“The Most Important Pasture of All”
(Matthew 25:31-46)
Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]
Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD
First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida
September 27, 2020
The Passage
Matthew 25:31-46
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 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 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 by 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 took me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited 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 When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’
40 “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire 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 didn’t take me in; I was naked and you didn’t clothe me, sick and in prison and you didn’t take care of me.’
44 “Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help you?’
45 “Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Introductory Comments:
Over the last two weeks, I have have been able to enjoy a meal from two of my favorite restaurants in our area. In both cases, I ordered a salad as part of my meal. While doing so, I was dejected to find, upon receiving my salads, that they were tainted with a foul ingredient: olives. I believe every olive in the world should be used to make olive oil, which is delicious, and the refuse should be thrown out into the outer darkness. Well, upon seeing the olives, I didn’t make a scene (I’m not much for the dramatic), so I picked them out. I sorted out the salad as the part to be enjoyed and the part to be discarded.
Well, today we’re going to continue our study of the Olivet Discourse and learn about a divine sorting that will take place by Jesus.
Before we get into this passage, let’s pray and ask God to supernaturally bless us as we study the passage.
(prayer)
We’re continuing our series in the book of Matthew and Jesus’ discussion on the Mount of Olives, called the Olivet Discourse. This is the last little section before we get into the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus.
This passage is utterly important because we must understand that there are some objective truths in this world, which present opposing realities. You are either with Jesus or you are not with Jesus. You will either go into eternal life or eternal punishment. We’ll see these truths emerge in today’s passage.
As we look at this passage, we must understand that this is not a parable. Although it speaks about sheep and goats, we should still view this passage as something that is true and will actually happen. People are compared to sheep and goats as a metaphor, but this will really happen.
As we look at Matthew 25:31-46, we will discover three actions that will take place at the end of all the world as we know it.
First, . . .
I. There will be some sorting (vv. 31-33) [on screen]
We sort all types of things. We sort the lights, darks, and brights when we do laundry. We sort the boys and the girls at church camp. We sort the good Halloween candy from the bad Halloween candy. We sort the weeds from the good plants. We sort the quarters from the rest of the coins. We sort the encouraging church members from the troublesome ones (did I say that out loud?). We sort lots of things, don’t we?
Well, we see here, that at the end of the world as we know it, there will be a sorting by Jesus. Let’s look at Matthew 25:31-33.
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 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left.
We’ll get into the particulars of who the sheep and goats represent in just a moment, but we need to notice right now that there is a sorting of the two.
This sorting of sheep and goats is something that would have been familiar to the people of ancient Israel. Even today, in Israel you can see sheep and goats in the hills. Sheep and goats would often be herded together, but there were times when they would need to be separated. Just for the record, this is what a sheep looks like [show picture on screen], and this is what a goat looks like. [show picture on screen]
So, it is clear that, as Jesus sees it, not everyone is like a goat and not everyone is like a sheep. Just as a shepherd is easily able to distinguish between his sheep and his goats, the Great Shepherd will clearly be able to distinguish between the sheep and the goats.
Here is the scene: Jesus will come with great glory, sit on His great throne, be surrounded by a great host of angels, will conduct a great gathering of people, will conduct a great sorting, and will pronounce a great judgment.
Verse 32 says that the “nations” shall be gathered by Jesus. Now, that is not to say that Jesus will judge the United States as a whole, then Iran as a whole, then Kenya as a whole, then Argentina as a whole, then Ireland, and so on. No. Rather, it means that all the people of all the nations will be gathered before King Jesus for a great sorting.
The sheep will go on His right and the goats on His left.
Well, what do the sheep and goats represent? That takes us to the next action that we discover in this passage:
II. There will be some reward (vv. 34-40) [on screen]
The first group that Jesus addresses is the sheep; those on His right. Check out verses 34-40.
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 something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited 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 When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’
40 “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
There is so much truth packed in this short section of our passage!
First, notice that Jesus, the King, will say, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father.”
It is the blessing of the Father upon our lives that leads to anything good in us. It is the blessing of the Father that leads us to be obedient. It is the blessing of the Father that leads to us be faithful.
Listen, church: we are only able to love God and be His children because He first loved us.
Second, notice that Jesus says that the sheep are to, “ . . . inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
What a beautiful reality to know that before God formed a single grain of sand on the earth He planned to have a home in heaven for His followers. He had a kingdom prepared for us before there was any us!
Before the foundation of the world, God planned an eternal home for each and every one of His followers.
Third, notice that Jesus points out that the treatment of His followers is equated with treatment of Him.
In verses 35-40, Jesus lists all these acts of kindness that the sheep showed to Him. He said that they fed Him when He was hungry, they gave Him something to drink when He was thirsty, they took Him in when He was a stranger, they clothed Him when He needed clothing, they took care of Him when He was sick, and they visited Him when He was in prison.
Those followers of Jesus, whom He called “the righteous,” seem perplexed about the time that they did these things for Him.
Jesus then powerfully equates good treatment of His followers, whom He calls His brothers and sisters, with good treatment of Him.
What a beautiful reality! We can please Jesus by the way we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ! Further, we know that each and every one of us is so important to Jesus that He values the treatment of us like He values the treatment of Himself. How wonderful!
What is the result of obedience to Jesus? What is the result of living a life of faithfulness to God? What is the result of living out the good works that Jesus created us to live by the power of God’s Holy Spirit? Well, jump back up to verse 34! The reward is for us to, “. . . inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
There will be some reward after this sorting, and it will be awesome.
Finally, . . .
III. There will be some condemnation (vv. 41-46) [on screen]
This passage is pointing out a contrast. As there are sheep, there are also goats. As there is reward, there is also condemnation.
Verse 41 gets right to the point. Look at verse 41: “Then he will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!
There is real judgment for those who reject God and His ways. In ancient times, the person that stood to the right of the king was honored, whereas the person who stood to the left was not as much honored. So, the goats are sent to the left of the king because they are due to receive condemnation.
This is no light sentence. The King will pronounce them as cursed and they are to receive strict condemnation that results in “ . . . eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!”
Think about the implications of this: the same judgment that is reserved for the devil and his angels will be poured out on those who reject God and His ways. This is so vital to grasp and understand.
Next, we see why they are condemned. Look at verses 42-45:
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 didn’t take me in; I was naked and you didn’t clothe me, sick and in prison and you didn’t take care of me.’
44 “Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help you?’
45 “Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
As Jesus equates the good treatment of His followers with good treatment of Him, so also, Jesus equates poor treatment of His followers with poor treatment of Him.
This is similar to what Jesus said to Paul on the road to Damascus upon his conversion. Acts 9:4-5 describes this:
4 Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul said. “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting,” he replied. [on screen] Well, Paul was persecuting Jesus’ followers, not Jesus Himself.
Jesus makes it clear in this passage, and when He was speaking to Paul, that to mistreat His followers is to mistreat Him.
Boy, this has tremendous implications, does it not? If you don’t treat other Jesus-followers well, what does it say about how Jesus will treat you at the judgment? What does it say about whether or not you really love Jesus?
Jesus Himself said this in John 13:35, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” [on screen]
Don’t forget, Jesus said elsewhere that the greatest ways we could follow God’s commandments are to love God and love others.
So, let us be obedient and faithful. For, if we are only pretenders, or if we reject God and His ways, condemnation awaits us.
Jesus sums this up in verse 46. He says, “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
There will be a real sorting, there will be a real reward, and there will be real judgment.
Concluding Thoughts:
Can you imagine a goat in a pasture trying to trick the shepherd into thinking that he was a sheep? He might be able to trick some of us, but he wouldn’t be able to trick the shepherd. In the same way, there will be a day of judgment and Jesus will righteously and precisely sort out the spiritual sheep and the spiritual goats.
That takes us to our bottom line for today’s passage:
Bottom Line: There will be a day of judgment where there will be an eternalsorting of every person. [on screen]
(repeat)
Where will you fall when all is sorted out? Will you inherit the kingdom prepared for you or will you be cast into the eternal fire?
The book of Matthew makes it clear again and again and again that if you’ve been changed by Jesus you will live like a changed follower of Jesus. So, are you living for Him?
Challenge yourself to live out this passage this week in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge: [on screen]
1. Determine whether you are a sheep or a goat. [on screen]
Now, in most cases, you could just look in the mirror to tell what species of animal you are. But, in this case, you must look at the mirror of your soul; you must look in your heart and examine where you stand in your relationship with Jesus.
Do you know that you know that you know that you are a follower of Jesus? If not, commit this week to become a sheep. Commit to being a faithful follower of the Father.
2. Show some goats how to become sheep. [on screen]
There are many who are still living as spiritual goats and they have no idea how to become sheep. They don’t know that they’re lost and they don’t know how to be found.
This week, commit to showing them the way to the Great Shepherd. Commit to bringing them the only rescue from the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.
Will you do that? Will you be faithful?
Closing:
As we prepare to close, will you join me in examining your own heart and life? Will you ask yourself if you’ve been faithful. If not, will you come to Jesus, the Great Shepherd?
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
(Sing Doxology)
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