Jesus is our judge.

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.

Matthew 25:31

Christians should be expecting the reality of Christ’s return. When He does return, he will judge the world. He will reward the righteous. He will cast away the unrighteous into eternal punishment. This is the authority of the risen and reigning Christ. He is our judge. And this is the Jesus with whom all people must one day stand. This is the future we all face… the Son of Man seated as judge upon His glorious throne.

There are three things I notice about our future encounter with Jesus that give me reflective pause. First, Jesus returns in a different glory. We first beheld His glory as the Lamb of God. He was born as a child to peasant parents in simple poverty. He lived as a carpenter and then as a rabbi. He displayed a unique glory in miracles and authoritative teaching. He gave His life sacrificing as the Lamb of God. And He was raised to show His true glory, no longer a Lamb but now a Lion! And it is this second Jesus yet to come that arrives in a blinding flash of power and judgment, seated on a glorious throne Who is our glorious God of justice, commending the righteous ones and condemning those who reject Him!

Secondly, there is a different audience including angels. In His first advent a few angels sang His birth, attended to Him in the wilderness, and announced His resurrection. In His return to judge, ALL the angel hosts of heaven will return with Him, bringing the very throne of heaven to earth. This will be like nothing anyone has ever seen!

A third observation: Jesus will sit on a different kind of throne. In His first advent He was the perfect obedient Son and Servant Who proved He earned the “well-pleased” commendation of the Father. In His second advent Jesus is clearly the God with Whom we all have to answer! The world will be judged by the Son of Man. All the nations of the earth, every last person on the planet, all the world will face Him in order to answer for their choice about Him and His people. It is clear: Jesus is our Judge!