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The Sheep and the Goats
Vicar Matthew Kinne
11/26/2023
Texts for the week: Matthew 25:31-46; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28; Ezekiel 34:11-16; 20-24

For the past couple of weeks, we have been hearing our Lord teach His disciples by parables about the final day of judgment. The day and time of this event is unknown to us, even to Jesus Himself as He teaches in an earlier chapter of Matthew, “But concerning that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, not the Son of man, but the Father only…. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”[1] But even though Jesus is unable to tell us when this apocalypse is going to occur, He can tell us what it will be like. We have learned, thus far, from the parable of the ten virgins that when the Bridegroom, who is our Lord, returns, there will be no time for those who are unprepared and living in sin to trim their lamps of faith, and be filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit to follow Him into the wedding feast. Likewise, we’ve also learned that a servant who hates the Master, again who is our Lord, will by all means, perish. 

These parables sound terrible at first to the sinful ear. But for the Christian who is identified as the virgins who were prepared then brought into the wedding feast, and the servants that loved their master and were brought into the His eternal joy, these parables are not messages of sorrow and dread. Instead, they are Gospel messages because there is a separation from everything that causes man’s death from man’s eternal life. Jesus gives us these parables so that we can make the distinction of what it means to be on His right hand and His left, as He explains in our gospel reading today.

 [Jesus says,] “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”  [2]

Notice here, from our reading today, as well as the previous parables, that when Jesus teaches, He mentions those who are rewarded generously first. The first five virgins were prepared, the first two servants loved their master, and here the sheep are shown their reward first because they did the will of their Shepherd. These are the groups from our readings who are promised that they will inherit the earth (Mt.5:5), eternal life (Mt.19:29), and also the kingdom (Mt. 25:34).[3] This is by no mistake. The Gospel, which is an enriching and joyful message to us Christians, ends up being a terrifying message on the last day for those who were not prepared, who did not know love. They are the goats, who for the longest time, ignored their Shepherd. For them, the message of salvation is their message of torment and agony on the last day. They will be longing that they were not a goat, but a sheep in the joy of their Shepherd. 

Think of this teaching from the Great Shepherd separating His flock as a scene from a courtroom.[4] When He declares the sheep as innocent and are rewarded the kingdom, the goats must be astonished. After all, didn’t Jesus come to save the whole world? Didn’t these so called “sheep” also engage in sinfulness during their lifetime? This would seem unfair to them. But just as our reading says, this kingdom was prepared for all of us “from the foundations of the world.”[5] God set up a plan for our salvation, even before He created the world and put us in it. He foresaw that mankind would despise the Father’s will. So, after the fall of our sinful parents, God established a way for mankind to be saved from the wretched sin he carries, from the evil world he lives in, and from death which is the final strife of the sinner. God sent His only Son into the world to be the perfect sacrifice we could never provide. God sent messengers, prophets, priests, and now pastors, to point all the sheep and the goats to the action of Perfect Lamb that sits on His throne of glory—the cross. Whoever looks to Him will be saved. But whoever does not, loses their life. 

Unfortunately, the goats do not see Jesus as that perfect sacrifice and by that deny themselves salvation. They only see destruction and believe the unjust ways of the world are better than Christ’s kingdom. They are children of their father, Satan. In the end, justice is only sweet to the person who is declared not guilty.  For these goats, who are on the Judge’s left hand, they will not see sweetness in their verdict. They will see everything that was not the will of the Father. They will be eternally hungry and thirsty; they will not be welcomed into any type of joy. They will be naked in their shame, alone in prison, eternally longing that they listened and followed the Gospel, but it will be too late for them to repent and be brought into the Lord’s right hand, the family of the Church. 

This Gospel is simply put—Since Christ died and rose for you, your sins are forgiven, and you will also be resurrected from the dead. Since you are forgiven and part of the living, you are already part of His kingdom. You are living your eternal life right now. Since you are part of His kingdom and not living in death now, you have the ability to willingly feed the hungry, to give water to those who thirst, to clothe the naked, to welcome the stranger, to visit those who are in prison, and to tend to the sick, the dying, and the oppressed. For when people see God doing a good work in you and thus also through you, the message of salvation is spread out to all nations and encourages faith and baptism. 

When the sheep in our reading asks, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visited you?”[6]they are greatly confused. Why is that? It is because, unlike the goats who boast about their good deeds and keep track of everything “good” they have done, as if saving up points to pay for their way into heaven, the work the sheep, is not their own. The sheep are merely vessels. Christ is the one who puts His Holy Spirit into you, and you become a vessel of Christ. 

This way you can see that everyone is in need of saving. Everyone is in need of the Baptismal waters. Everyone is in need of that participation of the Church. The Church is where Christ says at the end of Matthew, that He will always be with us. That is where we commune together in common creed that we deserve what the goats will receive, but because of Christ, we are made into the sheep of His flock, and thus saved. 

On that glorious day, Jesus will search for you among all the nations. He will seek you out and will bring you into His own land.  

            After Jesus teaches these things to His disciples, the next chapter in the Gospel of Matthew is the beginning of the Passion account of our Lord. It is here, in our Lord’s passion, before being led as the lamb to the slaughter on the cross, that He establishes the institution of His Holy Supper. This Supper, that began with His perfect body, continues to be present among His church today, and will continue into the eternal feast which has no end. It is at this supper He feeds His hungry and thirsty sheep that long for His second coming. It is a meal where you are no longer a stranger but are given the best seat at the table, His right hand. It is where He continues to clothe you with His righteousness. It is the meal by which the sick in faith can find a doctor and live. It is with His body and blood that He pays for your bail, breaking your shackles of death. His life was laid down for the sheep, and everyone will know Him on the last day because of His love for His sheep, His church. Amen. 

[1] Matthew 24: 36 & 42 ESV

[2] Matthew 25:31-34

[3] Gibbs, Jeffrey. 2018. Matthew 21: 1-28:20 - Concordia Commentary. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House. Pg 1340.

[4] Scaer, David P. 2004. Discourses in Matthew: Jesus Teaches the Church. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House. Pg 239.

[5] Matthew 25:34b

[6] Mathew 25:37:b-39