The Pearly Gates

November 26, 2023 homily on Matthew 25:31-46 by Pastor Galen

The Pearly Gates

There are many jokes about people arriving at the Pearly Gates and being met by St. Peter, who asks them a series of questions to determine whether or not they are fit to enter into heaven.

One such story is of a woman who had a dream that she arrived at the Pearly Gates, only to see that the person in front of her was turned away by St. Peter.

As the person walked in her direction, she was surprised to see that it was Mother Teresa. Shocked to realize that Mother Teresa had been turned away at the Pearly Gates, she asked, “What happened?” Mother Teresa had a forlorn expression on her face as she replied, “St. Peter said that I should have done more good deeds!”

(This joke is only funny if you know that our entrance into heaven is not determined by the number of good deeds that we’ve done. Otherwise, it would be downright scary!)

The Sheep and the Goats

Fortunately, we know that our entrance into heaven is not based on the number of good works that we’ve done, or even whether the good deeds that we’ve done here on this earth outweigh our bad deeds. Rather, we have hope of eternal life because of the work that Jesus did for us on the cross, by giving his life for us. 

And yet, read in isolation, the parable that Jesus tells in Matthew 25:31-46 might seem to suggest that our eternal destiny is dependent on the deeds we’ve done (or not done) here on this earth.

In this parable, when Jesus comes in glory and is seated on his throne, all of the nations of the world are gathered before him. Jesus separates the people, putting some on his left (the bad side), and some on his right (the good side), based upon whether or not they fed Jesus when he was hungry, or welcomed him when he was a stranger, gave him clothes when he was in need, or visited him when he was sick or in prison.

Neither group seems to recall having fed, clothed, visited, or welcomed Jesus, but Jesus tells them, “just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matt. 25:40).

The ones on his right—the sheep—who fed, clothed, visited, and welcomed the least of these are told that they will inherit the kingdom prepared for them “from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34), whereas those on his left—the goats—who did not feed, clothe, visit, or welcome the least of these, are sent away, “into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” 

The Final Judgment

Now, there are several interesting things to note here in Matthew 25 that may help us understand what Jesus was saying (and not saying) through this parable. 

The first thing to note is that Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man. This is how Jesus frequently refers to himself throughout the Gospels, and it’s actually a reference to his divinity. The term is taken from the book of Daniel chapter 7, where Daniel has a vision of someone who looks like a “son of man” (human) who is given authority over all of the kingdoms on earth. So by referring to himself as the “Son of Man,” Jesus is claiming this divine authority.

Secondly, it’s worth pointing out that the judgment that takes place here in Matthew 25 is a judgment of the “nations.”  The imagery here is borrowed from Isaiah chapter 2 and Micah chapter 4, where God is the supreme ruler of the world who settles disputes among the nations and ushers in a kingdom of everlasting peace. Here in Matthew 25, we see Jesus (the Son of Man) claiming this divine authority over the nations, taking his rightful place as the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

Thirdly, the word “nations” here in Jesus’s parable refers to all of the different people groups on earth. Often in the Bible, the word “nations” is translated “gentiles” and refers to all of the nations except the Jewish people. Many Jewish people believed that on the day of judgment, God would bring judgment and wrath against the gentiles and would restore the kingdom of Israel, which they believed had been promised to them from the foundation of the world. 

Jesus’s parable would have been quite startling, then, to the predominantly Jewish audience who was listening to Jesus tell this parable. It would have been shocking for them to hear the words “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” spoken to people who were not part of the nation of Israel. While we may hear this parable and be uncomfortable by the idea that anyone is turned away from entering the Kingdom, that’s not what would have surprised Jesus’s original audience. To them, the shocking aspect of this parable was not how many people were turned away from entering the Kingdom, but rather how many were welcomed and included, and how and why they were included. For we see here in this parable that entrance into the Kingdom is not determined by what nation we’re born into or what country we’re a citizen of, but rather how we respond to Jesus and how we treat those who are in need.

Belief and Good Works

Despite this explanation of how Jesus’s original audience would have heard this parable, some of us hearing this parable today might hear it more like the nightmarish story I shared at the beginning of this sermon—especially if we compare ourselves with saintly people like Mother Teresa. We might wonder, how do we know if we’ve properly fed, clothed, or welcomed the members of Christ’s family? How do we know if we’ve properly taken care of the “least of these”? If the judgment were to take place right now, would we be among the sheep or the goats?

Well, the reality is that if our entrance into heaven was based purely on our good works, none of us would make it into heaven. Romans 3:23 tells us “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The word “sin” in Romans 3 is “missing the mark.” It’s the image of someone shooting an arrow at a target and missing the bullseye. And we know this is true in our own lives. Even when we try to do the right thing, we constantly miss the mark and fall short. 

The good news, of course, is summed up in John 3:16, that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” It’s because of God’s great love for us, and because of God’s mercy and grace—not our good works—that we have the hope of eternal life.

And yet, throughout Scripture, belief and action go hand in hand. If we truly believe something, we will act accordingly. Even in John 3:16, the word “believe” has connotations of not just intellectual knowledge, but of confidence, trust, and loyalty. If we truly believe that Jesus gave his life for us, then we will live accordingly. So much so that Jesus’s followers can be characterized as those who feed the hungry, provide clothes to those who are need, and visit those who are in prison. For, as Jesus says, when we do these things for one of the least of these, we do them to Christ.

Serving Christ By Serving the Least of These

What this means, then, is that this parable is not so much a ”how-to” manual about how to get into heaven when we die, but rather it should challenge us to consider how we spend our time here and now, even as we wait for Christ to return to make everything right. It’s about how we serve Christ even when we can’t see him. And it’s about how we treat other people—particularly those who are on the margins of society.

You see, Jesus knew that when he ascended up into heaven, he knew that his followers would be tempted to fight amongst themselves. Like the mean sheep in Ezekiel 34:21 who pushed the weaker animals out of the way so that they could have all of the food for themselves, Jesus’s followers would be tempted to lust after power, to try to fill the leadership vacuum that would be left because Jesus was no longer living among them. 

But Jesus wanted his disciples— and us today!—to know Jesus is here among us. Even though we may not see him here in the flesh, he is very much present in the people we encounter each and every day. He’s present in our brothers and sisters in Christ, in our coworkers, friends, and neighbors, and in the people we meet on the street—and most of all he is present in those who are in need. 

And so, if we want to be with Jesus, and if we want to serve Christ, we can do that through serving the least of these. That’s where Jesus is, and that’s where we’ll find God. For when we serve the least of these, we serve Christ himself.

The Rabbi who ascended to Heaven

The story is told that in a small Jewish town in Russia, there was a rabbi who disappeared every Friday morning for several hours. His devoted disciples boasted that during those hours their rabbi went up to heaven and talked to God.

A stranger moved into the town, and he was skeptical about all this, so he decided to check things out. He hid and watched as the rabbi got up one Friday morning, said his prayers, and then dressed in peasant clothes. The stranger followed as the rabbi grabbed an axe, went off into the woods, and cut some firewood, which he then hauled to a shack on the outskirts of the village, where an old woman and her sick son lived. The rabbi left the firewood with them, enough to last them for a week, and then snuck back home.

Having observed the rabbi’s actions, the newcomer stayed on in the village and became his disciple. And from then on, whenever he heard one of the villagers say, “On Friday mornings, our rabbi ascends all the way to heaven,” the newcomer would quietly add, “If not higher.” 

Knowing Jesus

When we serve those who are in need, we encounter the living God. And so, if we want to be in God’s presence, we can do so by serving those who are in need.

Ultimately, it’s not about keeping track of how many good deeds we’ve done. It’s not about making sure that our good deeds outweigh the bad things that we’ve done. Rather, it’s about responding to the love and mercy that God has shown us, by recognizing Jesus as the Lord of our lives. It’s about saying, “Here am I Lord, send me.” Send me to the poor, the lost, the hurting, the broken. Send me to do your will. I’m here. Use me as you choose. 

When we submit ourselves to King Jesus, when we lay our lives on the altar, and allow him to use how however he chooses, then we will follow him to the hurting, the lost, and the broken. That’s where Jesus is, and that’s how we too can enter into God’s presence.

Amen!