JESUS IS NEARING THE END of his earthly journey, and the healing of the cosmos hangs in the balance of the searing tension of spiritual warfare that now surrounds him with ominous dark clouds. He is spending the last of his available time with his disciples, and even now the chief priest and elders of the Temple have met, “and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him.” (Matt. 26:4) The scene with his followers is permeated with apocryphal meaning. Unrelenting forces of evil are pressing in around Jesus from all sides. Jesus, already knowing this, tells his disciples, “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” (Matt. 26:2) And when that occurs, there will be a scene where the high priest demands, “Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” (Matt. 28:63) Jesus will answer, “Yes, it is as you say. But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Matt. 28:64)
Here, the earthly climax of the trials of the Son of Man are moving rapidly towards their cataclysmic conclusion. He knows what will happen to his disciples in the next few days; their story also has been foretold. “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.” (Zech. 13:7) In order for them to survive the trials they will begin to encounter after Jesus’ arrest and subsequent crucifixion, he gives them a metaphorical vision of the final outcomes of his and their shared journey of not only epoch change, but future eternal heavenly positions. He tells them, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” (Matt. 25:31)
The pastoral image of a shepherd and his flock are a bedrock religious theme throughout the O.T. David, the poet king, writes, “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.” (Psa. 95:6-7) Jesus now uses this comforting powerful image to encourage his disciples in preparation for the impending dire trials of their own destinies. Using this imagery, he says, “He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” (Matt. 25:33) The right side of the king is a place of favor, the left a place of disfavor, even wrath. The decisions made about such separations carry great implication, for this is a scene of final judgment, and the assignment of place is one for which there is great joy for some, and no repeal for others.
This separation is done by the king as judgment in the light of the greatest laws of scripture. “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’” (Matt. 22:37-40)
The goats on the left will hear, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire. You did not look after me.” To their anguished appeal, “Lord, when did we not help you?” (Matt. 25:44), he will sternly answer that their treatment of others showed their regard for him. “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” (Matt. 25:45)
But the sheep on the right will hear, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” (Matt. 25:34) And they will answer, somewhat perplexed, “Lord, when did we feed, clothe, or visit you?” (Matt. 25:37-39) And he will respond, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matt. 25:40)
This passage of scripture clears away the myriad confusing do’s and don’ts, shoulds and shouldn’ts, and musts and mustn’ts that permeate the circumstances of choices we make in life that lead to pleasing God. It is simply this: the way in which we treat others is the litmus test of our love for God. Jesus phrases it this way, often called “The Golden Rule:” “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (Matt. 7:12)
For the purposes of our thoughts today, it is significant that this comes just before his admonition about the narrow and wide gates, and that “small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matt. 7:13-14) Love of God and love of others are not the same thing, and yet they are, and it is in the way that we treat others that our love of God is seen. Jesus emphasizes this. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:43-45)
We do not know fully the way in which all the closest disciples of Jesus, the Apostles with him throughout his ministry, carried out these incontrovertible spiritual truths in the aftermath of Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. Some, certainly, we know. Judas died in his betrayal of Jesus before these two events. Peter was restored from his denials by Jesus before he ascended. Some of the Apostles we capture just a glimpse of in scripture. Phillip baptizes the eunuch. Thomas doubts, then believes.
However, a few, James, Peter, and John, leave behind for us lengthier revelations through their letters in the canon of scripture. James opens his letter with “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” (James 1:2-3) Peter similarly encourages, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you.” (Pet. 1:3-4) And John says, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” (1 John 1:1)
Scripture records these words for the posterity of all generations, and these words are encouragement to us now. The Apostles who walked with Jesus throughout his earthly ministry have long since gone to be with him, and they await the rest of us now. They wrote what they wrote in hopes of this very thing—that we would one day be with them in future glory.
Q. Does the path of my trials lead to glorification?
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