This is an excerpt from my book “40 Moments From Christ’s Final Days.” Click here to get it from Amazon using my affiliate link.
Find this moment in: Mt. 25:31-46
As Jesus concludes teaching about His second coming, He gives them one final glimpse into what awaits faithful Israel and the rest of the world.
But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. (Matthew 25:31-33)
During the day, shepherds would allow goats and sheep to graze together. At the end of the day, however, they had to be separated because the goats were too aggressive with the sheep. This is the practice Jesus draws upon when He talks about separating people at the end of the age.
The two groups here might confuse us. As He looks at everyone who has survived the disasters over the last seven years, He chooses one group to be spared and eventually gain eternal life, while others will be sent to Hades to await their final judgment in Revelation 20:11-15. But what criteria does He use?
Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom, which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ (Matthew 25:34-36)
The sheep cared for Jesus, and we see later that the goats did not. This confuses both groups because none of them would have seen Jesus until His return to the Mount of Olives. But He clarifies that their actions testify for or against them.
And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ (Matthew 25:40)
This particular line is confusing and has developed into strange beliefs about salvation. Space doesn’t allow me to dive into all the potential interpretations, so let’s focus on what we do know.
- They didn’t earn salvation because they helped the needy, because that goes against what we see in places like Ephesians 2:8-9
- Luke 6:45 and James 2:14-26 remind us that our actions are a result of what we believe, thus the actions of the sheep and goats are a result of what they believed
- “These brothers” of Jesus had to be on the earth during the last seven years because “these” is a word we use when demonstrating something (i.e., “these shoes are my favorite” implies I’m pointing to a specific pair of shoes)
- Christians have already been in Heaven with Christ, so this judgment is just between those who are alive at the end of the seven years – Israel and Gentiles
- Jesus taught on the sheep and goats immediately after His parables
Ultimately, we don’t know who “these brothers” are. However, based on what we know, this seems to be a more intimate description of what Jesus warned about when He first began the Olivet Discourse.
And because lawlessness is multiplied, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in the whole world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:12-14)
The goats demonstrate how love has gone cold. The sheep demonstrate what it looks like to endure to the end, not just surviving but living their lives for Jesus. All nations will know the truth of Christ and will understand why Jesus places them where He does. They may be confused about how they embraced or ignored Jesus during their lives, but no one from faithful Israel nor their Gentile enemies will be surprised at the reward or punishment they receive.
Stop and think: Jesus is clear that works don’t save us. However, as we see here, what we do because of our faith in Jesus does matter. What things in your life come from faith in Jesus, and what things need to change?
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