Sheep or Goat;
Which are you and which do you want to be?
Dear Brothers and Sisters, the Bible speaks often of heaven and eternal life.
It speaks often of Hell.
It speaks often of righteousness and unrighteousness.
It speaks about judgment day.
Today, I want to preach on these subjects from a portion of scripture that uses animals metaphorically to make some points. Specifically, it uses sheep and goats.
The title of this message is, “Sheep or Goat; which are you and which do you want to be?
Please turn to the Gospel of Matthew; Chapter 25.
We’ll be talking about verses 31 through 46.
That’s Matthew Chapter 25, starting with verse 31.
Verse 31 says, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.”
This verse of scripture is indicating to us that The Son of Man, Jesus Christ, in his glory and with all the angels around Him will sit on His throne of judgment.
This is substantiated by the following verses that we will look at shortly, but also by other passages of Scripture.
For instance in the Gospel of John in Chapter 5 verse 22 Jesus said, “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son.”
Also, in John Chapter 5 verses 26 and 27, Jesus said, “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.”
Now, let’s go back to the passages that we are talking about.
Verse 31 indicates that the Son of Man, Jesus, is a King. In this verse of scripture we are told that Jesus will be sitting on his throne.
Most people do not sit on thrones. Typically and normally, only Kings and other royalty legitimately sit on thrones.
In addition, Notice that the first word of verse 31 is “When.”
That means and indicates beyond any shadow of doubt that judgment by Jesus, the King, is inevitable.
It is not a question of if, but rather a question of when.
The bottom line is: Judgment will occur.
Back to our topic passage, in Matthew Chapter 25 verse 32 Jesus states, “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.”
Jesus is indicating that everyone will be subject to judgment. Every person will have to go before him.
In addition, Chapter 9 verse 27 of the book of Hebrews says, “Just as man is to die once, and after that to face judgment.”
Now, I want to say some things about sheep and goats.
Some people who are not familiar with livestock often confuse sheep and goats.
So, let me tell you some of the differences.
Sheep have fleece, goats have hair.
Sheep say baa, and goats say maa.
Seriously, though, their voices are different.
Sheep are stupid animals. They are. It is a fact. Goats are smart.
Sheep are more skittish than goats.
The instinct of sheep is to flee, not fight.
Just about the only thing sheep can do well is to be led by a shepherd.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 10 verse 16, Jesus said to his disciples, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.”
This indicates the vulnerability of sheep when they are sent out on their own without their shepherd.
It is very interesting that Jesus said that “He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”
This metaphor provides some very interesting information for us.
First, we see that people will be judged by Jesus and be put into one of two categories.
They will either be designate as sheep or as goats.
Second, this metaphor tells us that it will be very easy for Jesus to determine which category we fall into.
While it may be easy for some people, not familiar with livestock, to confuse sheep and goats; it is very easy for a shepherd to tell the difference between sheep and goats and always get it right.
See, a shepherd can easily differentiate sheep from goats. More than that, however, is that a shepherd knows the sheep that he is shepherding well.
He knows the differences in their markings, the way they act, the way they eat, their temperaments, etc.
Verse 33 says, “He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.”
Notice the symbolism here.
When Jesus was before the Sanhedrin the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”
In Mark Chapter 14 verse 62 Jesus replied, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Jesus will put the sheep on his right, as he is to the right of God the Father.
Verse 34 indicates, “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.”
Now, remember we already established that the king is Jesus. So, Jesus will tell the people who he has determined to be sheep, which are those people to his right, to take their inheritance. These people have been blessed by God the Father, and are heirs with Jesus to the kingdom.
Romans Chapter 8 verse 17 indicates, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
Back to the passage at hand, beginning with verse 35 Jesus said, “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, 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.”
Notice here that Jesus is saying that he was hungry, that he was thirsty, that he was a stranger, that he needed clothes, that he was sick and that he was in prison. He did not say that some other people were in these circumstances.
Continuing at verse 37, Jesus said, “Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?
Continuing on at verse 40, “Then the King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
This passage strongly reinforces what I have preached on many occasions, which is; never underestimate the things that you do for others in the name of Jesus Christ.
So many times people are convinced that anything done in the name of the Lord must be a big thing. That’s a lie. If Satan can get us to believe that, then we will stop doing good things, little things any thing in the name of our Lord.
Here Jesus is telling us that anytime that we do anything, anything, for the least of his brothers, we are doing it for him.
Continuing in verse 41 Jesus said, “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.”
Here Jesus tells us that an eternal place of fire exists.
Jesus also tells us that this place has been prepared for Satan and his angels.
Notice that Jesus did not say where Satan and his angels dwell, but rather that this place has been prepared for them.
This means that Satan and his angels are not there yet.
Continuing with verse 42 Jesus said, “For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 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.”
Verse 44 Jesus said, “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?”
In verse 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.”
The question could be raised as to who is Jesus speaking of when he uses the description, “the least of my brothers.”
Jesus may be talking about anyone in need, as he was when he said that you should love our neighbor as yourself.
Perhaps he is talking about other brothers in Christ.
Perhaps he is talking about how we treat the Jewish people.
It is quite possible that Jesus is saying that the way we treat the lost is the most accurate indication of our possession of a “Saving Faith.”
It is easy to love those that love us. It is hard to love the lost.
Jesus came to seek and save the lost.
Jesus himself was sent here first for the Jews, then for everyone else.
The Jews, however, as a body did not recognize him as the Christ.
While Jewish individuals have been making their own decisions about Christ, since the beginning of his ministry, the Jewish faith rejects his claim of being the Christ – The Son of the Living God.
There are no people more lost than those who have heard the Gospel message, but still reject Christ.
There can be great tension between believers and non-believers, but if we are true believers in and followers of Jesus Christ, then we will love everyone as he loves us. This includes the Jewish people, and the State of Israel.
I do not have a political agenda for saying this; I am only preaching what God has put-on my heart pertaining to His word.
Finally, verse 46 says, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
There are at least eight (8) specific points that I can conclude from this passage. Let me summarize them for you:
1. Jesus will at some time sit on his throne of judgment.
2. People of all the nations will have to come before the judgment seat, which is the throne of Jesus Christ.
3. Jesus will separate the people of all the nations into two groups.
4. One group will be declared righteous by Jesus.
5. One group will be declared unrighteous by Jesus.
6. Righteousness and unrighteousness is not determined by works, but rather by faith in Christ that compels people to love others.
7. Those that are determined by Jesus to be righteous will receive eternal life, and their inheritance to the Kingdom of God.
8. Those that are determined by Jesus to be unrighteous will receive eternal punishment in the eternal burning pit that has been prepared for the devil and his angels.
Therefore, I must ask, “Are you a sheep or a goat?”
Furthermore, I must ask, “Regardless of what you are now, what do you want to be; a sheep or a goat?”
Remember the sheep are considered to be righteous, and were put on the right side of Jesus.
If you want to be a sheep, and have Jesus Christ as your shepherd, it’s not too late.
As long as you are alive, and can make a decision, then you can come to Christ and be one of his sheep.
It is a choice that you, and only you, can make for yourself.
