The Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-46)
In 2010, I lost my preaching job. After a long line of unsuccessful interviews, I was hired at Heritage Christian University. The university was in a budget crunch and paid us just enough to survive. When Christmastime rolled around, Tammy and I didn’t know how we were going to get the boys much of anything.
Unbeknownst to me, some members of the Mars Hill church where we worshiped knew we were struggling financially. Dr. Bill Bagents, the university dean and one of the elders at the Mars Hill church, stopped by my office and handed me $200 to help with the boys’ Christmas. He told me that the cash was from someone at Mars Hill who wanted to help but who also wished to remain anonymous. Our boys had a nice Christmas that year.
How many of you have been blessed by a Christian brother or sister when you were in a tight spot? How many of you have received food when you needed it or a visit from a brother or sister when you were hospitalized? On the other hand, how many of you have been to the hospital or nursing home to visit someone? How many of you have given food or clothing or money to a struggling soul?
Heping the downtrodden is a matter of heaven and hell. When Jesus described the Great Judgment, he said he would separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep—those who will enter heaven—cared for the needy, but the goats—those who will enter an eternal hell—refused to care for the downtrodden. Jesus taught: “Serving the hurting is the hallmark trait of a Christian.”
Scripture (Matthew 25:31-46)
verses 31-33:
The imagery of the Son of Man comes from Daniel 7 and was a Messianic title in Jesus’s day. His sitting on his glorious throne illustrates two important truths:
- He is divine: God is always pictured in the Hebrew Bible as the judge.
- He has authority: Jesus’s authority, of course, comes from the fact that he is divine, but his sitting on his throne makes that authority undeniable.
All the nations will be gathered before him. There will not be a single person who escapes the judgment. In the Revelation to John, the revelator saw “the dead, great and small,” standing before the throne (Rev 20:12).
The Son of Man will separate the nations “as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” Sheep and goats grazed together; however, at night, a shepherd separated them, because goats needed to be kept warm, while sheep preferred open air. A shepherd divided the goats and sheep at the close of the day; the Son of Man will separate the sheep and the goats at the close of time.
The sheep will be on the right, but the goats on the left. The ancients preferred the right side, and sheep were more valuable than goats.
verses 34-40:
“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 foundation of the world.’” “Inherit the kingdom” was a common phrase in Judaism, for the Jews understood they were God’s kingdom. Here the kingdom is prepared for those who are God’s new kingdom, spiritual Israel.
Those on the right had helped the downtrodden—the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned. Jesus identifies with the downtrodden, for he told those on the right that as they behaved toward the oppressed they had behaved toward him.
verses 41-45:
The King “will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’” Notice that hell was not prepared for humans; God never intended for people to spend eternity in hell.
Those on the left are consigned to hell, for they did not help the exploited of this world.
verse 46:
Those on the left “will go away into eternal punishment.” The punishment will be eternal, no annihilation, no eternal sleep. Real, never-ending punishment.
The righteous—those on the right—will go away into eternal life.
Application
“Serving the hurting is the hallmark trait of a Christian.” Serving differentiated between those who entered eternal life and those who entered eternal punishment. Notice in Matthew 25, that Jesus never mentioned doctrine or morality or obedience. And you know how important doctrine and morality and obedience are! That simply underscores how vital serving the hurting really is.
Because “Serving the hurting is the hallmark trait of a Christian,” you must do two things:
One: You must Decide.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matt 25:31-32). Jesus is coming back, he is going to sit on his throne, you are going to be gathered before him, and you will be separated into one of two groups. You must decide which group you wish to join.
God has always given man a choice. When he placed Adam and Eve in the Garden, he placed the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil there; they weren’t robots—they could decide for themselves how they wanted to live. In his farewell address, Joshua told the people, “If it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell” (Josh 24:15). Just before his competition with the prophets of Baal, Elijah said to the people, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him” (1 Ki 18:21).
You, too, must Decide what you will do. Will you care for the downtrodden and thus be among those who enter eternal life? Or, will you care only about yourself and thus be among those who enter eternal damnation?
Two: You must Deliver.
Once you have decided what you will do, you must Deliver and care for the oppressed. The King will say, “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me” (Matt 25:35-36).
The Lord Jesus expects you to Deliver concern, compassion, and care to the destitute. Your neighbor, he said, is the beaten man on the side of the road who cannot make it without your help, and you dare not pass by on the other side. “As we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone” (Gal 6:10). “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all” (1 Thess 5:14).
You know people who are hungry; how will you feed them? You know people who are thirsty; what will you give them to drink? You encounter strangers; how will you welcome them? You see the naked; how will you clothe them? You see the sick; will you visit them? You know there are folks in prison; how will you visit them? What will you Deliver for the downtrodden?
You were once downtrodden, burdened with sin, and God Delivered you: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col 1:13-14). Are you living in that kingdom this morning?
This Bible class was originally taught by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at the Dale Ridge church of Christ in Roanoke, Virginia.