The Parable of the Sheep and Goats
by Anne Linington(163)
http://Faithwriters.com
At work this week one client who has Down's Syndrome asked me if I was singing in the Choir on Sunday. I said “No..I am preaching..the sermon..” And another piped up “Is that with the Holy Ghost?” I said... I really hope so as I need all the help I can get. I have consciously prayed for the Spirit's help as I have prepared, and pray that all that we say and hear will have His anointing.
Matthew is a Jew writing for a Jewish readership, so he includes lots of Old Testament quotes that find fulfillment in the life of Christ in the New Testament.
He wants to ensure that Jewish Christians are no longer trusting their national and religious identity but through repentance and faith belong to the Kingdom of God.
He begins with Christ's Jewish ancestry, his genealogy going right back to Abraham.
He ends with the command to go into all the world to make disciples, starting in the city of Jerusalem, then the area of Judea, onto to the Samaritans and the to the whole world.
In Matthew's narratives of the birth of Christ, he omits the visit of the Jewish Shepherds, but records that of the Gentile Maji.
He says that on occasion Christ found greater faith in some Gentiles than He did in Israel.
The disciples were sent to preach the gospel, first to the lost sheep of Israel
Just before Matthew Chs 24 and 25 concerning the “End Times” (eschatology) we read of Jesus grief concerning Jerusalem:
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you; How often I have longed to gather your children as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing” 23:37
Matthew acknowledges for his readers that salvation was no longer a national matter, brought about by Jewish Law and sacrifice, but that the Gentiles are included in God's plan.
John the Baptist's challenge was that it was no longer sufficient to trust that Abraham was their Father but that they should produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
Matthew had to show that the Messiah that the Jews were still anticipating who would bring political deliverance for the Nation of Israel, was in fact Christ who would suffer and die for the sins of the whole world- all nations.
His Gospel is a Gospel of the Kingdom of God, how to enter it, and how to behave it, and includes the Beatitudes and Matthew 6:33 “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things..that you need.. and that you may worry about..especially during this time of credit crunch and recession..shall be yours as well.
In the next few weeks we celebrate Christmas and Christ's first coming as a baby
BUT..in today's passage it looks way into the future..
The King is COMING
He is coming with ALL of His Angels..that will be a lot!!
He is coming to SIT ON HIS THRONE..as King..as Judge .. as Saviour
He is coming to gather the NATIONS before Him... (not just the Jews)
He is coming to SEPARATE AS a Shepherd separates the sheep from the goats
In the agricultural economy of Israel, Sheep and Shepherds were a familiar sight.
During the day sheep and goats would roam freely together on the hillsides, but at night the shepherd would gather the sheep together for safety and the goats would be excluded.
The image of sheep and shepherd is familiar as Jesus says He calls His sheep by name, that they know His voice, and that as the Good Shepherd He lays down His life for the sheep.
It is this image that Jesus uses to describe what will happen at the very last.
The Sheep
These Christ refers to as Blessed by my Father..
as Righteous..
as being placed at His right hand the position of blessing..remember how Christ is at the right-hand of God..
They hear the words “ Come..take your inheritance the Kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world: eternal life
This is the moment when Kingdom people receive all that God has planned for them..
And Jesus gives them the reason for their inclusion:
When I was hungry..you gave me something to eat
When I was thirsty.. you gave me something to drink
When I was a stranger..you welcomed me
When I was naked..you gave me clothes
When I was sick ..you visited me
When I was in prison..you visited me..
Caution: This passage has to be taken alongside the whole of scripture; it is not advocating a salvation of works, so that you get to Heaven because of the good things you do.
This would be contrary to Ephesians “ For it is by grace that you have been saved..not our own good works..but the free gift of God.
James speaks of works as being the practical outworking of faith “Faith without works is dead”..it is an impossibility.
These deeds for which Christ commends the “righteous” are the fruit of lives of faith in Christ.
The separation comes because of what they are..as different as sheep from goats..and the deeds they have done give evidence of this fact.
Jesus says that when you do something for the “least of these brothers of mine”..the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, imprisoned He counts it as if you have done it to Him personally, and particularly so when it is done for those whom the world counts as insignificant, those who can't offer anything in return.
And when the King draws attention to this, before His angels, as He sits on His throne, their response is one of surprise.. “When did we see you..??? So Christ the King takes account of all that we do
Proverbs 19:17 “He who is kind to the poor, lends to the Lord, and He will reward him for what he has done”
God has always had a special place in His heart for the poor, the widowed and orphaned, the refugee and often judged Israel for injustice and lack of concern.
And a special responsibility for those people and nations who have the resources to alleviate suffering.
Isaiah 58:6ff Is not this the fast that I choose..? to share your bread with the hungry
bring the homeless poor into your house..when you see the naked to cover them,,and not to hide yourself from your own kin(??)
Probably Mother Theresa was one of the best illustrations of this in our day: that when she lifted someone out of the gutter she lifted Christ....
What of the Goats?
These are not the “righteous”.. not given the Father's blessing or inheritance..
They are assigned to His left hand and ultimately to eternal separation.
These are the ones whose failure to minister to the needs of others was proof that they were not Kingdom people, not heirs of salvation and they hear the terrible word “Depart...” condemned not just because of absent actions- failure to see the need around them and respond to it- but because this was proof of an absent relationship with the King. The consequence of this choice of separation in life, is eternal separation.
This would have astounded Jesus' original hearers and Matthew is re-emphasising that Kingdom faith now transcends National boundaries; outward observance of the Law had been superseded by the Law of Grace expressed in loving actions to those in need.
End of Year assessment and Challenge
Today we come to the end of the Church Liturgical year.
We recently celebrated the Feast of All saints- and the joyful anticipation of Heaven
Next week we begin a new year starting with Advent, the light of Christ coming in the darkness at Christmas.
So as this year closes and we anticipate the new one, and in the context of our passage, let's consider that day to come when Christ the King says “Come..receive your inheritance” or “Depart..”
Consider our own response, our own expectations, the need for assurance that we ourselves will hear “Come” that we will be among the “sheep” on the right..that we will receive the righteousness that comes through personal faith in Christ.
Consider the actions that we need to be doing in this world that give evidence that we are Kingdom people. So that where we see suffering we are challenged to meet that need AS IF WE WERE DOING IT TO CHRIST HIMSELF
Be prepared to Go into all the world to preach the Gospel that all may have opportunity to respond to Christ
This week find one person for whom you can do one kind thing as if you are doing it to the Lord..
You may be the only Jesus some people will ever meet..
When Mother Theresa received the Nobel Peace Prize, she said this:
“It is not enough for us to say I love God, but I do not love my neighbour.
In dying on the cross, Jesus made Himself the hungry one, the naked one, the homeless one.
Jesus' hunger is what you and I must find and alleviate.
She finished with this:-
“Christ in our hearts
Christ in the poor we meet
Christ in the smile we give
and in the smile we receive.”
Article submitted Saturday, January 16, 2010 & read 203 times.
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