to reign
and rule with Jesus Christ. Now in talking about this preparation,
we know Christ told his people in John 14 too, we read, in my
Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. This says here, prepare
for you from the foundation of the world here in Matthew. Both
are true, of course, but the preparation being spoken of here,
which is also the way the blessing comes, is from that one who was
the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Revelation 13,
eight says, and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship,
whose names are not written in the book of the life of the lamb
slain from the foundation of the world. It is what this one
has done. This one, by the way, is the
king. The one speaking, but it is who
this one is and what he has done that has brought blessing on
them, the ones on his right hand, the sheep. Who was around at
the foundation of the world? One, God the Father, God the
Son, and God the Holy Spirit. What is it though that the king
tells them? He tells those sheep that they
fed him when he was hungry, gave him drink when he was thirsty,
took him in when he was a stranger, clothed him when he was naked,
visited him in sickness, and visited him in prison. But what
is the thought of those who are his? What do they tell him? When
did we do this, Lord? I want to be clear here. What
these have done are because they are blessed. They did not do
these things to get blessed. Because remember, the blessing
was done from the foundation of the world. And it was done
by another in order that we might have this blessing. Those who
are righteous is what it says here. They are not righteous
of their own, but they are righteous because this was prepared for
them. These answer him and say, When
did we do these things, Lord? He answers them in verse 40. And the king shall answer and
say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done
it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it
unto me. Who is it that is the least of
the brethren? All of them. This is more apparent
in Young's literal translation. So verse 40 in Young's literal
translation, let me read it. And the king answering shall
say to them, Verily I say to you, inasmuch as ye did it to
one of these my brethren, the least, to me ye did it. All his brethren were at one
time and are still hungry and thirsty. Matthew 5, 6. Blessed
are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for
they shall be filled. How is it that these will be
filled? John 6 35 we read, and Jesus
said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me
shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. Those that are hungry and thirsty
after righteousness will be filled when he causes them to come to
him and believe him. They do this through the gospel.
God sends them someone with the gospel and in hearing the gospel
through faith, they believe and are filled. So how did they do
this to the least of the brethren? But they preached the gospel
to them. Christ told us in John 6.53, then Jesus said unto them,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the
Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. How do
they do this? The gospel. They take in his
flesh, that is, who he is, and that is God manifest in the flesh,
and they drink up his blood, which is that which they hear
in the gospel of how he shed his blood for their sins. Those who are honest to us by
telling us the record God gave of his son is what all of his
who are the least They need to be filled and clothed and healed,
taken in the cleft of the rock and set free from the bondage
of the law of God. Just as Joe has said before,
those who did this to Christ are those who proclaim, all flesh
is grass and behold, you're God. If you are not any of these things,
that is hungry, thirsty, naked and in bondage and so on, then
none of this will be sweet to you. If you have no need, then
you will not care. No one will ever be saved unless
they are first lost. No one will ever be healed unless
they are sick. Proverbs 27.7 says, the full
soul loatheth and honeycomb, but to the hungry soul, every
bitter thing is sweet. Those who are not hungry, and
it says here in Proverbs, those who are full. No matter how sweet
the sound of what you tell them is, they will loathe it. The
word loathe there in Proverbs doesn't mean like we would think
about loathing something, like you gag when something you eat
you don't like, you gag at it. The word there for loathe means
to trample. There are some who will stomp
it out if they could because they hate it. You tell them that
salvation is already accomplished and there is nothing for you
to do, they will loathe it. They will trample it under their
feet. But to those who are hungry, you tell them that man is a worm.
Yea, man is nothing, even less than nothing. It is sweetness
to their ears, even though it be bitter. Not that being less
than nothing is sweet, but because knowing they are nothing and
that Jesus Christ came to save sinners, and sinners are nothing
before him. And they must bow down to him
at his feet and worship him." What a sweet sound indeed. He is the king. Those who are
righteous are righteous because of the king. He prepared this
for them. but not all are righteous. There
are some who will hear him say, you have not done these things
to me. But what is their attitude about it? Verse 44, then shall
they also answer him saying, Lord, when saw we thee and hungered,
and were thirst, or stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison,
and did not minister unto thee? What do you mean we did not do
this unto you? Verse 45, then shall he answer
them saying, verily I say unto you, inasmuch as you did it not
to one of the least of these, you did it not to me. When they
could have spoke to these about that one, in who he is and what
he has done, and in doing so feeding and clothing them, visiting
them and setting them free from bondage. All they did was tell
them, God has done all he can do, now it's up to you. Or God
has no hands but your hands. Accept Jesus as your personal
savior. This is of no value to any soul
that has sinned against God. The scripture tells me that all
have sinned, although a lot of people do not know they are.
His sheep have been made to know that if there is not another
sinner in the world, they are one. The king has prepared from the
foundation of the world for them that love him. He did this as
the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. He will return
to gather his people, his elect to himself, them being blessed
of the father, him being the head of his church, He tells
them that they fed him when he was hungry, gave him drink when
he was thirsty, took him in when he was a stranger, clothed him
when he was naked, visited him in sickness, and visited him
in prison. These, those on the right hand,
those sheep who have been blessed, those who all remain hungry and
thirsty, yet they are filled by his body and his blood. Those
who are naked, yet clothed with the robe of righteousness. Those
who are strangers, yet as he has brought them in to the fold. Those who are blind, deaf, dumb,
lame, and unclean, yet he has healed them. Those who are under
the bondage of this flesh, unable to keep his commandments, yet
he has come and freed them from the curse of the law, being made
a curse and sin for them. Because these have been blessed,
they will do these things to others who are all these things
by his power and grace. These he will place on his right
hand. Those who never know these things
will not do to those who are this way because they never know
him. These will go away into everlasting
punishment. but the righteous, not righteous
in and of themselves, but by the blood of the king, that one
slain from the foundation of the world, these will go into
eternal life, with him their king. Not what my hands have
done, but what you have done is my plea. We boast in what
he has done. It was, is, and ever shall be
what he has done. that will cause me to inherit
the kingdom prepared for me. Tell me about him. Amen. Our sovereign, most holy, righteous
God, thank you for all things you do. Dear Lord, continue to remind
us and let us see The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,
the King, dear Lord. May it be that we long for that
day that we are to be with you, dear Lord. We have some among
us, dear Lord, that have sicknesses, have ailments, dear Lord. Both
spiritual and physical, dear Lord. Heal us, dear Lord, only
you can do it. All these things we ask in Christ's
name, amen.