THE WORLD IN TWO: THE SHEEP & THE GOATS
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. The World In Two
a) The two parables, namely The Two Gates and The Sheep and the Goats, show that Jesus had a simple world view when it came to putting human beings into categories. There are only two categories, the righteous and the wicked, and only two eternal destinies, life and destruction.
To Jesus people are divided into "the sheep" and "the goats", people who walk in the "narrow way" to eternal life, and people who walk in the "broad way" to destruction.
The parables of The Two Gates and The Sheep and the Goats show how we must choose now which of the two multitudes we will be among in eternity.
These parables highlight the Great Mistakes that people make in life, when they fail to hear and obey God’s word properly so as to be ready for the judgment day (Matthew 7, Matthew 25, John 10).
2. The Sheep And The Goats
Matthew 25:31-46
31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 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 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to 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 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been 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; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
a) The parable begins with the word "as" in Matthew 25:32 and ends with Matthew 25:33. It is a very short parable, describing the manner in which Christ, according to his own judgment, will divide the wicked from the righteous. The parable is embedded in the predictive narrative — a description of future events— about Christ’s second coming in judgment.
b) This narrative has the following elements:
i) Christ’s coming described - Matthew 25:31.
ii) The world divided in two (the parable) - Matthew 25:32-33.
iii) Representative dialogue with the righteous - Matthew 25:34-40.
iv) Representative dialogue with the wicked - Matthew 25:41-45.
v) The parting of the wicked and the righteous - Matthew 25:41-45.
c) The image of Christ as the Shepherd of the sheep is profound.
d) The main idea in the parable of the sheep and the goats is that Christ divides the people of the world into two. There are philosophies and world views that divide the world into three, four, or more classes. There are also those who see the people of the world ultimately as one united multitude. Jesus however sees the world as ultimately divided into two multitudes. Call them what you will, sheep and goats, saved and lost, wise and foolish, righteous and wicked, blessed and cursed, believers and unbelievers, obedient and disobedient... there are two multitudes, not one, not several, but two.
e) The important issue is which of the two divisions Christ will judge you to be in when he comes to judge the world. Will you be among the "sheep" and be known by the Lord as one of his own?
The End ...
1. The World In Twoa) The two parables, namely The Two Gates and The Sheep and the Goats, show that Jesus had a simple world view when it came to putting human beings into categories. There are only two categories, the righteous and the wicked, and only two eternal destinies, life and destruction.
To Jesus people are divided into "the sheep" and "the goats", people who walk in the "narrow way" to eternal life, and people who walk in the "broad way" to destruction.
The parables of The Two Gates and The Sheep and the Goats show how we must choose now which of the two multitudes we will be among in eternity.
These parables highlight the Great Mistakes that people make in life, when they fail to hear and obey God’s word properly so as to be ready for the judgment day (Matthew 7, Matthew 25, John 10).
2. The Sheep And The Goats
Matthew 25:31-46
31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 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 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to 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 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been 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; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
a) The parable begins with the word "as" in Matthew 25:32 and ends with Matthew 25:33. It is a very short parable, describing the manner in which Christ, according to his own judgment, will divide the wicked from the righteous. The parable is embedded in the predictive narrative — a description of future events— about Christ’s second coming in judgment.
b) This narrative has the following elements:
i) Christ’s coming described - Matthew 25:31.
ii) The world divided in two (the parable) - Matthew 25:32-33.
iii) Representative dialogue with the righteous - Matthew 25:34-40.
iv) Representative dialogue with the wicked - Matthew 25:41-45.
v) The parting of the wicked and the righteous - Matthew 25:41-45.
c) The image of Christ as the Shepherd of the sheep is profound.
d) The main idea in the parable of the sheep and the goats is that Christ divides the people of the world into two. There are philosophies and world views that divide the world into three, four, or more classes. There are also those who see the people of the world ultimately as one united multitude. Jesus however sees the world as ultimately divided into two multitudes. Call them what you will, sheep and goats, saved and lost, wise and foolish, righteous and wicked, blessed and cursed, believers and unbelievers, obedient and disobedient... there are two multitudes, not one, not several, but two.
e) The important issue is which of the two divisions Christ will judge you to be in when he comes to judge the world. Will you be among the "sheep" and be known by the Lord as one of his own?
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