The Surprising Dividing Line - Sunday's Sermon

Jim has picked out Matthew 25:1-46 Text: Matthew 25:31-46 for this weeks' message. Here's the text:

31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34Then the King will say 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. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' 37Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' 40And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' 45Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

First...whenever I read this passage I think...what makes goats so bad? I never quite get that. Not sure if it's a relevant question anyways. I do wonder though....

BUT God divides up the nations of the world. The sheep on the right, the goats on the left.

The sheep genuinely cared for the needy of the world. The goats provided care as they saw fit. (at least that's my interpretation of their comments... but God we cared really we did .. but God saying...but you didn't provide it for the least of the needy so therefore you didn't really provide it for me).

I suppose when I stop to think about it I have to see the differences. Goats for instance are highly individualistic. They like doing their own thing, they don't much care what's going on around them if it doesn't directly affect them. They take care of themselves thank you very much. Sheep on the other hand tend to be "let's stick together type animals". They rely on others to protect and care for them. One sheep alone will either have other sheep rush to join it OR it will rush to join them. Stick together please.

And God wants us to be like sheep. The references to sheep in the bible is riddled throughout scripture. We are referred to as sheep countless times. In Micah: I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob; I will gather the remnant of Israel;I will set them togetherlike sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture,a noisy multitude of men. In Psalms: I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,for I do not forget your commandments. In Matthew: I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,for I do not forget your commandments.

We need to be sheep, gathered in by our shepherd. Safe and protected. Being herd animals, watching out for each other.