The Sheep and the Goats - Matthew 25:31-46
The Sheep and the Goats
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.”
Reflection: Today Jesus gives us the famous "what you did unto the least of these you did unto me passage". In it Jesus describes a scene of judgment, where the people are separated on his right and left. To the ones on his right he gives the kingdom, and to the ones on his left he pronounces eternal separation from Him and they go into the eternal fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels. Pretty strong language from our Savior as recorded by the Gospel writer Matthew.
So how do we interpret passages like these? First, we shouldn't necessarily tone down the language of judgment, which we might be tempted to do to make Jesus a little nicer and less harsh. If all Scripture is inspired and useful for teaching and correction, then we don't get to pick the passages we like and don't like. Back in the days where the liberal movement was emerging, one of the things happening was that people began to edit out the passages they thought didn't align with their view of a loving God and that became their version of the bible. This is not too far from the modern day worldview of relativism, where truth is in the eyes of the beholder. I get my truth and you get yours. The only problem is when our views of the truth clash and then someone has to make a decision
The other aspect of this passage is to be careful to interpret it in the light of the rest of scripture. For instance, one might conclude that salvation is based on what we do not by what God has done for us. Whereas the overarching theme of the gospels and the rest of the New Testament is that we are saved by grace through faith. And yet, the gospels and letters are also clear that this kind of saving faith always produces good works through the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is hard to imagine a disciple of Christ, who is filled with the Holy Spirit, not caring about the poor, and figuring out ways to clothe and feed them. It is hard to fathom a faithful believer in Jesus not caring about those in prison, homeless, addicted or the orphans left alone.
So there is an element of judgment and rebuke for Christians, who have become so comfortable that they have forgotten the least and lost. Where is God calling you to reach out to those less fortunate than you? Jesus promises us today that what we do unto the least of these we do unto him. So if we want to see more of Jesus, let's get out there and make a difference. Pray about where God might use you to be His vessel of love and grace. The same love and grace you received when you came to faith in Him. Amen.
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.”
Reflection: Today Jesus gives us the famous "what you did unto the least of these you did unto me passage". In it Jesus describes a scene of judgment, where the people are separated on his right and left. To the ones on his right he gives the kingdom, and to the ones on his left he pronounces eternal separation from Him and they go into the eternal fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels. Pretty strong language from our Savior as recorded by the Gospel writer Matthew.
So how do we interpret passages like these? First, we shouldn't necessarily tone down the language of judgment, which we might be tempted to do to make Jesus a little nicer and less harsh. If all Scripture is inspired and useful for teaching and correction, then we don't get to pick the passages we like and don't like. Back in the days where the liberal movement was emerging, one of the things happening was that people began to edit out the passages they thought didn't align with their view of a loving God and that became their version of the bible. This is not too far from the modern day worldview of relativism, where truth is in the eyes of the beholder. I get my truth and you get yours. The only problem is when our views of the truth clash and then someone has to make a decision
The other aspect of this passage is to be careful to interpret it in the light of the rest of scripture. For instance, one might conclude that salvation is based on what we do not by what God has done for us. Whereas the overarching theme of the gospels and the rest of the New Testament is that we are saved by grace through faith. And yet, the gospels and letters are also clear that this kind of saving faith always produces good works through the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is hard to imagine a disciple of Christ, who is filled with the Holy Spirit, not caring about the poor, and figuring out ways to clothe and feed them. It is hard to fathom a faithful believer in Jesus not caring about those in prison, homeless, addicted or the orphans left alone.
So there is an element of judgment and rebuke for Christians, who have become so comfortable that they have forgotten the least and lost. Where is God calling you to reach out to those less fortunate than you? Jesus promises us today that what we do unto the least of these we do unto him. So if we want to see more of Jesus, let's get out there and make a difference. Pray about where God might use you to be His vessel of love and grace. The same love and grace you received when you came to faith in Him. Amen.
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