The Parable of the Sheep and Goats

1. Parable of the Sheepand Goats – 27th
August 2016
“All the nationswill be gathered before him,and he will separate the peopleone from
another as a shepherdseparates the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:32).
The Parable of the SheepandGoats isfoundin Matthew 25:31-46. This parable isa short,simple story
of comparison.Jesusbeginsthe parable bysayingitconcernsHisreturninglory to setup His kingdom as
we can read from Matthew 25: 31, “Whenthe Son of Mancomes in hisglory, andall the angelswith
him,he will siton his gloriousthrone. 3
. Therefore,the settingof thiseventisatthe beginningof the
millennium, afterthe tribulation.Allthose onearthatthat time will be broughtbefore the Lord,andHe
will separate them“asa shepherdseparatesthe sheepfromthe goats.He will putthe sheep onhisright
and the goats onhis left”“All thenationswill be gathered before him, andhe will separate the people
one from anotheras a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33
He will put the sheep on his
right andthe goatson hisleft” (Matthew 25: 32-33).
From above we can readthat there wouldbe a selectionprocesswithsome puttoJesus’leftandthe
otherto the right. The sheeponJesus’righthandare blessedbyGodthe Fatherandgivenan
inheritance.The reasonisstated: “ForIwas hungryand yougave me somethingto eat, I was thirsty
and yougave me somethingto drink, I was a stranger andyou invitedme in,I needed clothes andyou
clothedme, I was sickand you lookedafter me, I wasin prisonand youcame to visitme” (Matthew
25: 35-36). The righteouswillnotunderstand whatwassaid:Theywill inquire asto whendidtheysee
Jesusinsuch a pitiful conditionandhelpHim? “Whendidwesee yousick or in prisonand goto visit
you?’40
“The Kingwill reply, ‘Truly I tell you,whatever youdid for one ofthe leastof these brothers
and sistersof mine,you did forme.’(Matthew 25: 39-40).
The goats were puton Jesus’leftare cursedwitheternal hell-fire,“preparedforthe devil andhisangels.
We can readthisfrom Matthew 25:41, “Thenhe will sayto thoseon his left,‘Depart fromme, you who
are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil andhis angels”.We can alsolearnwhenwe read
inverses 42-43, : “For I was hungryand yougave me nothingtoeat, I was thirstyand you gaveme
nothingto drink, 43
I was a stranger andyou did notinvite me in, I needed clothes andyou didnot
clothe me, I was sick andin prisonandyou did notlook after me”. Theyhad the opportunityto
ministertothe Lord,but they ignoredand didnothing…Butonce againwe can learnthat even those
whowere damnedinquired fromJesus:“…Lord,whendidwe see you hungryor thirstyor a stranger or
needingclothes or sick or in prison,anddid nothelp you?’45
“Hewill reply, ‘TrulyI tell you, whatever
you didnot do for one ofthe leastof these, you didnot do for me”(Matthew25:45). We can also learn
that Jesusthenendsthe discourse withacontrast as foundin verse 46: “They will go away to eternal
punishment,butthe righteousto eternal life”.
In the Parable of the Sheepandthe Goats, we are lookingatman redeemedandsaved,andman
condemnedandlost.A casual readingseemstosuggestthatsalvation isthe resultof goodworks.Those
whowere definedas “sheep”actedcharitably,givingfood,drink,andclothingtothe needy.Thenonthe
otherhand those whowere definedas “goats”showednocharity.Thisseemstoresultinsalvationfor
the ‘goodworks’ and damnationforthe evil.However,Scripture doesnotcontradictitself, andthe Bible
clearlyandrepeatedlyteachesthatsalvationisbyfaiththroughthe grace of God and notby our good
works.Inrelevance tothiswe can learnfrom Ephesians2:8-10, “For it isby grace youhave beensaved,
throughfaith—andthisisnotfromyourselves,itisthe giftof God— 9 not by works,sothat no one can

2. boast.10 For we are God’s handiwork,createdinChristJesustodogoodworks,whichGod preparedin
advance for usto do”.
As Christianswe needtoknowthatourgood worldbythemselveswillnotavail usour righteousness
and or salvation.We canlearnfrom Romans3:22-24; “Thisrighteousnessis giventhroughfaithin Jesus
Christto all whobelieve. There is no differencebetween Jew andGentile, 23
for all have sinnedand fall
short of the gloryof God, 24
andall are justifiedfreelyby his grace throughthe redemptionthat came
by ChristJesus”.Furthermore we canalso learnfrom John1:12, “Yetto all whodid receive him, to
those who believedin hisname, he gave the right to become childrenof God”.Infact, we can learn
that JesusHimself makesitclearinthe parable thatthe salvationisnotbasedontheirworks—their
inheritance wastheirs“since the creationof the world” longbeforetheycouldeverdoanygoodworks!
We can learnthisfrom Matthew 25:34: “Then the King will say to those onhis right,‘Come,you who
are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance,the kingdomprepared for you sincethe creationof
the world”.
The core message of the Parable of the SheepandGoats isthat God’s people will love others.As
Christians aswe read the Gospels,we canobserve the importance thatJesusplacesof love.He isthe
author of love! Goodworkswill automatically resultwhenwe have aclose andlong-termrelationship
withGod. Those whodiligentlyfollow Christwill treatotherswithkindness,servingthemasif theywere
servingChristHimself.The unregenerateliveinthe opposite manner…regardlessof love forothersand
love forGod!
The good worksmentionedinthe parable are notthe causeof salvationbutthe effectof salvation. Even
the “lost” alsomay indeedperform some actsof kindnessandcharity…buttheirheartsare notwith
God. Theydon’thonorand worshipGod and theiractionsare not for the rightpurpose that God
intended. BecauseGodblessedthosewhom He acceptsasHis Children the fruitof the Spirit - whichis
love,joy,peace,patience,kindness,goodness,gentleness,faithfulness,andself-control.Goodworksin
a Christian’slife are the directoverflow of these traits,andare onlyacceptable toGodbecause of the
relationshipthatexistsbetweenservantandMaster,the savedandtheirSavior,the sheepandtheir
Shepherd. “Forweare God’shandiwork,createdin ChristJesus to do goodworks, whichGod prepared
in advancefor us to do”(Ephesians2:10).