26th Sunday after Pentecost Matthew 25:31-46

Preaching Commentary

Coming to the end

This is Jesus’s last story before his Last Supper, and while we do not want to put too much emphasis on salvation at the expense of Kingdom life in the present, we cannot ignore clear statements about judgment when they are right in front of us.  On this Christ the King Sunday, we have them right in front of us.  There is not a lot of evasion in Jesus’s teaching here, but when we dig into the imagery and the full work of his instruction, we find that he is giving us advice for today by talking about our ultimate destination.

Herein, we have the images of the throne and the king.  The day’s other passages give us a sense of his dominion and authority (