The Parable Of The Sheep And The Goats

Opening Prayer                                                                                                                     Pg.1
Father God ,  lead us now as we study this parable that Your Son, Jesus Spoke. We pray that no word be spoken that is contrary to your will, and that our efforts will bring us to the knowledge that you have purposed for our lives from this study. In Jesus name we pray, AMEN
Mat 24:3  As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"
Mat 24:4  Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. Jesus’ words are the beginning of his Olivet discourse on the end times.
This Parable, our study tonight is near the end of Jesus’Olivet discourse. He is speaking privately, directly to his disciples, who had asked him about the end times. Many believe this discourse is spoken for the benefit of Christians, as it was only perceived to be given to his disciples.

                      The parable of the sheep and the goats
Mat 25:31  "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.
Mat 25:32  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.
Mat 25:33  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Mat 25:34  "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.
Mat 25:35  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,
Mat 25:36  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.'
Mat 25:37  "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
Mat 25:38  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
Mat 25:39  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
Mat 25:40  "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'
Mat 25:41  "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.
Mat 25:42  For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
Mat 25:43  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.'
Mat 25:44  "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?'
Mat 25:45  "He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
Mat 25:46  "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."



                                                                                                                                                Pg.2

Why study this parable? ….The Lord will separate the righteous and the wicked.
By examining this parable one will begin to understand that calling oneself a Christian is not enough, there has to be some effort on our part which can be considered righteousness.  There will be an accounting of the thoughts, words, actions, and deeds of our lives, and all have consequences. The choice of where we spend eternity is ours, and it comes down to whether or not we choose to serve the Lord or serve ourselves. Our Prayer is that we will choose Jesus and his saving grace, for none of us wants to hear 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

Q.1 What does this parable convey to you?
Q.2 Where might one find a person who has no respect for righteousness?
Q.3 Why would Jesus feel the need to speak this parable?
Q.4 When is it most clear to someone when a wrong has been committed?


                                               A day of Judgment
Mat 25:31  "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.
Mat 25:32  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.
Mat 25:33  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Mat 25:34  "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.

This parable makes it clear that it is actions that determine who are the sheep and who are goats. Jesus teaches this subject frequently, in his discourses "You will know them by their fruits...every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." (Matthew 7:16-19) We are taught, and as Christians we believe our salvation cannot be obtained through 'works' and good deeds. However, works and good deeds are the fruit of those who have been saved by God's grace.
Jesus calls the righteous sheep, because they hearken unto the voice of the shepherd, while the goats go their own way, do not care to listen to reason or justice, but do as they wish paying no attention to the shepherd The sheep are those who follow the shepherd and serve as his disciples, caring for his other sheep.  Any service we give to our fellow men in the name of Christ, is as if we did it unto the Savior.

Q.1 What is the significance of the phrase a “Glorious Throne”?
Q.2 Which nations will be gathered before him?
Q.3 Why is there the reference to sheep and goats?
Q.4 “The Kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” means what?
Q.5 When is the proper time to conside the final accounting of your deeds?




                                   The truth spoken to the sheep                                                      Pg.3

Mat 25:35  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,
Mat 25:36  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.'
Mat 25:37  "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
Mat 25:38  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
Mat 25:39  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
Mat 25:40  "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'

These verses are descriptive of such righteous acts as to make one a member of that chosen few for whom the kingdom was prepared. It is there for them, not because they earned it because one cannot enter into that glory on one’s merit or actions or good deeds. For if good deeds could make it so, there would have been no need for Jesus’ sacrificing his life for our salvation.
Ones acceptance of salvation through Jesus Christ is seen through our actions. It is ours because God made it thus and offered his Son, now the King who reigns there, as a ransom to be paid for our salvation. Salvation which is freely given to those for whom it was prepared. There is no earning of it, as it is a gift. But the desire to have it so must come from the heart of those who seek it. Salvation is a gift from God but it is not given without there being a sincere desire to have it, and with the acknowledgement that Jesus, the Son of God is the Lord of our life
Those who accept God's gift of salvation will repent and will serve God with their actions. It is what Christian disciples do because salvation has made them such as do good works. Without Christ being the reason, there would be no possibility of our rehabilitation. It would be like a snowflake falling into a volcano with the intention of putting out the fire. Our imperfections far outweigh our good intentions.
The “least of these” refers to those in a variety of needy situations. They include the hungry, thirsty, impoverished, sick, and imprisoned. In this context, Jesus is speaking to those on His right, that is, the righteous. The needy are called Christ’s “brothers”; thus, the reference is to the righteous helping fellow disciples. Jesus said that those who cared for such individuals were not merely serving other people. They were serving Him.
Q.1 Who are those in our world today that these verses refer to as having been served?
Q.2 Why is this such an important part of what Christian disciples do?
Q.3 In what tangible ways can those needing our help receive the aid they need?
Q.4 Are there those in our world today that do not justifiably need our aid?
Q.5 What are the determining factors that must be considered when attempting to help others?

                                The truth spoken to the goats                                                        Pg.4

Mat 25:41  "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.
Mat 25:42  For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
Mat 25:43  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.'
Mat 25:44  "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?'
Mat 25:45  "He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
Mat 25:46  "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

On that day there will be no pardon offered, no time extension made. No back room deals, and no mercy shown. The die is cast, the matter has been resolved. The results of the work of Jesus Christ are made known.  The Lord will separate the righteous from the wicked, the righteous will be exalted, and the wicked shall suffer punishment as was prepared for the Devil and his angels.
The devil and his angels sinned before the creation of the world, and the place of torment was then prepared for them: it never was designed for human souls; but as the wicked are partakers with the devil and his angels in their iniquities, in their rebellion against God, so it is right that they should be sharers with them in their punishment. We see here, plainly, why sinners are destroyed, not because there was no salvation for them, but because they either refused or neglected to receive good, and do good. As they received not the Christ who was offered to them, so they could not do the work of righteousness which was required of them. They are cursed, because they refused to be blessed; and they are damned, because they refused to be saved

Q.1 To whom are the words of this parable directed ?
Q.2 What are the most significant lessons we learn from this parable
Q.3 Where was Jesus when he spoke these words?
Q.4 How would you describe this parable in today's terms?
Q.5 In terms of things about our salvation that we should know where do you rate this parable?
Q. Is there any question that good works and faith are directly connected?

Closing Prayer
Father God, be with us now as we make our way from this place. Help us to recall day by day minute by minute that we are Christians, disciples of Jesus, and that we are examples to those who are looking to us for our compassion and help. Be with those of our concern Who are in need of your healing touch. ___________Strengthen and comfort these mentioned and all who seek your presence in their lives. Lead us now as we depart, and bring us together again next week as we continue in our study of the words of  our Savior, Your Son Jesus, AMEN



Meditation

The realities in life, as we well know, are not all well and good, with everybody receiving his fair share.  If we must have differences in our trials and our blessings, then the fact is that most of us find we are sometimes among the sheep and sometimes among the goats. We are unsure, also, about this God who separates sheep from goats, according to those criteria, and consigns the goats to perdition. But what we do know is that God is... the final authority, and he hates sin, and there will be a Judgment Day.
But the parable does give us a very timely urgency about social justice, and it links this directly with God’s purposes.  I may not be feeding the hungry or visiting the prisoner right now, but I will be some way involved in healing a broken world and bringing relief where it is needed.  I may be in a position where I can influence decision-makers.
What is also true as well, is that all these works of mercy are equally well done by social groups of men and women who belong to organizations such as The Lions Clubs, The Masonic Brotherhood, Action Against Hunger, Bread for the World, Children in Need, Free the Children, and many more charitable organizations.  People helping people in need is not a uniquely Christian act, even atheists do that.
Jesus in this parable expected his disciples in any age, to do what is simply good and necessary. It may be in our own neighborhood, family or churches, or it may be on a much larger even world wide scale.  But we must do it, we must see it done, we must feel it and we must yearn for it, more and more as our world suffers more poverty, wars, famine, and disease. Helping those in need, is not a new thing, and it is something that Jesus expects His followers to be involved in.
So if you are relying on your faith in Jesus to save you on judgment day, but you are carrying on living the same kind of selfish life as the people around you who don't believe in him, watch out. The Bible doesn't give you any reassurance at all that you will really be saved.
Good works aren't the reason we're saved, for without faith good works are not redemptive; but they are the evidence that we're saved. Someone once asked, 'If you were put on trial for being a follower of Christ, would there be enough evidence to convict you?' Jesus is saying here that on judgment day, he will look for evidence that we belong to him – evidence in how we've treated his brothers and sisters. Who is he talking about, specifically? At one level, as we've seen, he's talking about all Christian believers – all his brothers and sisters. We who profess to be his disciples. We are to help those in need.
Jesus identifies himself with his followers so closely that he takes what we do for them as something we've done for him. And he says that our destiny will be measured out by how we respond to his family. The good things we do for them show where we stand in relation to him. So it's a picture of judgment: Jesus is going to come back, and we are all going to face him. His verdict on us will depend on how we have treated him, how we have responded to him. The evidence on which he will base his verdict on us is how we have treated our Christian brothers and sisters.
 It is my prayer that we will not hear God say, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels”.