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The Sheep And The
Goats
Who are the Sheep and the
Goats of Matthew 25?
by Shari Abbott,
Reasons for Hope* Jesus
There’s
a passage about sheep and the goats that is difficult to understand.
It’s
about another judgment but, again, Christians need not be fearful or unsettled
by Jesus’ words.
The
Last 15 Verses of Matthew 25
Remember
that there were no chapter divisions and verse numbers in the original
manuscripts.
Those
came in the 13th century (chapters) and the 16th century (verses).
However,
even though verses 31-46 follow Jesus’ parable about the faithful and
unfaithful servants, this passage is not a continuation of the parable.
Therefore,
it must stand alone and must be read and understood as a separate teaching.
The
parable in Matthew 25 addressed individual servants and closed by speaking
about a time of final judgment known as the Great White Throne Judgment.
This
judgment is still future. It will take place at the end of Jesus’ thousand-year
reign on earth (Revelation 20:11-15).
The
parable ended with verse 30, but Jesus continued speaking.
Now,
however, he spoke about people groups, the nations — a new teaching, about a
different time.
Jesus began with “when…” in verse 31: “When
the Son of man shall come in his glory…”
“The Son of Man [coming] in His glory” is long before the time of the Great White Throne
Judgement spoken of in the parable.
Jesus
Coming In His Glory
Jesus
is speaking about the end of the Tribulation when He comes to reign. He will
set up His kingdom and reign for 1,000 years, just as is prophesied through the
prophets and Jesus.
Let’s
read this verse carefully [all bracketed information, mine].
Matthew 25:31 - “When the Son of Man comes in His
glory, and all the holy angels with Him [after the seven years of Israel’s
trouble, the Tribulation], then He will sit on the throne of His glory [the
Millennial Kingdom, a 1,000 year reign on earth].”
The
Judgment of the Nations
During
Jesus’ thousand-year reign as King on earth, the nations will come before Him
and He will judge them.
The
nations are represented as two groups — the sheep and the goats. Jesus will
separate them into these two groups for judgment.
One
group, the sheep nations, has demonstrated their love for Jesus by lovingly
serving others.
The
other group, the goat nations, did not love Jesus nor did they serve others.
Matthew 25:32-33 - “All the nations will be
gathered before Him, and He will separate them [King Jesus will judge the
nations] one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
And He will set the sheep [the faithful nations] on His right hand, but the
goats [the unfaithful servants] on the left.”
The
Sheep on His Right Hand
Matthew 25:34-40 - “Then the King will say to those
on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you
gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you
took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I
was in prison and you came to Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord,
when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When
did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did
we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
“And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly,
I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren,
you did it to Me.’”
The nations that will help Israel during the seven
years of tribulation will be rewarded (Jesus said: “inasmuch as you did it to one of the
least of these My brethren [the Jews]”).
The
only reason these nations will risk their lives to help Israel is that they
love God. Their works of service demonstrate that they know Jesus as Lord, Saviour,
and God.
They
humbled themselves and served with sacrificial love thereby fulfilling the
Great Commandments of
1)
Love Your God and
2)
Love Your Neighbor.
They
will be called the sheep nations because the Good Shepherd, Jesus, will take
care of these sheep also.
The
Goats on His Left Hand
The
goats did not demonstrate love for others.
They did not feed, clothe, and care for those in need.
By
not doing for Jesus’ brethren (Israel) they were not doing for or serving
Jesus. This illustrates the condition of their hearts — no love for Jesus.
Those
who do not love Jesus will be condemned.
Matthew 25:41-46 - “Then He will also say to those
on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire
prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no
food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not
take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not
visit Me.’ Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You
hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not
minister to You?'
“Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say
to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these [Jesus’
brethren], you did not do it to Me.’
“And these will go away into everlasting punishment,
but the righteous into eternal life.”
These
are the goats. They can be likened, typologically, to the scapegoat, upon whom
all sins were placed and it was sent out into the wilderness never to be seen
again.
These uncaring, unloving nations will be judged and
found wanting. They “will go away into everlasting punishment.”
Rightly
Divided and Rightly Understood
Paul wrote, “Study to show thyself approved unto
God, a workman who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”
(2 Timothy 2:15).
Rightly
dividing means to read the words of the Bible in the historical context,
understanding about the time in which the original hearers received these
words, how they were interpreted then, and how we should understand them now.
Before
the cross, the Old Covenant existed between God and man. It was a covenant that
God made with the Jews. We are not under that covenant.
God
gave a New Covenant, through His Son Jesus.
We are part of that covenant, and it is a covenant entered into by God’s
grace alone, through faith in Jesus.
The
New Covenant replaced the Old Covenant (fully in 70 AD) and it is an
Everlasting Covenant.
Hebrews 8:13 – “In that He says, ‘A new covenant,’
He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old
is ready to vanish away.”
Those
who are Christians, those who belong to Jesus, need never fear God’s judgment. Our
sins were judged on the cross of Christ.
Jesus
took them upon Himself and paid for them, making atonement to God so He could justly
forgive all our sins.
When
we repented and trusted in Jesus all our sins were washed away (Revelation 1:5).
We
are secure.
Matthew
25 is not about any Christian. By applying right division, we know that this
chapter is about a time in the future.
It
is about the time when God will judge Israel and the nations, with the intent
of drawing people to Himself before Jesus returns for His millennial reign.
Our
Instruction from Matthew 25
While
we are instructed by Paul to rightly divide the Scriptures to understand
context and to know to whom and when the words apply, we can still learn from
all passages of Scripture.
So,
what can we learn and apply from Matthew 25?
We
belong to Jesus.
We
love Jesus.
We
should do as He commanded us to do, which is to show our love for Him by loving
and serving others.
Hebrews 13:20-21- “Now the God of peace, that
brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good
work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight,
through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
“Be Ready Always... to give a reason for the Hope that
you have” (1 Peter 3:15).
When
you can’t share the gospel with your words, share it by leaving tracts that
tell people about God's grace.
When
leaving a tract, always be diligent to pray about the short gospel message.
Pray
that it be found by someone who is in need of Jesus’ saving grace, and pray
that the person will have a tender heart and open ears to receive the gift
Jesus desires to give them.
By
the power of the Holy Spirit, even a small tract can help in turning a broken
sinner from darkness to light.
Reasons for Hope* Jesus is a discipling and apologetics ministry with a
mission to equip YOU–believers in the Lord Jesus Christ–to know Him better
and to love Him more.
The apostle Peter wrote of our
great commission to share our faith with others and to be prepared to defend
God’s Word:
…sanctify the Lord God in your
hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a
reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.
God has said to His people,
“come let us reason together” (Isaiah 1:18).
Reasons for Hope* Jesus believes
and teaches that all reasoning begins with the literal interpretation of Holy
Scripture and by being in communion with the one and only Triune God.
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