“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained.”—Acts 17:30-31
Now, according to the revelation of the gospel, this Judgment will be conducted by the Man Christ Jesus. God will judge the world; but it will be through His Son, Whom He has ordained and appointed actually to carry out the business of that last tremendous day. He Who shall sit upon the throne is “the Son of man.” He will be thus enthroned, I suppose, partly because it is involved in His mediatorial office, in which the Lord hath put all things in “subjection under his feet” (Heb 2:8). He is at the right hand of God, “angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him” (1Pe 3:22). God has been pleased to put the world, not under the direct government of personal deity, but under the government of the Mediator, that He might deal with us in mercy. That Mediator is Prophet, Priest, and King; and His Kingship would be shorn of its glory if the King had not the power of life and death, and the power of holding court and judging His subjects. Jesus Christ, therefore, being mediatorial King and Sovereign, all power being given unto Him in heaven and in earth, He will take unto Himself His great power at the last and will judge the nations. This high position is also awarded to our Lord as an honor from the Father, by which shall be wiped away every trace of the shame and dishonor through which He passed among the sons of men. The kings of the earth stood up to judge Him, but they shall stand before Him to be judged. The rulers took counsel together to condemn Him, but the rulers shall stand at His bar to be themselves condemned. Pontius Pilate and the chief priests shall all be there, and Caesar, and all Caesars, Czars, emperors, kings, and princes shall do homage before Him in lowliest manner, by standing before His judgment seat as prisoners to be tried by Him. There will be no recollection of the scepter of reed, for He shall break His enemies with a rod of iron (Mat 12:20; Rev 19:15). There shall be no marks of the thorn-crown, for on His head shall be many a diadem. Men shall not then be able to think of Him as the “man of tears” with visage sadly marred by grief and shame, for His eyes shall be as a flame of fire and His countenance as the sun shining in its strength. O Cross, whatever of shame there was about thee shall be wiped out forever among the sons of men, for this Man shall sit upon the throne of judgment! The Father designed to put this honor upon Him, and He hath right well deserved it. Jesus Christ as God hath a glory that He had with the
Father before the world was; but as God-man, He hath a glory that His Father hath given Him to be the reward of that labor of life and death by which He hath redeemed His people. “Give unto the Lord glory and strength” (Psa 96:7) is the ascription of all His saints, and God the everlasting Father hath done this unto His Son, concerning Whom He hath sworn that “every knee should bow” before Him and “that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phi 2:10-11). “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him” (Jud 1:14-15)...
It is as Son of Man as well as Son of God that our Lord will judge the world at the last great day. Be ye sure, then, of His impartiality. He is God, yet man, having an intense sympathy both with the King and with the subjects, having manifested His grace even to the rebellious and being yet filled with intense love to the Father and His Law. If we could have the election of a judge, what being could we suppose more impartial or so impartial as the Lord, Who “thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Phi 2:6-7)? O blessed Judge, be Thou at once enthroned by the choice of the whole creation!...
[The Son of Man’s] verdict will be final and irreversible. When Jesus has once pronounced it, there will be no appeal, no suing out of a writ of error, no reversal of the decree. He Himself hath said it: “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Mat 25:46). There will be no delay in execution or escape from the doom. There will be no steeling of the heart to endure it and no outliving the doom. It will last on in all its terror, the final verdict of the Judge of all the earth, pronounced by the Christ of love. I know not how to speak upon such a theme as this, but must leave it as it stands before you. May the Holy Ghost impress it upon your minds.
From a sermon delivered on Lord’s Day morning, May 25, 1879, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington,