Jesus Christ – King
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 ” ‘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 took me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’
40 “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels! 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger and you didn’t take me in; I was naked and you didn’t clothe me, sick and in prison and you didn’t take care of me.’
44 “Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help you?’
45 “Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Matthew 25:31–46 [CSB]
Who are we expecting?
Advent is about preparing for the arrival of someone great. It is an expected great event with a person of importance at its center.
Who is He?
We know who—Jesus Christ, Son of Man and Son of God…the God-Man…God’s Prophet and Our High Priest.
But that is not all, He also is the King…
King of What?
A better question would be to ask if there is anything He is not King over? Answer: NO, there is nothing that He is not Sovereign King and Lord over…yes…and…
…even death and hell…
Every inch of everything…including me and you…
All people that ever were, are or will be.
It is sad when so many think that they can decide this. As if God lets them make up their own minds. As if deciding not to have Jesus as their Lord, He somehow is not…or can’t be then…like He has to bow to our will…
What kind of King would that be, then?
That is like when a child thinks you cannot see them because they have their hands over their eyes—because they cannot see you.
…and so many people live like this…their hands over their eyes, fingers in their ears…heads pushed into the sand.
That changes nothing…
…and when Jesus does return, this will do them no good at their arraignment…
I mean, what is this Gospel text all about?
The King is coming. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords…
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
That one? Or:
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. [Revelation 19:11-16] [ESV]
Which King will yours be?
You cannot serve two masters. There is no middle ground. Jesus said you are either for Him or against Him. You either accept all that He says, or none of it—all of the Bible as His Word…
…or…
So, what do you expect of Advent?
A little baby…?
A baby who “had” (and I put that in quotes, as He really never had to…) to flee King Herod and go into Egypt…?
Or that poor and humble Jew who rode into Jerusalem (His city) humble on a donkey…to His death…?
Or do you expect the Eternal Angel of the Lord with a flaming sword who struck down mighty Egypt?
Who causes the wind and waves to be still at His command…who told the fig tree to wither and die…and it did…who commanded Lazarus to come out of the tomb alive and he did…as He will again… with all of humanity…on the last day…?
Who will, on that same day, melt the universe down to it base elements before re-creating everything by the power of His command…?
His Will and the Words of His Mouth…?
Will He be the one who tells you:
45 ‘…Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46 ‘And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’
What side of God will you see when He returns? The left or the right?
Do we act like the world, and push it all under the rug…thinking…after all, Jesus was killed off 2,000 years ago…really just a man who wanted to do that peace thing…right?—Him and all those others…just another man…they come and they go…preaching, writing…telling us what to do…
…and…
…and so they are just killed off… such has been the from the beginning…
And so… they all can be ignored then…and replaced…then…
I mean, Santa is a much better Christ…just like the Easter Bunny and Cupid…
And Halloween…well… all of these are what we rather have…
You see, it is all so easy to ignore…anything too serious… no, nothing to worry over…
Or so it would seem…
Until that day…
When they see Him Coming in All His Glory…
They will run in terror, the Bible says. They will want the mountains to fall and cover them…burry them as deeply as possible to hide from the piecing light that comes off of Him…that exposes their sin and shame…
All that guilt that He came to erase…
But…
But remember that humble Jewish Carpenter? That baby in a stable feed box? Remember that broken man bleeding on a Roman torture device…the Cross…?
There…dying because of them…for them…because of all that….what we all have done and left undone?
But ignore…so many insist on doing…
And not just ignore…but wallow in…brag about…excel in…teaching others…learning how to do more…to be better at all sorts of sinful and godless behavior.
Then comes the Advent of the King. The King of the Universe is coming in judgment. What will be His verdict over us be?
What kind of King are you expecting?
Prepare Him room…the hymn says…
How do we do that? Repent! Turn back to Him. Live in Him and not by the world’s standards and ways…
Walk away from sinful and godless lives.
Then come and bow down before Him, at His humble feet…at His humble table…
And receive Forgiveness for it all.
You see, He makes you ready for His return. He is still willing and does…all by His washing and His feeding and His teaching…
Then He will say to you:
34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Because when we live in His Grace…partake in His means of Grace…His Word and Sacrament…
Even if we are not paying attention…or never see around our sinfulness…
We will be all about…and doing…yes, we will…
35 ” ‘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 took me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.’
It is true. When we bask in His light—the light of His Word and Sacraments…
We will respond when there is a need. We will give when asked…we will put others first…we will not shun the stranger…we will not look down on the poor and suffering….we will sit down and eat with sinners…
Because we will know we are not better, and if we have more, it is only by Grace and His Favor that we do.
So of course we will share. Of course we will help. Of course God’s Word is what we will live by.
What else? We are His children—Christians—after all.
…and most of the time we won’t realize we are doing it. We won’t be counting. We won’t be adding. We won’t be expecting any credit…
We don’t need to, because He is keeping count…and keeping watch. We don’t need to because all that is needed—more than enough—has already been earned…bought and paid for…covered…
Yes, He has us covered…forever…
So, then…yes, of course we would be doing…whatever good is needed…we would love to…ah, but…
Yes, there is always that…sin…doubt…concern…worry—yes, so? He still has it covered.
So, why wouldn’t we then? Okay, true…we would…but when do we…do it right…when did we ever do good?
40 “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Surprised—we will be—that He was keeping track…we enter into His Kingdom, not just as guests…but as royal family…inheriting all that He has…
For a glass of water? Yep…Because Jesus, the King, earned it all for us already. We are just saying thanks…we are just acting like family does…we are just behaving as He taught us…we are just being who we are. Children of His Father, brother of the King, Himself. Yes, so look to the skies. Hope in His coming. And pray with all the saints, “Come Lord Jesus”. Amen.
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