Sheep and Goats
Matthew 25:31-46
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, accompanied by all the angels, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. 33 The ‘sheep’ he will place at his right hand and the ‘goats’ at his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you made me your guest, 36 I needed clothes and you provided them, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the people who have done what God wants will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and make you our guest, or needing clothes and provide them? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 The King will say to them, ‘Yes! I tell you that whenever you did these things for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did them for me!’
41 “Then he will also speak to those on his left, saying, ‘Get away from me, you who are cursed! Go off into the fire prepared for the Adversary and his angels! 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 a stranger and you did not welcome me, needing clothes and you did not give them to me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, a stranger, needing clothes, sick or in prison, and not take care of you?’ 45 And he will answer them, ‘Yes! I tell you that whenever you refused to do it for the least important of these people, you refused to do it for me!’ 46 They will go off to eternal punishment, but those who have done what God wants will go to eternal life.”
All throughout Scripture there has been a difference between right and left. Blessings were on the right, curses and judgement were for the left. My husband and I have asked each other several times why this happens. I don't know that we have found a true answer yet.
What I do see in these verses is that Jesus is once again making a line in the "sand." He is teaching the disciples that people will become divided. Some will choose to follow Him and some will not.
If you have seen "flocks" of sheep and goats you will notice that they are often separated. The goats stick together and the sheep hang together.
What is interesting is that they are still in a group together. It is still the same for people. Everyone stays grouped together. They try to get along, they try to hang together, but... I see this in churches and communities. Everyone hangs together and tries to make it look like they are part of the same group, but really...
This is where we must ALL be on our toes and ready. We must all find ways to HEAR Him and do what He desires. There will be different possibilities of how this is played out. Some will be overly compassionate. Some people will be revolutionary. As long as we do not go against the WORD of God, we should find ways to work together.
The body WORKS together. It cares for the body. As we face another day, let us find ways to make sure we are caring for those HE places in our path. Don't let the goats tear you away from hearing HIS voice. Let the Shepherd be the One you follow.
Love and blessings,
Rose
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