JUDGEMENT
In the Biblical sense, judgement is implementing justice of reward or punishment, based on the choice one makes for or against God. The salvific activity of Jesus involves judgement. Like our First Parents who had the freedom to obey or disobey God, the people have the choice to accept or reject salvation gained for them by Jesus. So, the judgement happens based on one’s own choice of accepting the gospel of Jesus. He said, “I came into this world for judgement” (Jn 9:39). Those who accept him will gain an eternal reward in heaven, and those who reject him will end up in eternal punishment. However, the last judgement will happen only after his return from heaven in his glory. Jesus said, “If anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day” (Jn 12:47-48).
THE LAST JUDGEMENT
Though Jesus came to the world to save humanity, his second coming will be to judge the nations. The Father has entrusted the judgement of the world to his Son (Jn 5:22). That will be based on one’s own choice of belief in Jesus or not. “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (Jn 3:18). The last judgement is to separate the good from the evil who have been living together in the world (Mt 25:31-46). He will look for the impact of his teachings on the disciples’ lives and judge them according to the fruits of their practice of faith.
Jesus presented how he will come and evaluate his faithful in Matthew 25:31-46. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Mt 25-31-32). He will be then coming as judge and king (Mt 25:34). Jesus considers the charity we do to the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, and prisoner as we do to him (Mt 25:35-40). Those who abandoned the poor “will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (Mt 25:46).
The Bible teaches the resurrection of the just and the unjust at the second coming of Christ (Acts 24:15). Jesus said, “Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voices and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation” (Jn 5:28-29). Matthew 25:31-46 is a graphic presentation of the eternal judgement that also gives evidence for the resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous.
Jesus came as the Son of God and the Son of Man (Dan 7:13) because of his divine and human origins. His appearance as the Son of Man also implies his return as a judge in human form. It also specifies that the Son is the judge and not the other persons of the Most Holy Trinity. “Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgement to his Son, so that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father” (Jn 5:22-23).
LAST JUDGEMENT: JESUS’ GLORIOUS RETURN
After the resurrection, Jesus has a glorified body. Though God, Jesus emptied himself to become a human, obedient to his Father, subjecting himself to the crucifixion. “Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:9-11). God raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavens (Eph 1:20). Peter wrote about Jesus, “who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him” (1 Pet 3:22). Thus, Jesus gained glory from the Father. Jesus will come to judge the world not as a humble human, but in his personal glory as the victorious king and judge whom his Father has authorized. Paul envisions “the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God” and clouds as manifestation of the glorious arrival of Christ (1 Thess 4:16).
LAST JUDGEMENT AND ANGELS
The Bible mentions the role of angels at the second coming of Christ, followed by his judgement of the nations. According to the parable of the wheat and tares, “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers” (Mt 13:41). While Jesus was at Caesarea Philippi with his disciples, he told them, “The Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct” (Mt 16:27). Jesus, while mentioning the forthcoming persecution, said to the disciples, “I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God” (Lk 12:8-9). Paul wrote to the Thessalonians about “the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his mighty angels” (2 Thess 1:7). John’s vision of the “harvest of the earth” also has the angels along with the Son of Man (Rev 14:14-20).
The angels’ presence at the second coming of Christ will add to his glory. They will minister to him in separating the just and the unjust for the final verdict. They will summon the court with “the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God” (1 Thess 4:16). “They will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other” (Mt 24:31). “They will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers” (Mt 13:41). The angels will also witness the judgement (Lk 12:8-9; Rev 14:10).
LAST JUDGEMENT AND APOSTLES
Besides the presence of the angels, Jesus promised his apostles that they would join him in judging the Israelites. Representing the apostles, Peter asked Jesus, “‘We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Mt 19:27-28). Paul mentions that the Holy Ones will be present at his coming for judgement (1 Thess 3:13). Citing the apocryphal book of Enoch (1:9), Jude wrote, “Enoch, of the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied also about them when he said, ‘Behold, the Lord has come with his countless holy ones to execute judgement on all and to convict everyone for all the godless deeds that they committed and for all the harsh words godless sinners have uttered against him” (Jude 1:14-15).
SEPARATION OF GOOD AND EVIL
Since Cain murdered Abel, there has been a selection of the godly from the ungodly and the separation of the righteous from evil. God said to Cain, “Now you are banned from the ground that opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand” (Gen 4:11). “Cain then left the LORD’s presence and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden” (Gen 4:16). Adam begot Seth “in his likeness, after his image” (Gen 5:3). He was God’s chosen godly line. Later, Noah’s family and the Israelites were the chosen people separated from the sinful line. With the coming of Jesus was established the Messianic kingdom through his Church, giving opportunity for Jews and Gentiles alike to inherit it. Still, there will be a final separation of the saintly from the sinful based on the fruits of their Christian living.
The Old and New Testament used the example of shepherds because, like farming, sheep rearing was also a common profession of the people. So, ordinary people could understand the message from parables related to sheep rearing. Ezekiel told the Israelites, “As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord GOD: I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats” (Ezek 34:17). “Now I will judge between the fat and the lean” (Ezek 34:20).
Jesus gave examples of separation of the good and the bad. In the parable of the drawing in of the net (Mt 13:47-50), the fishermen “will sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth” (Mt 13:48-50). John the Baptist said of the Messiah, “His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (Mt 3:12). Like the farmer in the parable of the weeds among the wheat who allowed the weeds to grow along with the wheat until harvest time (Mt 13:24-30), God allows the wicked to be among the righteous until the last judgement. The time will arrive with the second coming of Christ to end the evil in the world with the destruction of the devil and the wicked people in the world so that the holy ones will be free from all tests and trials of life.
Good and evil people are present within the family, church, and community. It is hard to distinguish one from another because of the hypocritical behavior and hidden agendas of the wicked. God said of the righteous through Malachi, “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, my own special possession, on the day when I take action. And I will have compassion on them, as a man has compassion on his son who serves him. Then you will again distinguish between the just and the wicked, Between the person who serves God, and the one who does not” (Mal 3:17- 18). The wicked will try to mislead the godly or persecute them. Hence, Jesus promised his disciples that he will one day free them from their current state of persecution and sacrifices for their faith and will enjoy eternal reward for their virtuous deeds. It is also a warning to the evildoers for their conversion so as to evade eternal destruction.
REFLECTION
The Lord identifies with the poor and the suffering in the world. When Jesus was physically in the world, he cared for them and showed himself as a model for us. Let us see Jesus among the less fortunate people in the world regardless of whether or not they are suffering because of their fault.