Our final (7th) Sunday of Easter, and of the sermon series “We Are Always in this Together”, brings us to the New Testament, and to Matthew 25:31-46. This passage is known as The Great Judgment.

It is hard not to visualize this as a static scene in which Jesus sits on the judgment seat as a long line of people files forward to him, one by one. Even though this seems impossible (or, at least, more like a hell like waiting in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles), try to read the whole passage as a comprehensive judgment of all humanity through all the ages. It could be something that happens “in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye” (I Corinthians 15:52).

Read the passage carefully. Who among the sheep and the goats is surprised by the outcome? How do they know their fate?

What, in the end, is being judged? Is it faith? Is it doctrine? Is it behavior?

What does this passage teach us about the purpose of our lives, what we are to aim to do, day by day? And where does Jesus say he resides in this world?