Matthew 25:31-46, The Shepherd’s Sheep
I. Verse 31: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.”
- The Son of Man will come in Hisglory, all the angels with Him, and he will sit on Hisglorious throne. Notice the possessive pronounHis. It’s His glory; it’s His glorious throne.
- This glory cannot be owned by any other. Satan desires this glory for himself, and our flesh naturally seeks glory and a throne; only by the Spirit residing within us can the battle for individual heart-throne ownership be won by The King who is worthy to sit there; however, when the time comes, nothing will stop Him from sitting on His glorious throne, where everything in creation will be placed under His feet!
II. Verse 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.”
- A time is coming when all the nations will be gathered, not some. No one is exempt.
- After the nations gather, individuals will be called out and separated into one of two herds: the sheep or the goats. There is no 3rd group, no gray area, no halfway point.
- Separating the sheep from the goats has become an English idiom meaning to separate the best from the rest, but its original meaning was more extreme as it was a separation of the saved from the doomed.
III. Verses 33-36:“33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.34Then 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.35For 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,36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’” What separates the sheep from the goats?
- They are blessed by the Father.
- They have an inheritance that was prepared for them since the creation of the world.
- There is fruit in their lives; their actions prove that they are The Shepherd’s Sheep.
IV. Verses 37-40: “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?38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’40The 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.’”
- Part of what showed them to be the Shepherd’s Sheep was that they were humbly unaware; their actions were natural side effects of being owned by the Shepherd.
- Please note that they were not made righteous by their works. They were righteous because of the Shepherd who had purchased them. The works they performed were the evidence of their connection to the Shepherd King.
- The King specifically points out that their service was toward “brothers and sisters.” In John 13:35, Jesus explains why service to other believers is so important: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” The way we treat one another is our strongest witness, and folks, that means lost people are watching how we treat our spouses, children, extended family, co-workers, and denominations that don’t agree with us on certain theological issues. The world watches the sheep to see if they want to get to know the Shepherd. Oh, Lord, give us servant hearts, eyes that see brothers’ and sisters’ needs, and feet that run to serve, so we do not misrepresent You.
V. Verses 41-46: “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.42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,43I 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.’44They 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?’45He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’46Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
- Jesus uses similar language in Matthew 7, “21 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” As the sheep are unaware of their good deeds, so the goats are unaware of their neglect.
- Calling Him Lord, King, or Shepherd does not make someone a sheep. Doing good works, even miracles, does not make someone a sheep. For certain, not serving others (and thereby not serving Christ) marks people as goats.
- So, what does make someone His sheep? Jesus puts it very simply in John 17:3—“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”Saying, believing, and even doing are not enough in themselves to be His sheep. Jesus says His sheep know His voice; they’re intimate with Him; they love Him. Once people truly have a relationship with the Shepherd, to those Jesus says, “If you love me, keep my commands…Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them” (John 14: 15, 23).
- Relationship and obedience are intertwined; love will manifest itself in the fruit of obedience for the King’s Kingdom. While loving Christ does not eradicate the battle with our flesh, it does empower us to fight the battle: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will bein you…But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses” (John 14: 16-17; Acts 1:8). So, we pray for revelation and power through the Holy Spirit, placing ourselves under solid biblical teaching, digging into His Word daily, so we can be exposed to the Shepherd’s voice; then, when we hear, we can ask for help to be drawn closer and closer to the Shepherd, so He can bring us into obedience.
Lord,
As we study your Word,
open our ears, minds, and spirits
to a closer walk with you
that manifests itself
in love for others.
Amen and Amen.