The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats

The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats
Matthew 25: 31-46 (November 23, 2008)

1) The Text

31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ 41Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

2) The Context

Our passage for study concludes Jesus' fifth and final discourse, "The coming of the Lord", 24:1-26:5. To drive home his exhortation "be prepared" ("keep watching" in the sense of keep focused on Christ, keep trusting Christ), Jesus relates two short teaching parables (illustrations) in 24:42-51 and two longer kingdom parables (riddles), the Ten Virgins, 25:1-13 and the Talents, 25:14-30. Jesus now concludes with a visionary description of the Day of Judgment. In that day the "blessed/righteous" will be separated from the "cursed". The righteous are blessed because they are prepared; they are prepared in that they accept (have faith in) Christ, which faith prompts their love of the brotherhood.

3) Interpretation

The interpretation of this passage is hotly contested. Many commentators understand "the least of these brothers of mine" to refer to the physically poor, the hungry, needy... The implication is that entrance into the kingdom of heaven is determined on the basis of deeds of mercy and compassion done to Christ through the poor and downtrodden. This approach is further extended by suggesting that Christ is now manifested to the world in the life of the poor and that we experience the risen Christ in acts of compassion toward the poor.

There are, of course, other ways of handling the passage. Some commentators see the "least brothers" as missionaries. Dispensational writers see the "least brothers" as Jews converted through the tribulation at the beginning of an earthly millennial kingdom. The judgment proceeds on the basis of how people act toward these Jewish brothers (a view which has provided a cover for the dispossession of the Palestinian people by the zionist state of Israel). The more conservative commentators see the "blessed" as disciples, as believers. With this approach there is a tendency to regard a believer's standing in the sight of God as somehow maintained, or advanced, by acts of compassion toward the brotherhood.

It is likely that Jesus is using a familiar teaching device whereby he undermines dependence on good works for salvation by emphasizing the demands of the law, and in so doing, moves his hearers (disciples / Jews - ie., this approach is only for religious people, nomists) toward a dependence on the grace of God. Religious people expect to be rewarded on the basis of their good works, so Jesus sets out a list of good works that are well beyond the norm and then says that a failure to do them to "one of the least of these" is a personal affront to him, the glorious reigning "Son of Man." The consequence of this failure is to end up in "eternal fire." The passage forces us to recognize that we are all goats ("all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"), and that we will have to find another way of being prepared for the coming day, a way apart from works of the law.

The truth is that the only way a person will get to the right side of God and possess "eternal life" is if the Son of Man gets them there. Salvation, getting saved, staying saved, is totally dependent on the mercy of God; it is a gift of God, ours for the asking. Of course, such a person will reflect their standing with Jesus by their love of those who love Jesus, but in the end, it is their faith in Jesus, their trust in his promised mercy, that secures "eternal life."

4) Thought Exercise

If faith is what matters, why do good works?

Can good works be a demonstration of our faith?