“Problem: Be a Sheep, Not a Goat”

Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46

Today, we consider our second problematic passage from scripture. At first glance, it may not seem to be troubling, but for some, it is. Is it, as the title in many translations implies, really about God’s judgment of our faith? Is it really about the Lord’s expectations of those who desire to be his people? Is the list of services, which we will be talking about, absolute, or are they optional, or do they mean something totally different than what they appear to mean? And what are those titles “sheep” and “goats” all about?

Have any of these issues every bothered you, or seemed confusing to you? If so, don’t feel bad – you’re not alone. Even first century Israel had problems with fully grasping Jesus’ teaching, so why shouldn’t we? But have you ever thought that Jesus might have done it that way, just so we would have to think about his words?

Interesting thing about having to think about what we are learning. Without thought, the topic enters our memory, and never quite makes a connection to the other things we have learned. Consider this – have you ever tried to remember a person’s name? How do we usually do it? By creating a mnemonic – something that helps us to associate with the name.

When I worked at New York State Electric and Gas in Western New York, our Operating Superintendent’s name was Bill McCann, and his wife’s name was Sue. Unfortunately, my wife, Diane, had trouble remembering both of their names. So I decided to help her.

I suggested that she might remember that his name was similar to Tom McCann, a regional shoe company, and her name was similar to “shoe” – Tom and “Shoe” McCann. The only thing Diane would have to change would be their first names – that his wasn’t Tom, but Bill, like mine, and her name was similar to “shoe”, except it was really Sue.

I was pretty proud of this approach - except that it backfired. The only names that Diane actually remembered were Tom and “Shoe”, and for quite some time, she still had to ask me to explain the mnemonic again – usually when we were at a company function, preparing to greet the McCann’s!

See what I mean? When it comes to learning from Jesus, we need to put the entire truth of his teaching into his context, and not ours. And the message that Jesus presents in the coming verses will be vitally important to us as they would be his last lesson for all disciples.

Read Matthew 25:31-34

The passage begins with a double reference – first to Jesus as Judge at the Final Judgment, and second, to the Judge as a Shepherd. We might see this as an odd pairing of images, but quite honestly, this would make for the perfect judge – one who cares about those who come before him, as well as one who makes the perfect decisions for those under his care.

But this shouldn’t surprise us. After all, scripture is very clear, that at the last day, God, and only God, will have the final say as to who will know eternity, and who will only know condemnation (Zechariah 3; John 5:22-30). And the reference to the Shepherd? This shouldn’t be new to us either. In John 10:1-18, Jesus tells us that he is our Good Shepherd, the one who brings us truth and compassion, that he is the only one who is able, and willing, to put us first in this life, and that he will also be the only one who will put his own life on the line for all who will choose to be one of his “sheep”.

And the important issue here is that no one will be exempt from the Day of Judgment. The word “nations” doesn’t imply that judgment will be by group or national identity, but rather everyone on an individual basis. Each and every person will have to stand on the life they have lived, and not on the collective life of humanity.

But this separation of sheep and goats – what is that all about? For Israel, their grazing flocks consisted of both sheep and goats, as either one could be used for sacrifice or meat, but as I understand it, only the sheep would be used for their wool. So before the shearing, the sheep would be separated out from the goats to make the process a little simpler. Jesus uses this understanding of separation as an analogy for the Judgment – that only the ones who bring to the Lord the gift that he needs will be welcomed.

These are the ones who will receive their eternal inheritance.

Read Matthew 25:35-39

As Jesus reveals these six gifts that we can give to others, it can also create a confusion factor. These verses can easily be mistaken as the means of entrance into the kingdom, instead of a demonstration of the heart that we have for the Lord’s command to love one another just as he has loved us (John 13:34-35). So the point that Jesus is making is that when we love others, as demonstrated through these selfless acts, we are also expressing our love and faith and trust in him.

So how do we respond to God’s great gift of Jesus? Do we commit our lives to him? Do we follow his example? Do we accept the call he places on each of us to continue in the ministry that he began so long ago? Does he really want us to literally carry out the acts that he lists here, or is there more to it?

I believe that in every parable, every sermon, every word that Jesus ever uttered, those commands that are based on the things of this human life, there is also a spiritual meaning behind every single one of them. So while I truly believe that the Lord wants us to show the love and support that is laid out in this literal listing of compassionate acts, I believe that there is also a deeper meaning, so let’s consider the following:

1. Feed the hungry – In John 6:57-58, we read that eternal life depends on whether we “feed” on the word that Jesus brings or not. God is a living Being, and by learning and accepting and absorbing all that he brings to us through Jesus, our “hunger” - our search for absolute truth - is satisfied by feeding on Him.
This is how we are called to spiritually feed others – to relieve the hunger of earth’s emptiness from their lives.

2. Give a drink to the thirsty – In John 4:7-15, we read of the meeting that Jesus had with a woman of Samaria. She had come to the community well to draw water for the day, a task that she performed every day. Jesus had asked her to give him a drink of water, and when she expressed the age old concern that Samaritans and Jews should never interact with each other, he tells her that if she had asked him for a drink, he would have given her “Living Water”, which is Jesus’ term for eternal life.
This is the “drink” of salvation that we are to bring to the world.

3. Be inviting - In the “Parable of the Wedding Feast” (Matthew 22:1-14), Jesus tells of a king who invites his friends and associates to celebrate the marriage of his son. But when they all decline, claiming that they had more important things to do, he begins inviting others, including strangers in the town and even passersby on the roads that led through his kingdom.
“I was a stranger, and you invited me” – who do we invite to our Savior’s eternal banquet? Only those whom we know and like, or everyone, including those unworthy strangers?

4. The proper clothing - In Luke 12:22-34, Jesus tells a story that is sometimes known as the Lilies of the Field. Wild flowers are very beautiful, but Jesus tells us “If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!”
Do we lead others to be clothed in the glory of Jesus Christ, or do we let them continue to falsely trust in the world’s garments that can only lead to the “fire”?

5. Care for the ill – In Matthew 9:9-13, Jesus has just called Matthew, a tax collector for the Romans, to be his disciple, and they are having dinner with a wide variety of people, including several Pharisees. They accuse Jesus of sinning because he spends so much time with other sinners. And he replies, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” And in the next verse, “For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The spiritually ill, those who have yet to know the forgiveness and love of Jesus Christ, need to be “looked after”, too! But do we?

6. Visit the prisoner – Jesus knew the persecution and hatred of this world, and its oppression is not unlike being in prison. In Luke 21:10-13, the Lord says that we will be put in the prison of earthy condemnation, and judged by the leadership of earth – and how well he should know! And the people of this world are still languishing in the prison of spiritual darkness, and will perish there, if someone doesn’t show them the way to the light of heaven.
Will you “visit the prisoner”, and offer them freedom from the world’s darkness?

Read Matthew 25:40-45

And if we choose to ignore the needs of others – both physical and spiritual – we will find ourselves huddled on the outside with all of the other “goats”, looking in on glory, and wondering what had just happened. “Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” – these are the words of condemnation that no one should ever be content to hear.

We need to be sheep in the fold of Almighty God, and of our great Shepherd Jesus Christ, but we must never forget the goats that still roam throughout the earth. The Church – you and I – must give them a chance to also live within the folds of Jesus’ eternity arms.