Here come the Judge

John 8:26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy,

and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”

 

Last week in our mid-week Small Group Bible Study, we read the verse above and it struck me that Jesus’ first visitation was as the “suffering servant” being the promised Messiah and Savior of the world in God’s plan of Salvation delivering teachings to abide in and live in accordance with as His true born-again believing disciples that know the freedom giving truth (v. 31-32). But, the Lord starts by stating that “I have much to say in judgment of you.” Who gave Jesus this authority to judge? John 3:35 tells us, “The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.”

 

John 5:26-29 further explains, “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.” In the “Second Coming” of Christ, Jesus arrives as the “Conquering King”, the judge of all. Hebrews 9:26-28explains, “Now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”

 

In 2 Timothy 4:1-3 the Apostle Paul speaks to the sin that will be judged, “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” The Apostle Peter confirms the coming judgment of sin in 1 Peter 4:1-5“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.”

 

The Apostle John describes the final judgment by Jesus Christ in Revelation 20:10-15, “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Then I saw a great white throne and Him [Jesus] who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. 

 

Order in the court, here come the Judge. 

In Christ, Brian