There are only two types of people. Are you a sheep or a goat?
Matthew 25:31-46 (NIV)
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 37: The Last Judgment
Finally we believe,
according to God’s Word,
that when the time appointed by the Lord is come
(which is unknown to all creatures)
and the number of the elect is complete,
our Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven,
bodily and visibly,
as he ascended,
with great glory and majesty,
to declare himself the judge
of the living and the dead.
He will burn this old world,
in fire and flame,
in order to cleanse it.
Then all human creatures will appear in person
before that great judge—
men, women, and children,
who have lived from the beginning until the end
of the world.
They will be summoned there
by the voice of the archangel
and by the sound of the divine trumpet.
For all those who died before that time
will be raised from the earth,
their spirits being joined and united
with their own bodies
in which they lived.
And as for those who are still alive,
they will not die like the others
but will be changed “in the twinkling of an eye”
from “corruptible to incorruptible.”
Therefore,
with good reason
the thought of this judgment
is horrible and dreadful
to wicked and evil people.
But it is very pleasant
and a great comfort
to the righteous and elect,
since their total redemption
will then be accomplished.
They will then receive the fruits of their labor
and of the trouble they have suffered;
their innocence will be openly recognized by all;
and they will see the terrible vengeance
that God will bring on the evil ones
who tyrannized, oppressed, and tormented them
in this world.
Summary
In this parable, Jesus picks up on the shepherd theme that David used so powerfully in Psalm 23, and that Jesus has already applied to Himself as the Good Shepherd. Only this time, the Shepherd is cast in a different role; instead of kindly nurturing and guiding his flock, this time the Shepherd King separating them out.
The sheep, who gave to those in need are placed on his right, away from the goats which are herded to the left. The Shepherd King commends the sheep for selflessly caring for the needy, as opposed to the goats who only looked out for themselves (anyone who's raised sheep and goats understands the brilliance of Jesus' imagery).
Then the Shepherd King drops a bomb: whatever had been done, or had been left undone, for the least of these had been done or not done for the King Himself!
Consequently, Jesus welcomes the righteous sheep into their inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. The obtuse goats, on the other hand, are commanded to depart from the King into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Dig Deeper
It's fascinating that neither the sheep nor the goats recognized the opportunities they had been given in the moment. Both want to know when it was that they'd encountered the hungry, thirsty, and strangers who needed clothing.
So clearly the opportunities we have to serve others extend past the obvious physical signs of need like hunger and clothing. Certainly a person would remember an encounter with a hungry, thirsty naked person, whether they had stopped to help or not. It's even possible that the goats had often helped the poor; they ask the King when did we see these needs and not help you?
But by going back to see how Jesus had used the metaphors of bread and water previously, we can see that these were people who needed the Bread of Life and Living Water, and not just their physical counterparts. The Shepherd King wants His sheep to care for people both spiritually and physically.
It makes sense that the goats were clueless as to their missed opportunities, but what's so amazing is that the actions the sheep took in caring for these needs flowed so seamlessly from their faith that they didn't even notice the good they'd been doing.
Do you think you'll be shocked to hear about how you reacted to the opportunities you've been given when you stand before the King?
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who blesses His sheep and prepares an inheritance for us;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that your actions and your faith will be so seamlessly integrated that you just naturally respond to needs, whether you recognize them or not;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Revelation 16
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