The place to be. The right hand of Jesus is one of the most desirable places on which to be. But why is the right hand of Jesus such a desirable place, and what must a person do in order to be invited there?

What will it take to be invited on his right side? Let us read the following words of Jesus, to see which clues he will give us:

31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Mat 25:31-40)

Showing mercy appears to be what the people on the right side of Jesus did.

What will define people as goats? If we are right, not showing mercy should place people on his left side:

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Mat 25:41-46)

Jesus is the Judge. When Jesus, through his death and resurrection had overcome the world, the Father gave all judgment to him:

22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. (John 5:22)

Jesus will deliver Justice. As a Judge, Jesus has to be both the stern dispenser of justice and the merciful deliverer from justice. He has to make sure that un-repented sinners will meet un-perverted justice, not mercy.

Jesus will show mercy. But Jesus has paid the ultimate price for the right to deliver the penitent sinner from the demands of the very same justice (that the hardened sinner will be punished for), to receive of his mercy instead. In order for the judge (Jesus), to let the sinner off who has a contrite spirit, for breaking the law, that the law-giver (Jesus) had given, he, Jesus, the Lamb of God, had to suffer no end, and die. This bought him the right to buy us free, and so he glorified his Father.

Right and Left. A true God needs justice and mercy, just like Jesus needed a right and a left hand. In fact, his mercy is symbolized by the right hand of Jesus, and his justice is symbolized by his left hand side.

What goes around comes around… It is interesting to see what the requirements are in order to be a sheep on the right hand of Jesus, to enter into the joy of his Father. Both the sheep and the goats had all met the hungry, the sick, the homeless, the imprisoned etc. It was so easy to be judgmental, blaming them for their own unfortunate circumstances. But the sheep didn’t. They fed them, nursed them, took them in, and visited them in their cells. One might say that they treated them in the spirit of the right hand of Jesus, the hand of mercy.

On the other hand (no pun intended), the goats, the damned, on the left hand side of the Lord, met people in the same kind of circumstances, and they treated them in the spirit of the left hand. They had no mercy. They could only see that these unfortunates had gotten themselves into their plights. The hungry were lazy, the sick were wine-bibbers, the imprisoned were thieves, and the homeless were not to be trusted. Perhaps they were right.

Who needs Justice? But they failed to remember that we are all beggars, all guilty before the judge, who suffered for us, by his own free will. We need to be treated by the right hand of Jesus. We do not want justice!

In short, treating ones fellow man in the spirit of the right hand of Jesus - the hand of mercy - will give us a place on the right hand of Jesus.