Title: Sheep and Goat
Contents br> The above words are the words that Jesus Himself gave to the disciples. It is believed to have been about three days before Jesus died on the cross. So, these words correspond to the last teachings of Jesus on earth just before he left this world. The central theme of this verse is the second coming of Jesus and the final judgment.
1. Jesus the Judge
Jesus first declared that when the time would come, He would return to this earth to gather all nations and judge them.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all the angels, he will sit on the throne of his glory, gathering all the nations together before him, and separating each one of them, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, with the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.” (Mt 25:31-33)
The words of the judgment of Jesus were written by the apostle John.
“And I saw a great white throne and him who sat on it, and earth and heaven had escaped from before him, and I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds according to what is written in the books, and the sea gave up the dead that were in them, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them. was also thrown into the lake of fire, which is the second death, the lake of fire. Whosoever was not written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11-15).
The return of Jesus to this earth is a real event in human history and will be revealed in our time and space as promised through His Word. Unlike his first advent when he came to Bethlehem, Judea, he will come again with all the angels of heaven and will sit on the throne of the Judge of the Judge. All who have ever lived on this earth and all who will be living at the second coming of Jesus, the living and the dead. He will gather them and judge them. The above scripture speaks of the Lord's judgment as "discerning work." This is the distinction between sheep and goats. Every person who has ever lived on this earth everyone regardless of age, ethnicity, ancestry, status, or sex will be divided into sheep or goats. The Bible says that just as a shepherd separates sheep from goats and separates them from each other, so He will separate them.
A shepherd does not confuse sheep and goats because they are sheep-keepers. The shepherd knows the sheep and the sheep knows the shepherd. So there can never be a mistake in the “discerning” of the sheep and goats of the shepherd. Even an ordinary person, who has seen sheep and goats once or twice, can tell them apart if asked to distinguish them. But can a shepherd who is a sheep expert make a mistake? The work of discernment at the time of the final judgment of our Jesus will be an accurate discernment without any mistakes. After the separation, Jesus separates the sheep on the right side and the goats on the left side. After that, “Jesus the King, who sits on the throne of his glory,” first speaks to the sheep at his right hand.
“Then the king said 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. Naked and clothed me, I was sick and I visited you, I was in prison and you came to see me” (Matthew 25:34-36).
When the sheep heard this, they asked Jesus a question.
“Then the righteous answered and said, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you? “Have you seen him and went to see him?” (Matthew 25:37-39)
Jesus is the king again.
“The king answered and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40).
Now the “sheep” have nothing to say. Then Jesus speaks to the goats on the left. “And he said to them on the left, “Depart from me, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and welcome you. when he was naked, he put no clothes on him, sick and in prison and did not look after him” (Matthew 25:41-43).
Hearing this, the goats ask questions. “They also answered and said, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not serve you?” (Matthew 25:44)
To the goats' questions, Jesus answers them. “Then the king answered and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (Matthew 25:45).
Now the “goats” have nothing to say.
In the words of the Lord, firstly, the second coming of Jesus is a clear fact; secondly, when Jesus comes again, he will come as a judge or king for judgment; thirdly, the judgment of Jesus is severe; and fourth, the judgment of Jesus is It comes to all peoples. Fifth, you can know that everyone is either a sheep or a goat.
2. Who is the sheep?
We want to examine what kind of people sheep are through the words of Jesus. In this verse, the sheep is a human, not an animal. It is just a representation of a person as a sheep.
First, the sheep are “righteous”.
“Then the righteous will answer and say, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, and thirsty and give you drink?” (Matthew 25:37)
“They will go into eternal punishment, and the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46).
Can there be righteous people? The Bible clearly says, “There is none righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God. He has sinned and falls short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), “and sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin. came to men” (Romans 5:12). According to these words, there is no one righteous in life. However, the main text clearly records “the righteous”. Obviously the sheep are righteous. The righteous are righteous, but not born righteous, but acquired righteous. Soon after they were born sinners, they became righteous one day. These are people who believed in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified and died for their sins as Lord and Savior. Because it is only through faith that all the unclean sins of life are forgiven and righteousness is achieved.
“Therefore, there is no flesh by the works of the law to be justified before him; by the law, the knowledge of sin. It is the righteousness of God toward them that there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by the grace of God through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:20). -24)
“For at this time he also showed himself righteous, that he might be just, and that those who believe in Jesus might justify” (Romans 3:26).
“Therefore, we admit that it is not by works of the law that a person is justified, but by faith. Is God the only God of the Jews, and not the God of Gentiles? There is only one God who will justify the uncircumcised through faith” (Romans 3:28-30).
“What does the Bible say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness” (Romans 4:3).
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2).
Therefore, those described as the sheep at the right hand of Jesus are those who believed in Jesus when they lived in the flesh in this world. According to the Bible, they believed that only Jesus was the Son of God, that is, God. They believed that Jesus alone was the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior. They believed that Jesus was the only One who shed His blood for their sins. They believed in the power of Jesus' blood shed on the cross. They believed in Jesus' righteous kingdom, that there is a heaven and a hell. These were people who believed in Jesus and repented of all the sins of their souls. These were people who believed that there is eternal life in Jesus.