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| Dividing the Sheep from the Goats |
Pastor Jerry was reading from
Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus was giving a teaching about the final
Judgment and that the Son of Man Will Judge the
Nations dividing the sheep from the goats; Sheep to the right and goats to the
left.
After the division, Jesus spoke about the sheep giving Him food and drink when he was hungry and thirsty, caring for him when he was sick, clothing him, and visiting him in prison. They could not remember doing this, but Jesus said unto them,
Matthew 25: 40 ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of
the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.
Those on the
left were told they had NOT given him food and drink when he was hungry and
thirsty or cared for him. These also could not remember
passing Him by, and asked when did we not do this? Because you did NOT attend
to the least of these, you did not do it unto me,
And
these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal
life.”
This
was a strange story and a metaphor standing for man redeemed and saved, and man condemned
and lost.
A casual reading might suggest
that good works earn salvation, but the good works mentioned in the parable are
not the cause of salvation but the effect of salvation.
Doing good to others, because of Jesus living
inside of us, is part of our relationship experience with Jesus. Jesus present in our lives reaches out to
hurting people.
Pastor
stated: To be honest, it is harder to be compassionate
to those we don’t know or those we don’t like very much.
The
Jews knew about sheep and goats. Sheep
are mentioned 500 times in the Bible and goats a few times. It was necessary at night to divide the sheep
from the goats. Goats has less fur and
needed to be kept warm. The goats are playful, independent and don’t like to
be herded, and are not easily led. They are not good followers.
Sheep symbolize God’s people,
and need a shepherd to care for them.
Jesus was our sacrificial
Lamb of God. Abraham was to sacrifice
Isaac, but God sent a ram (sheep) to redeem Isaac and take his place.
Consider: How do you picture Jesus Christ?
He is the Good Shepherd and
left the 99 to search for a lost lamb.
He is the healer, he stills
the storm, is the tender teacher, and a friend.
We don’t like to picture
Jesus as the Judge. However we loose
something if we fail to see Him as the Judge.
As parents we want the best
for our children, but at times we have found it necessary to apply discipline
because we love our kids.
Ten virgins were present at a
wedding, five were prepared with additional oil for their lamps, but the other
five were not ready and were severely punished.
Judgment is sure, we just do
not know the date or the hour. Many have predicted the time with dates, but
they were sincerely wrong. Jesus said,
“Don’t do that, because only the Father knows the day the Son will return.
How does God know the
difference between the sheep and the goats?
He alone can look at our
hearts and view our choices and our decision to receive Jesus as Lord.
If you have not done so,
please make that choice today, because today is the day of salvation, and the Kingdom of God
1 comment:
Well, as usual, you share and shared and shared some more about how to walk with and turn to, and pay attention to the Word so we know where and how we fit in. The sheep and goats is an actual part of our world today, too. Thanks!
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