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31 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, "Come, you blessed of 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 took Me in; 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 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." ~ Matthew 25:31-40
Today, we continue our study of Matthew 25 which is part of the Olivet Discourse and it is the Lord Jesus' description of the end times and how it should increase our concern for the salvation of the unsaved. Today's passage has provided a great deal of difficulty and misunderstanding to many throughout the ages. This section of scripture focuses our attention on the judgment of the sheep and the goats.
At the end of time, there will be several judgments of God on sin. In 1 Peter 4:17 Peter wrote, "The time has come when judgment must begin at the house of God." It has always been that God begins His judgment with those who are in the family of God. Since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden sin has been judged. In fact, God's judgement of sin is going on right now in this world. His judgment of sin will culminate at the end of time as we know it when He will judge between the sheep and the goats. For the goats there is no forgiveness of sin because they have resisted their need for the Savior. For the sheep there is forgiveness of sin because God's judgment of sin took place at the cross of Christ. And, the sheep have trusted in Him for such.
In v.31-33 of today's passage we read, "31 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left."
At the Rapture of the Church which could happen at any moment, the Lord Jesus will return to gather believers to be with Himself in heaven. At that moment, the dead in Christ shall be raised from their graves including the early apostles right on down to our present day. The Rapture is clearly different than the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus because He will return to the earth and His feet will come down at the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. At the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus, we who will be caught up at the Rapture will return with Him and His angels at His Second Coming. At that moment the whole world shall suddenly see the Lord in the air. That will be different than the Rapture when only those raptured will see Him. When the Lord returns at His Second Coming, He will establish His one thousand year reign on the earth. We read about this in Revelation 11 with the sounding of the last of the seventh trumpets. According to Zechariah 12, the Lord Jesus will return in great victory and power at the Mount of Olives where every eye will see the One whom they pierced so many years before at the cross.
Once the Lord Jesus establishes His kingdom, He will sit on His throne of glory. Zechariah tells us that all of the nations will be gathered before Him as He will sit on His throne and He will separate them one from another. Goats are animals that look very much like sheep but they are not. The Lord Jesus used the goat to illustrate those who lack a personal relationship with Him. They will appear to be "born of His Spirit" but they will not be. This will the difference between them and the sheep.
In v.34-36 of today's passage we read, "34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of 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 took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'"
All of those Old Testament passages that promise of a day when the earth will be filled with the righteousness of God from sea to sea will finally be realized. The lion will lie down with the lamb and the little child shall lead the wild animal. During that time nothing shall hurt anyone or destroy anything. There will no longer be war and the people on earth will live in peace. This will be the millennium.
Ultimately the sheep and the goats will be judged on the basis of whether they had a personal relationship with the Lord or not. The translation of one's relationship with the Lord is always seen in how we treat others. The sheep and the goats will be judged on how they treated the brethren or the people of Israel during the Tribulation. The book of the Revelation tells us that after the Church is raptured, God will then begin to work again in and through the nation of Israel. During the seven year Tribulation 144,000 saved Jews will preach the Gospel throughout the earth the gospel. This could not possibly be the Church because the Church will not be on the earth during the tribulation period. The sheep will be those who believe the message of the cross through the 144,000 messengers of Israel during the Tribulation.
In v.37-40 of today's passage we read, "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 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'"
The sheep will not be aware of the fact that they were helping the Lord when they helped Israel. This is what happens once we have given our hearts to the Lord. Once we give to Him our hearts, He gives to us His heart. The "born-again" lose sight of themselves as time goes forward. The goats, on the other hand, will be those who will lack a personal relationship with the Lord and they will neglect helping the people of Israel during the Tribulation. In fact, they will treat them with disdain as anti-semitism will flourish as it has never flourished before. When we ignore the needy, we ignore the Lord.
The ultimate mark of the believer in Christ is not his creed, or his faith, or his Bible knowledge, but the concern which he shows to those who are in need. The evidence that we are believers in the Lord Jesus is seen best when we help someone in need. Striking is the fact that the Lord Jesus identified Himself with those in need. From before the foundation of the world He agreed to come to this earth and to redeem us. Once we entered into a personal relationship with the Lord, we took on His DNA which includes in it His heart for the broken. When we minister to the needy, we minister to Him. When we minister to the needy, we demonstrate He has given to us His heart.
