The Sheep and the Goats

Today we look at the third in this series of parables of the Kingdom. Remember they are parables and we have to look beyond the obvious to get their meaning. Because they are all about the Kingdom of Heaven/God, they will have something to do with the nature of life under God’s rule.
This parable is about the Judge/King who sits on his throne at the end of time with the nations of the world gathered before him. The nations are represented as sheep and goats.

The sheep have served their fellow humans with care and generosity and the king welcomes them into his kingdom. The goats have not served their fellow humans and they are rejected. He reveals to both groups that their service for others is actually service for him; their king.

Even though this parable is a picture of the last judgement, that is not what it is essentially about. This setting gives Jesus teaching in the parable a sense of importance and urgency. It is about life in God’s Kingdom, which is wherever God rules, and that is as much now, as then. It is also a national judgement rather than a judgement of individuals. This gives the teaching a universal application. Humans are not just responsible for what they do individually, but also for what their communities do as well.

It is the use of the term “Son of Man” which identifies the king in the story as the judge of the world. This is a term used to predict the coming judge in Daniel 7. It also identifies the king with Jesus because this title is also used by him. So this Judge/King, is Jesus. It is by the measure of our response to Jesus that our belonging to the Kingdom is understood. That is made clear in the rest of the parable as well, in that, our response to people in need is actually our response to Jesus. The King and the needy are one and the same.

The sheep are accepted as belonging to the Kingdom, because they have cared about people in need, and the goats are rejected, because they have not.

It is important to note that in this story they are all believers. Both sheep and goats describe the King as Lord. This is not about sorting the Christians from the non-Christians. This story is about sorting those who have lived out Jesus teaching and those who have not. It is one thing to claim faith in Jesus and it is another to be a true follower. Remember following, is what Jesus called us to do. I have a saying I’m sure I have shared with you before; “I do not necessarily believe what I SAY I believe, but I do believe what I DO I believe.” That’s not very good English, but I hope you get the point.

The surprising thing in the story is that neither the sheep or the goats had any idea when they had, or when they could have, served. What they did, comes from their hearts without any sense of duty, or even obedience. They just lived as it seemed natural to them. The goats represent those who have not really been changed by their faith. It does not guide their actions. The sheep speak to me of people whose lives are changed, so that their natural impulse is love.

That is what Jesus wants to do in our lives. Christianity is not coat we put on, or a job we do, but a life which is integrated with the Holy Spirit who changes the nature of our hearts. We do what we WANT to do because our lives have changed, and all we WANT to do is love in the way Jesus has shown us. This is what faith really means. Trust which is so complete that our whole lives have been reshaped to Jesus’ purpose, which is Kingdom life, not just at the end of time, but here and now.