The Sheep & The Goats Parable

Matthew 25:31-46

Before we get into the parable itself, it is important to remember that what Messiah told us He was intentionally doing by using parables to hide the truth from those without eyes to see and ears to hear. (Matthew 13:14/Mark 4:12) I know we all want to believe that we couldn't possibly be those whom the parables might be hidden from, but how can we be certain we understand His encrypted message?

Yeshua is quoting the prophet Isaiah to explain His use of parables:

"You will be ever hearing, but never understanding; you will be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ This people’s hearts have become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes." Isaiah 6:9-10

YHWH is a God of distinction; He divides the waters, good from evil, clean from unclean, common from Set Apart. In this same way, He is separating His sheep from the rest. So the parables are for those who hear His voice and follow Him.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” John 10:27-28

Can we define “His Voice” using scripture? We absolutely can!

“Because you have listened to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep all His commandments which I command you today, to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 13:18 

So those who keep His commands hear the voice of the shepherd, knowing The Word is to Know Him, giving one Eyes to See and Ears to Hear. So let’s get to the root of this parable with open eyes and ears. 

“Now when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will put the sheep on His right, but the goats on His left. 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. 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 invited Me in;  I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.

Let's start with who is gathered before Him at His throne. The Greek here is Ethne, Greek for "Nations", this word is consistently and exclusively used to denote "Gentiles". This is a specific judgment for the Gentiles being gathered. Notice that they are going to be separated as Sheep and Goats - it's important to note that both of these are clean animals. This is our first clue that the entire group have been "made clean", i.e. profess Messiah Yeshua and received deliverance through His atonement. This parable is giving us insight into how the Lord will sift those who still identify as Gentiles but profess Messiah. The key is found in this parable. Let's continue....

“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You? Or thirsty and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger and invite You in? Or naked and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’

Again, we are dealing in parables, so we must look deeper, as these are intentionally crafted by Messiah to keep those who do not know Him (The Word) from seeing them at face value. How does God define these terms in Yeshua's Scriptures

(The Tanakh or "Old Testament")?

Food is repeatedly used to represent The Word of God, whether it's the shadow of famine and grain on the earth, bread and wine, or the manna in the wilderness. God equates Food with what sustains us, and whether or not we are feeding on Him or on the World. "He has given food to those who fear him. He always remembers his covenant." Psalm 111:5. "I haven't gone back from the commandment of his lips. I have treasured up the words of his mouth more than my necessary food." Job 23:12

Water to drink is a theme found early in the stories of The Patriarchs, where wells are dug that claim promised territories, and future marriages formed. Water is also an agent of purification and cleansing. The walk through the Red Sea as the baptism into Moses, and the ritual of a Mikvah to be fit to enter the presence of The Lord show us that water symbolizes both power and a witness to sacred covenants. "Isaac dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father. For the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham. He called their names after the names by which his father had called them." Genesis 26:18 "It will happen in that day, that living waters will go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea; in summer and in winter will it be." Zechariah 14:8

A Stranger has always been one not inside the camp of Israel, even "The stranger among you" may be a servant or sojourner within the camp, yet not fully part of the Covenants of Israel. "For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you, and for the stranger who lives as a foreigner with you, a statute forever throughout your generations: as you are, so shall the foreigner be before the LORD." Numbers 15:15

Nakedness is symbolic of being uncovered, having no covering for sins. Garments are defined in scripture as Deeds. When one has filthy garments, they are those living in rebellion and sin, versus the Bride in Revelation 21, who has clothed herself in Fine Linen, which is the Righteous Deeds of the Saints. Covering Nakedness is clearly shown as atonement, which means "to cover," as we see Adam and Hava need the covering of the first sacrifices as they were exiled from Eden.

Sickness relates to being afflicted, the consequence of sin, and even a sign of unclean spirits. It is worth noting that Job's physical illness and sickness were inflicted on him without Job doing anything to deserve it, but as a means to test His heart. It is also worth noting that the biblical affliction of Tza'arat (mistranslated in our Bibles as leprosy) was explicitly present in those guilty of certain types of sin.

A Prisoner consistently depicts the state of one who has not been freed from the bondage of sin and death through faithfulness and obedience to the God of Israel. The belief in the promises of restoration and the promise of the coming seed has always offered deliverance both in the physical and spiritual realities throughout the Scriptures.

How does Yeshua describe these things in the Apostolic writings?

"Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work." John 4:34

"Yet he didn't leave himself without witness, in that he did good and gave you rains from the sky and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness." Acts 14:17

"I Am the Bread of Life." John 6:35

"I have food to eat that you do not know about." John 4:32

"Rivers of Living Water will flow from His heart...speaking of the Spirit," John 7:38-39

"They will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him; for they don't know the voice of strangers." John 10:5

"That you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world." Ephesians 2:12

"Because you say, 'I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing;' and don't know that you are the wretched one, miserable, poor, blind, and naked" Revelation 3:17

Jesus answered them, "Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do." Luke 5:31

"At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to him all who were sick, and those who were possessed by demons." Mark 1:32

"But I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members." Romans 7:23

In the New Testament, another layer is revealed to the term Prison/Prisoner. Each of the Jewish apostles began referring to themselves as Prisoners of Messiah, and in many cases, being cast into prisons for their faithfulness to Him. I believe it is important to add this layer to the instruction and warning of our Master in these passages as well.

The message our Messiah has encrypted in this parable is a powerful one, yet not one I have heard preached from any pulpits today. With such a critical consequence born of the response to His warning, one would think we would hear more.

 “And answering, the King will say to them, ‘Amen, I tell you, whatever you did to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Then He will also say to those on the left, ‘Go away from Me, you cursed ones, into the everlasting fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in; naked and you did not clothe Me; sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they too will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not care for You?’  Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Amen, I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’  These shall go off to everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life.”

Who are "the Least" being spoken of here? Let's seek the answer in Scripture; it is not our interpretation we are to lean on, but His definitions to be mined for the treasure they are.

"Therefore, you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD shall send against you, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron on your neck, until he has destroyed you." Deuteronomy 28:48

"It is not because you are more numerous than all the peoples that YHWH set His Love on you and chose you - For you are the Least of All Peoples." Deuteronomy 7:7

Who is the Lord speaking to here?

Certainly and unambiguously, YHWH is speaking to Israel. He chose her because she is "The Least" of All Peoples (i.e., all nations). When Yeshua says, "The Least of these, my brethren." He means "The least of the nations, His literal brethren." He is always quoting Himself in the Torah or through the Prophets ... always.

So when Messiah says He will line up all Nations to judge them, He is making sure that those who have ears to hear and eyes to see that His brethren, whom He is chastising through their enemies, causing them to be hungry, thirsty, naked and taken captive will feed them with the fullness of His Word, Share the Living Water, provide them with His Covering, Invite those who are strangers to the Covenants back into reconciliation, and tell them how to be Freed from the bondage of Sin and death. We are also called to stand with them, if and when they become a "Prisoner of Messiah" even unto death!