Parable of sheep and goats

Parable of sheep and goats

 

Matthew 25:31-33 『When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.』

Sheep and goats symbolize “beings without the ability to exist on their own.” They were deceived when they said that they exist on their own. If we are deceived, we each go our own way. The deceived sheep and goats sinned in the kingdom of God and became trapped in the dust of the world. So, they were separated from Christ, but Christ came to this world and took them away.

In Matthew 25:34, “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Those on the right take care of the sheep. it means. Those on the left become goats. But why do sheep represent righteous people and goats represent sinners?

The sheep says he has never met Jesus. However, Jesus says he met a sheep. The goat also says that he has never met Jesus. However, Jesus says he has never met a goat.

Chapter 25 Verses 35-39『For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when we saw thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When we saw thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed them? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?』

The sheep are saying they have never done anything like this. The phrase “when Jesus was hungry” means “those in the world should have spiritual children, but that was not possible.” This means that there are very few people who are born again into resurrection life. However, the sheep was born with resurrection life and passed that life on to others. The words “when hungry, when thirsty, when a stranger” are the image of a shepherd visiting a lost sheep. The lost sheep symbolizes the person who has left God. So, the owner must find the sheep, give it resurrection life, and return to the kingdom of God. Jesus died on the cross, was resurrected, ascended to heaven, and entered the hearts of believers. So, now the saints are in charge of that work. “Giving resurrection life to other believers” is the same as accepting Jesus.

He said, 『Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.』, and the sheep did the work of saving the spirit. The work of a believer to save the spirit of a believer is to give resurrection life. In Matthew 7:21-22, “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name did many wonderful works?』The believer worked for Jesus all his life, but Jesus said,『I do not know you』. Because although he worked hard, he did something that had nothing to do with God's will. The Father's will is to make the Son believe. The Son is the one who forgives sins and gives resurrection life. If a believer believes that he died on the cross with Jesus and was resurrected with Christ, he will receive eternal life.

The sheep and the goats say, “Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when we saw thee an hungred, and fed thee? Or thirsty, and gave thee drink?』Both the sheep and the goats say they have never done this. However, Jesus said to the sheep, “I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” But the goats did not do that. The least means a person who is spiritually dead. In other words, the sheep did the work of saving the spirit, and the goats did not.

“What Jesus did when he came into the world” was to spread the gospel to the poor. The poor are driven out into this world and have no knowledge of the kingdom of God, so they are dead in spirit. So, Jesus tells them about the kingdom of God. Jesus frees those who were imprisoned. He is saying that Jesus turns the slaves of Satan into the people of God. Jesus is the one who saves dead spirits and gives resurrection life.

“Love your brothers” means reviving the spirit that is dead in the human body. All humans are spiritual beings and brothers. So, saving the spirit is God's will, and the purpose of Jesus' coming to this world. Those who are in Christ become those who do the same things that Jesus did. Those who do not are not interested in saving the spirit. To love a brother means to be the one who saves a dead spirit. To love a brother is to pass on resurrection life. The saying is that the sheep spread the light of life (resurrection) received from Jesus to “other people who are dead in spirit,” but the goat did not do so. Because the goat does not have the resurrection life it received from Jesus, he failed to do so.

Those who do not have heavenly resurrection life cannot enter the kingdom of God. Both sheep and goats are people who claim to believe in God. However, sheep have heavenly resurrection life, and goats do not have heavenly resurrection life. Sheep are those who are united with Christ who died on the cross, drink his blood (die with him on the cross) and eat his flesh (resurrect together with him), while goats are those who are blocked by the law and cannot receive life. That is why goats are beings that cannot save the spirits of others, nor can they themselves be saved.