Saturday after the Last Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on December 2, 2023 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 25:31-46 (NKJV)
25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Devotion
The Augsburg Confession, article IV, states, “…we receive forgiveness of sin and become righteous before God by grace, for Christ’s sake, through faith, when we believe that Christ suffered for us and that for his sake our sin is forgiven and righteousness and eternal life are given to us .” The account of the sheep and the goats, which presents the Scriptural teaching that judgment day will consider man’s works, does not disagree with “the main article of Christianity.”
Until the end comes, believers and unbelievers are mixed together like the wheat and weeds, or sheep and goats. We can’t tell with certainty who has faith and who doesn’t. However, this doesn’t mean that God does not know. Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own” (John 10:14). On the Last Day, even before any works are mentioned, the Son of Man separates His believing sheep from the unbelieving goats (v. 32-33). The outward works which are mentioned are simply the visible evidence of each one’s faith in Christ. These believers showed love to other believers—even the least important ones. Most importantly, not one sin of a believer is ever brought up, because they are forgiven.
The lack of works for unbelievers is proof that they did not have faith. “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6). Those who rejected Christ also didn’t show love to the least of Christ’s believers in the Church.
Collect: Absolve, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy people from their offenses, that from the bonds of our sins which, by reason of our frailty, we have brought upon us, we may be delivered by Thy bountiful goodness; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
