11/15/09 - Saints Triumphant - John 5:25-29

"ALL RISE"
- There is only one Judge
- The Judge is on our side

As a general rule, judges are treated with respect. They are given the seat that is raised up above everyone else in the courtroom. When anyone addresses a judge they refer to him or her as “Your Honor.” Even when a judge walks into the room the bailiff instructs those who are present: “All rise!” - implying that this person in the judicial robe is to be respected by all those gathered there. Judges are usually treated this way because they have gone through the necessary schooling, they have passed the exams, they have paid their dues, and now they are in control of their respective courtrooms. They have the gavel, they keep the order, they set the pace, many times they make the final decisions, and they hand out sentencing according to their expert assessment of the situation. And everyone must listen to the judge. Disorder, unruliness, and disrespect are not tolerated. There may be many different opinions and ideas and beliefs in any given courtroom, but there is only one judge. And he has the final say.
There may be many different opinions and beliefs and ideas among the people of this earth, but there is only one Judge. And he has the final say. And when that Judge decides it’s time, he will come back robed in all of his glory, he will hold court, and all will rise to meet him. “Do not be amazed at this,” Jesus says. “For a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out.” This Judge whom Jesus is speaking about is himself. And all people will have to listen to him. He will make the final decision. He will determine who is guilty and who is not. And he will hand out sentencing according to his good and perfect will. Jesus is the Judge. No one else is. Jesus is the Judge. We are not. No matter how often we act like it.
It is pretty typical for us to act like judges, isn’t it? There are very few of us who actually are patient and understanding and put the best construction on everything people say and everything people do. And I don’t mean simply determining that a word or an action is sinful - we are called on to make those kinds of “judgments” as Christians when we compare those things to God’s Word. I’m talking about making that final judgment call, that ultimate decision about a person’s faith or their true motivations behind their actions or where they will eventually end up - making a judgment about a person’s heart. And before your tell yourself that you would never judge a person’s heart, let me tell you this: I do it all the time. Instead of giving a person the benefit of the doubt, I tend to immediately make the determination that this person is too stubborn and too far gone to save, and that person has proved to be unapproachable with the gospel so I won’t even try, and this person may seem like he is doing good things but I’m sure he has sinful intentions and motivations, and that person is so far off the deep end in what she believes that there is no way she will ever accept the Truth of God’s Word. I like to be the judge! I like to pound that gavel and make my ruling based on outward appearances and first impressions and past experiences. And those are the determining factors because I certainly can’t base my judgment on what is really in their hearts!
And if I’m not mistaken, you can’t either. Only God can judge the heart. Only he knows why someone does what he does or says what she says; only God knows what their final sentence will be. Not that it stops us! We regularly usurp the authority away from Christ and pretend as if it were ours. We make the decisions about others for him before it is time. We act like we are insightful enough to determine whether or not it is possible for a person to come to faith. We are think we are allowed to write someone off because their hypocritical actions and half-hearted attempts at Christianity aren’t going to fool us - since we really know what lies beneath their supposedly good intentions.
I’m not sure if this is going to be too obvious: but Jesus doesn’t like when we do that. He doesn’t appreciate it when we take the authority that his been given to him alone and then attempt to make the decisions that only he is capable of making. He doesn’t hand us the gavel. He doesn’t give us his seat. He doesn’t rise when we walk into the room. No, on the Last Day we will rise for the one and only Judge along with all those who have gone before us. And he will command us to be quiet. He will tell us to pay attention. He will let us know that every decision and every judgment that we had made about others on this earth does not matter. Because he is the Judge. It is his job to weigh the evidence. It is his call. And we will get what is coming to us just like everyone else.
When I was at the Seminary in Milwaukee, I regularly attended and helped out one of the WELS churches there during my first two years. One of the members of that congregation was a circuit judge who had served in the city of Milwaukee for decades. I took a trip to the courthouse one afternoon to watch him in action and so that he could show me around the back rooms and let me know how the court system worked. When I arrived at the courthouse and found the room in which this WELS judge was residing, court was in session. And so I sat down behind the glass partition in the back with a few other spectators and watched. Judge Manian was sitting on his judge’s seat and there in the center of the room was a teenage kid and his mother facing the front. Their lawyer was sitting down, the bailiff was there and the court reporter, but no one else was in the courtroom proper. Apparently, this young man had been at a party a few months back. And, after an argument with someone there, had left the house in anger. But as he was walking away from the house, he had pulled a gun from his pants and shot a few rounds back at the front side of the home he had just left. No one was hit, no one in particular seemed to be the target, but this kid was in trouble nonetheless. The evidence had already been gathered, this teenager was obviously guilty, and so now it was time for the sentencing.
After Judge Manian recounted his crimes the boy’s mother who had been standing by his side asked for permission to speak. When her request was granted she began to beg for leniency. She said that her son really was a good boy, that she would keep a close eye on him, that he has never done anything like this before, that a prison sentence would ruin his life at such a young age… After she spoke for almost ten minutes, it was time for Judge Manian to make his final ruling. “Whenever you pull a gun and shoot it,” he began, “that is automatic jail time. It doesn’t matter if you hit anyone or not. It doesn’t matter if you were aiming at anyone or not. It doesn’t matter if you are 16 years old or not. When you pull a gun and shoot it, that is automatic jail time.” Judge Manian then went on to express his disappointment in this young man’s behavior and the lack of common sense he had displayed that night. He warned him about the dangers of getting involved with the wrong people and about carrying a firearm as a minor. He informed him about the miserable life of prison and reminded this teenager that his permanent record would be marred because of his actions. In fact, his speech was longer than the mother’s had been. And when he had finally said all that he wanted to say to this boy, he finished his ruling like this: “Whenever you pull a gun and shoot it, that is automatic jail time. But I’m not going to send you to jail. I believe your remorse is sincere. And I don’t want to send you to jail and watch your life come to an end when you have so much of your life ahead of you. But I never want to see you back here again. If I do, the results will not be this pleasant. Do you understand me?”
The mother began to cry, her son was visibly grateful for the mercy he had just been shown, and those two left the courtroom that morning with a renewed sense of life and hope. Now, this kid was put on probation, of course, he had to do quite a bit of community service, and there were other stipulations to his punishment. But the sentence he deserved to receive was not handed down him. Judge Manian had shown compassion to this young man not because of what he had done (of course!) and not because of who he was, but because Judge Manian wanted to have compassion on him. He pardoned him from his crime and had given something back to him that this 16 year old boy had given up when he had pulled that gun and shot it months before. He had been given life again.
On the Last Day each one of us will rise and stand before the Almighty Judge. The evidence will have already been gathered and it will be obvious that we are guilty. There will be no trial; there will only be sentencing. And the Lord our Judge will pull out the long list of offenses that we have committed throughout our lives and say, “Your sins deserve automatic jail time - an eternal life sentence. It doesn’t matter how hard you tried. And it doesn’t matter how “good” you were compared to others. Every sin means automatic jail time in hell for eternity. But I’m not going to send you to jail. Because I have already been there for you myself. I have already taken the punishment. I have already suffered for these sins. They no longer count against you. This rap sheet is mine. And I have already done the time. And now you get to live with me forever in heaven.”
And there’s the difference. There’s the difference between God our Judge and any earthly judge in this life. I can use all of the courtroom analogies that I want, but nothing will ever be able to come close to what our Judge did for us. He not only pardons us, he paid for us! He not only is our Judge but he is the condemned criminal! He was arrested by the posse of the high priest. He stood on trial before his own countrymen and a roman judge. He was sentenced to an execution. He was posted to a beam of wood. He was sent to hell to experience an eternal torture. He was the recipient of the death penalty and much, much more than we can possibly imagine. The one who will sit on the judgment seat on Judgment Day is the one who has hung on a cross and laid in a tomb. The one who will be responsible for our sentencing is the one responsible for our salvation. Our Judge is on our side. And that is the very reason he has been given the authority.
“[God] has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.” Because the Son of Man has taken on the body of a human being, he has been given the honor to judge his fellow human beings. Because the Son of Man has suffered an eternal amount of pain, he has been given the honor of judging those for whom he suffered. Because the Son of Man met death face to face and conquered it, he has been given the privilege to judge those for whom he died and rose again. Because the Son of Man became one of us, he has been given the honor to judge those who do not believe in him and all of us who do. The Son of Man, Jesus Christ, is our Judge, and there is no one else that we would want with the gavel in his hand. Because he is a merciful God. He is a kind and compassionate God. And he is compassionate not because we have done something to earn it, of course, but because he wants to be compassionate to us. And on the Last Day he will give us what we have thrown away. He will give us life. That is his promise to us. Our life is what he died for after all. And so what a glorious day it will be when he comes again! We will all rise to meet our Judge. And then we who believe in him will rise to be with him in heaven for all eternity. There will be no greater day for Christians than Judgment Day. Because on that Day we will see our Savior face to face for the first time. On that Day we will be freed from sin forever. On that Day we will finally go home. And that one Day will last forever.
Amen.

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”
- Rev. 4:8