Separating the Sheep & Goats
Daily Reading: Genesis 25, Psalm 25, Matthew 25, Proverbs 25
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 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. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“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. 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.’
“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?’
“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.’
“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. 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.’
“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?’
“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.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Matthew 25:31-46
This has been a passage from Jesus that has been on my heart a lot recently, given the state of our world. Just yesterday, in Matthew 24, Jesus warned his disciples that many people would come claiming to be followers of Jesus and deceive many.
In our world today, there is no shortage of people in positions of power within politics, in the media, and in churches that claim the name of Jesus to build their own following and advance their own agenda.
I am never going to claim to know the hearts of any of these people, who I do not know personally.
However, Jesus gave us a pretty good litmus test in Matthew 7:
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
Matthew 7:15-20
For anyone we choose to follow, whether online personality, politician, news host, or pastor; it would be wise for Christians to observe their fruit. Is the gospel they preach one of hope, compassion, and service or is their message one of division, fear, and hate?
Is the message focused on:
Providing for the hungry and thirsty in our communities?
Clothing those that are in need?
Befriending the stranger and those that are not like us?
Ensuring the sick are cared for?
Ministering and rehabilitating those in prison?
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 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. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“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.”
I want to be in the group on the right.
I also want to live a life that helps as many people as possible not be deceived by the false prophets of this day.
Many are coming in the name of Jesus.
It is important we carefully observe their fruit.
Our world is in desperate need of Christians devoted to living by Matthew 25, and pushing back against the voices in our world that would preach the opposite.
Repeatedly throughout Matthew 25 Jesus tells us that we can never know the hour of his return.
Let’s go out and spread the love of Jesus through our words and actions, as if it could be today.
Daily Reflection & Dialogue
What is one way I could focus on living out Matthew 25 in my life this year?
