If you are not familiar with the Bible, you might think this blog will be about the care of livestock. It is not. It is about a description of Judgment Day that Jesus gives His disciples a few days before He is crucified. Taken out of context, this story can really mess up your understanding of how we are saved. Therefore, it is critical that you understand it properly. Here is the first half of the story:
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 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. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 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. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was 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, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
Matthew 25:31-40 (ESV)
If you look at this section without the context of Jesus dying on the cross and the explanation that we are saved by that sacrifice as a gift to us, you would conclude that we are saved by doing the good things listed above. I like to ask people where is God’s grace in this story (it is not really a parable)? The answer is hidden in how people are separated.
Why are some people sheep and the other goats? The answer is that those who are sheep are people who are connected to Jesus through faith and baptism. Their sins are forgiven by grace. The goats are not.
As Jesus speaks to the “sheep” it seems like they never did anything wrong nor missed any opportunity to do good. Are real people like that? I would argue that no one is. Their failures have been covered by the blood of Jesus. All that remains to be seen at Judgment Day is their good deeds. The good deeds are not causing their salvation nor are they a portion of why they are saved. But evaluation of deeds is what Judgment Day is all about.
The list of what Jesus cares about is helpful. It gives us an idea of what God is looking for from His disciples. These things are a portion of what our lives are about. Notice that “making disciples” (Matthew 28:19) is not in this list. Clearly leading somebody to the eternal salvation of their souls is a much bigger deal that simply giving them a meal. The list is not comprehensive, nor does it offer a way to prioritize our actions. It does show us some useful actions and not just because they meet needs. It is because they reflect love. Love that is felt for us and nurtured in us. When we have the love of Jesus in us we help out the “least” of humanity. It is like doing it for Jesus.
The second part of the story goes:
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Matthew 25:41-46 (ESV)
Do you think that the people addressed here never did anything good? While that may be more imaginable, many people who will end up lost aren’t horrible people on a human standard. You can be very kind and a decent citizen but, like everyone else, you are a sinner. This portion of the story illustrates that good deeds cannot overcome our sinfulness. God’s standard for saving yourself is perfection. That includes even genetic perfection (no sinful nature), so it was out of your reach from the start. That is why we need Jesus and God’s promise of forgiveness.
The consequence of sin is stiff. Eternal punishment seems radically disproportionate to the damage one might do because of our sinfulness. If you look at sin as being like a contagion, you get a better idea of why it is this way.
Anything that has sin cannot survive in God’s presence. You must be made sinless. God went through radical, costly steps to make that possible. The Son of God became human (a radical step), He lived 35 years keeping the Law flawlessly, and then He was willingly sacrificed paying the price for the sins of everybody else. The most critical part was Jesus being forsaken by the Father, which divided the Trinity (a very radical step). When you blow this off there is no other recourse than being eternal forsaken yourself and that means suffering.
The final thing that I would like to note about this passage is that the story makes it look like Judgment Day is done as a group. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 tells us that it is individual. Perhaps it happens for us all at once. The judgment for those who have forgiveness through Christ is for the purpose of reward. People who are saved as a gift certainly don’t deserve a reward for doing what is right. It is just what we were supposed to do in the first place. But God is generous. God rewards in some way and I’m sure it is great.
afterdeathsite 