“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.” Matthew 25: 31-33
Jesus is the Good Shepherd… It’s interesting to know that sheep and goats often graze together, but are separated when it’s time to shear the sheep (this is something I just learned!). Jesus gives us a picture of sheep and goats to show the division of believers and unbelievers.
Another example of sheep and goats being divided is in Ezekiel 34: 17. Check it out…
“And as for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to his people: I will judge between one animal of the flock and another, separating the sheep from the goats.”
Jesus continues…
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick in prison and visit you?’
And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
The way we act towards and the way we treat others, gives real evidence of what we believe. What we do for others demonstrates what we really think about Jesus’ words to us: Feed the hungry, give the homeless a place to stay, look after the sick. Do your actions clearly separate you from pretenders and unbelievers?
In this parable, Jesus is describing acts of mercy that we can freely give… acts that are not dependent on our wealth, our intelligence, or any of our abilities. We cannot just expect the church or government to help people in need; Jesus expects our personal involvement in caring for others.
“Then the King will return to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger, or naked, or sick in prison, and not help you?’
“And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
When Jesus repeatedly warns us about unbelief, He’s trying to save us from agonizing, eternal punishment. Pretty sobering, huh?