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Serving and the Judgment I. Study Text:
Matthew 25:31-46 II. Theme: When we emphasize authority and commands,
we often (1) ignore or (2) oversimplify God's purposes. In the authority concept, Christians obey
commands because it is required. Obedience does not occur to accomplish God's
purposes. It occurs to respect
authority. Jesus' concept of obedience focused on
serving. Christians love God by loving people (Matthew 5:43-48; Romans 13:8-10; 1 Peter 1:22,23; 1
John 3:13-24). Christians minister to Jesus by ministering to people . Jesus gave no parable about a
spiritual test to be given on the judgment day. He gave no parable that
coupled the judgment with a check list or with a
form that determined "where you stand on the issues." Jesus did
connect the judgment with serving. III. Questions
and Application Matthew 25:31-46 1. When
the Son of Man (Jesus) returns in his glory, who will come with him (verse
31)? 2. Where
will he sit (verse 31)? 3. Who
will be gathered before him (verse 32)? 4. In
the separation, who will be placed on his right (verse 33)? Who will be
placed on his left? 5. What
will the King (Jesus, the Son of Man) say to those on the right (verse 34)? 6. To
what physical needs of Jesus had they ministered (verses 35,36)? a. b. c. d. e. f. 7. How
did those on the right (the righteous) respond to Jesus (verses 37-39)? 8. What
answer did the King give them (verse 40)? 9. What
did the King say to those who were on his left (verse 41)? Where did they go?
10. He said they failed to
minister to his physical needs. What physical needs (verses 42, 43)? a. b. c. d. e. f. 11. In your own words, state why
they considered Jesus' statement unjust (verse 44). 12. According to Jesus, when did
they fail to minister to him (verse 45)? 13. Discuss who the "least of
these" are. 14. Where would those on the left
go (verse 46)? a. Where would the righteous go? b. In this parable, what distinguished the righteous from the
accursed ones? 15. In your understanding of this
parable, what is the primary lesson about the importance of Christians
serving people? IV. Conclusion:
Focusing on our ability to
do all things right fills us with a sense of failure and fear. Law exists to
expose failures and shortcomings. Serving
fills us with humility and love. Serving "the least of these"
transforms us (1) into the image of our Father who sends the sun
and rain on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45) and (2) into the image of
our Savior who was and is merciful and
kind to the evil (which includes each of us!). Is Jesus Christ our authority?
Absolutely! Must we respect his authority? Certainly! Should we obey his
commands? Unquestionably! When we obey his teachings
with his heart and mind, we will pursue God's purposes just as he did, even when God's purposes lead to a
cross. What is your confidence as you face judgment? |