Are you a Sheep or Goat?
Matthew 25:31-46
August 26, 2012
I remember when I was in seminary I would have some classes in which the professor would tell us we would have a “take home final.” Whenever I heard those words I was filled with great joy. But there were students who were not very happy, they were terrified.
To me, it’s a no-brainer — who wouldn’t want a take home exam? There’s no time crunch. There’s unlimited access to resources for doing research. There’s the ability to modify, or even completely change, responses after thinking about them for a while.
But the students who dread the take home final know there’s a down side to all those benefits. With all that extra time and unlimited information, there are greater expectations. With a take home final there is never a firm answer to how much more the professor expects.
Instead of a quick couple paragraphs, obviously a longer, more extensive, more exhaustive answer is required. With access to unlimited resources who is to say how many examples are “enough” to prove your point? A final exam given in a closed class room for 1 or 2 hours puts all students at the same advantages and disadvantages. It’s a level playing field. A “take home final” forces students to take their exam in their individual real words — on their terms, whatever that may be.
Why is it that we are always warned “don’t take your work home with you”? That caution is not about teachers correcting papers on the living room couch or real estate agents updating their listings online while watching Sunday night football. “Don’t take your work home with you” is our attempt to draw a line between who we are in one part of our life versus who we are in another part of our lives. “Don’t’ take your work home with you” tries to disconnect what we do 9-5 from who we are 5-9.
For Jesus’ disciples that’s impossible. Jesus makes it clear that the Christian life comes with a “take home final.”
Maybe you’ve read the story about the man who was walking along the beach in the early morning and he noticed a another man ahead of him picking up starfish and placing them back in the water. The man asked the other man what he was doing. The man picking up starfish said the stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun. The other man explained, “But the beach goes on for miles and miles, and there are millions of starfish. How can you make a difference?” The man looked at the starfish in his hand, threw it into the safety of the waves, and said, “It makes a difference to this one!”
There are billions of people on this planet. Nearly two billion of them are desperately poor. One billion are hungry. Some live in your neighborhood; others live in jungles you can’t find, with names you can’t pronounce. Some curl up in cardboard boxes to stay warm at night. Some walk for 3 hours every day just to get water we wouldn’t drink. Some brought their problems upon themselves; others inherited the mess; while still others seem to be victims. Add to that earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes and other natural disasters, and here we are, in the midst of it all.
Life can feel a lot like that beach sometimes, can’t it? Yet, despite all of that, our take home final may be titled, Sheep and Goats, with a subheading — We were made to make a difference.
I’m believe most people want their lives to matter. They want to make a difference, a real and relevant difference. We want to make the world or our corner of the world a better place. But you look around and you feel like that man standing on the beach. How can your effort make any difference?
Peter, Andrew, James, John, Paul, Barnabas, Pricilla and Aquilla, Pheobe and all the rest—they stepped up to the challenge and made a difference that changed the history of humanity. What began on Pentecost with the 120 disciples spilled into every corner of the world. We’re writing the next chapter. And we’ll continue to do so, until Christ comes.
Jesus spoke about the day He returns and said this in one of His last messages. It’s a difficult message for many. It is found in Matthew 25:31-46, and is subtitled, Sheep and Goats. Listen to what Jesus said ~
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 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, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘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 invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.
Picture this scene with me. Jesus wading through the flock of humanity. Shepherds do this. They walk among the flock and, one by one, they place the goats to one side and sheep to the other. Only the Good Shepherd isn’t separating sheep; he’s separating people. All people. You’re there — I’m there — Our parents — Our kids — Our friends — Our enemies — Everyone’s there. You hear Jesus saying, “You go this way. You go that way.”
And what determines His choice? How does Jesus separate the people. Well, Jesus gives the answer. Those on the right, the sheep, will be with Him. For the goats, they go to the left; they will be separated from Jesus.
But there’s a hugely important question both the sheep and the goats are asking . . . they ask the same basic question . . . 44 Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?
It’s a great and interesting question that both are asking. They are asking the same question, even though they opposite rewards because of this. It’s really fascinating. And Jesus gives us His answer in verse 40 . . . 40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Notice what Jesus is calling us to do — simple service. Jesus mentioned:
feed the hungry;
give drink to the thirsty;
show hospitality to strangers;
clothe the naked;
care for the sick; and
visit the imprisoned.
Jesus is describing acts of mercy and care we can perform everyday. These actions don’t depend on wealth, ability, or intelligence; they’re simple acts freely given and freely received. Any one of us could easily be involved in a number of these simple acts of kindness without stressing our time, money or strength. Jesus doesn’t tell us to fix all the world’s problems in one shot. Notice the list Jesus gives us. He invites us to make a difference in the world around us. Maybe to even rally as a church body to make a difference in the world around us.
We can focus on the goats and what they were losing and maybe talk about how unfair it was to them. After all, nobody gave them a rule book and told them what they had to do, yet, we know what God wants us to do, don’t we?!
As the King pronounced His judgment and explained their neglect was directed toward Him, I can hear the protests, “But I gave to charity. I dropped my change in the pot outside the store last Christmas.” “I pay my taxes. I put money in the offering plate at church. I did my part; it’s not my fault.”
The point the goats are missing is that we aren’t called to give our money and walk away, you see even the simple things can be costly to us, because we give our heart, our time, our life, not to one another, but to Christ - - - - and when we give our hearts to Christ, we end up giving our hearts to one another.
When we see people with deep needs, we don’t just give money, we walk alongside that person, we help them know they’re loved. Jesus demands our personal involvement.
In Matthew 7:16-20 Jesus said:
“By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
By our fruit, people will recognize us as ambassadors for Jesus Christ. It’s that old Christian song, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.” It’s a song about love put into action. That’s what I liked in the offering video. It’s about love being put into action, and sometimes our reluctance to get involved and the excuses we make.
Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me. That can be a haunting statement, yet, all Jesus wants is for us to make our faith real to all people. It’s part of our take home final exam. Jesus is in the midst of all people, He’s here and there and everywhere and so how do we make His love real to a world which is hurting? How do we become His hands, His feet, His eyes.
How do we demonstrate love so that people see the heart of Jesus? Isn’t that the real question folks? How will people know you and I are followers of Jesus? You see, here’s a haunting question ~ what is the difference between you and a good and moral non-believer in Jesus?
