Do You Know Who I Am?
“Do you know who I am!”. This is usually the angry refrain of someone who feels that they have not been treated as their status deserves. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus sits on His throne and judges all people based upon whether they served and showed loving kindness toward God’s children, especially those on the fringes. Jesus indicated that He will judge your devotion to kingdom values and whether you truly are a follower of His by how you serve others….because even though you don’t realize it, in serving others you are serving Him! Lord, help us to see you in others and to demonstrate in our actions and in our service, that we know you and are your disciples. Amen
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. (Matthew 25:31-33)
Jesus gives us a view of the Day of Judgement that is to come, where He will sit upon His throne, victorious in glory, and as King, judge all people. Those assembled around Jesus are depicted as being either sheep or goats. At that time Jesus, The Good Shepherd, will identify those who are His sheep and separate them from those who are not (goats). He will put His sheep on His right side, which in the Bible, is always associated with power and honor.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:34-40)
Jesus, after putting His sheep (His people) on His right side, invites them to enter into the kingdom of heaven. He calls them blessed. And Jesus explains why they have been judged and received the blessing of eternal life in heaven. In short, they have followed Jesus example and have demonstrated the character of Jesus. They have loved God and loved God’s children by serving them. They have especially demonstrated loving kindness toward the poor and the disadvantaged. Jesus says that their service to the least was service unto Him. They are therefore blessed to inherit the kingdom of heaven.
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. ” (Matthew 25:41-46)
Conversely, Jesus judges those on His left (the goats) and finds them to be deserving of eternal punishment. Just as He did with those He invited to enter into the kingdom of heaven, Jesus explains the reason for the goats judgment of eternal punishment. They were not followers of Jesus and they did not love and serve God’s children. By failing to serve the least of God’s children, they failed to serve Jesus and are condemned to eternal punishment on the Day of Judgment.
Jesus is clear that the day is coming when He will judge all people, and determine who will enter into God’s kingdom and enjoy eternal life with Him. Whether you will enjoy eternal blessing or eternal punishment is predicated upon your following Jesus and demonstrating his love and service to others… especially the marginalized. Those who fail to serve and instead even exploit those who have the least (status, power, resources, etc) are demonstrating that they do not know Jesus and are not His followers. Their judgement will be eternal punishment. You may not know who I am, but I am a child of God. And Jesus said that how you treat me will determine your eternal future!
Blessings, Rev. Glenn
“Throughout the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus’ teaching has announced and illustrated the kingdom of God. God’s kingdom does not function like a typical kingdom. This divine reign has invaded the world and is good news—especially to those on the fringes of society. This rule welcomes those who have no status and seeks to serve others rather than exploit them.” (Carla Works, Working Preacher. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/christ-the-king/commentary-on-matthew-2531-46-10)
