The Sheep and the Goats
Read the parable
- Matthew 25:31-46 Primary account
Context
Palestinian shepherds commonly grazed sheep and goats in one flock and separated them at day's end, the hardier sheep left in the open, the goats needing shelter. This scene closes the Olivet Discourse, Jesus' final discourse in Matthew before the passion, and is less a parable proper than a prophetic picture of the last judgment that opens with a brief pastoral simile.
Meaning
When the Son of man comes in his glory, all nations are gathered before him, and the judgment turns on deeds of mercy — feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned — done or not done to "the least of these my brethren," whom the King astonishingly identifies with himself. Mainstream interpretation holds that such works are the evidence, not the purchase-price, of a right relationship to the King: genuine faith issues in concrete love, and its absence exposes a profession as empty. The destinies pronounced are final — everlasting punishment and life eternal.
Go deeper
Two free lessons walk through the parables as a whole: The Parables of Jesus and Interpreting the Parables.