In 2006, scientists gazed into the heavens. A spacecraft was returning from a seven-year mission and brought with it particles of comet dust. Having gazed into the heavens, the scientists now gazed through microscopes at the dust of heaven, hoping to discover within this material clues to the mystery of life.
Before science became the final court of meaning, however, artists were busy gazing into the heavens, creating paintings of a different court and of a different day: a day of judgment, when Christ would return and reveal for all people the meaning of life.
Taking a quick glance through paintings of the last judgment, one discovers a common theme. The heavens are torn open as Christ descends on a throne and the earth is breaking apart as the dead rise from their graves. While the paintings are usually too busy, with many human bodies mixed together with many angels and demons, one factor is fairly consistent. If you look closely; if you stare at the face of just one human being, you’ll find on that face a look of discovery. People look as if they’re waking from sleep and only beginning to discover the meaning of the world, of their Lord, of the life that once surrounded them.
In Matthew’s gospel, we learn exactly what those people are discovering. A division takes place on the Last Day: a division between sheep and goats. Those who are right with God—the sheep—will inherit the kingdom of God, while the goats—those who rejected God in this life—will enter into unimaginable torment. What they are discovering is which one they are. What we have to have an answer to as we think about the coming judgment is this: What is the dividing line? What makes a sheep a sheep and a goat a goat?
Let’s back up for a second. As we think about Judgment Day—a Day the Bible says is absolutely going to come—we need to know God calls us not to speculation but to preparation. Scripture develops a picture of that preparation for us. Preparing for Jesus’ return includes diligent use of God’s Word. Preparing for Jesus’ return includes investing ourselves in His kingdom, making the most of the talents He’s given us. Jesus adds to the picture today. Within the drama of this division between sheep and goats, Jesus teaches that preparing for his return includes service to our fellow human beings. I’m sure you noticed in this scenario that the sheep were the ones who served the hungry; the homeless; the poor; the sick; the prisoner. So, is that it? Is that the answer to the question, what makes a sheep and sheep and a goat a goat? Well, in a sense the sheep are identified as having served others—but we need to know why. That’s the key. Why do the sheep serve others?
They serve because that’s who they are. They do not serve to save themselves. In fact, in the story, they seem shocked to discover that they were actually serving Jesus when they were serving people. Again, the sheep serve because they have been named heirs of the kingdom. Please notice, that naming is God’s activity! That’s His action! That’s the Father’s will and testament. The sheep—those who, in faith, serve others—are simply reacting to what God has said and done in Christ. Nothing Jesus says here challenges our understanding of how God saves people. The hymn writer Paul Speratus said it well when he wrote: “For faith alone can justify; works serve our neighbor and supply the proof that faith is living.” The service the sheep are engaged in is an unavoidable result of living faith! In other words, with faith in Christ in their hearts, they can’t help it. They can’t stop it. They don’t want to stop it. They’ve been freed to serve. Serving others, for the sheep, is not “I ought to.” Instead, it’s “I get to! I want to! I love to!”
So are you a sheep? How do you know? Don’t look to your works. Just ask yourself, have you been named an heir of God’s kingdom? Have you been baptized into the family name—the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost? Your baptism makes this a matter of family identity. It is an act of undeserved love on God’s part in adopting you. Not only that, baptism creates faith—faith that relies completely on the death and resurrection of Jesus for eternal life. That very same faith cannot help but carry with it actions—service to others—call them “good works” if you must. I like to think of it as Jesus’ love being poured into you, and He just keeps pouring it in until it spills over, out of us and into the lives of others. That’s just what happens when you’ve connected to Christ Jesus through faith. The good things we do are God’s mercy spilling out of us. That’s the life God wants for you.
In this portrait of Judgment Day, on the other side of the aisle you’ve got the goats, and what a sad, pathetic group this is. Did you notice—they ask exactly the same question the sheep did: “Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, in jail?” But they’re asking for a different reason. You see, all too late, the goats are really saying, “Lord, if we would’ve known it was you, of course we would’ve served you. But all we saw was this homeless guy! All we saw was an ex-convict! All we saw was a woman with a bad reputation! All we saw was someone with no way of paying us back—someone who probably wouldn’t appreciate our help anyway! If we would’ve known it was you behind the mask, we would’ve fallen all over ourselves to serve you!”
And the King replies, “You had your chance.” Now why do you think Jesus tells this story ahead of time—in advance of the judgment? What’s scary is that sometimes sheep can think and act like goats! Sometimes sheep can come up with all kinds of wise-sounding reasons why certain people should not be served or helped. I don’t see that kind of wiggle room in this story. Do you? The goats, who are identified by their lack of action, are not spared.
It reminds me of a brief story, about a well-dressed European woman who took a tour of Africa. Her group happened to stop at hospital for those afflicted with leprosy. The heat was intense. Flies were buzzing around. This woman noticed a nurse bending down on the dirt floor, tending to the pus-filled sores of a leper. Sick to her stomach, the woman said, “Why, I wouldn’t do that for all the money in the world.”
Without looking up, the nurse quietly replied, “Neither would I.”
That nurse was not working for reward. She was working for the Lord. She was willing to wade into someone else’s pain and misery and to try to bring comfort—why? Because that’s what Jesus does. He will use you the same way if you let Him. He may not send you to Africa, but will make you an agent of His mercy; a carrier of His kindness; a distributor of His strength and truth. He will pour His compassion into you until it spills over. That is why you are here. That is why God’s flock remains in this desperate, groaning world. The sheep are the ones who serve the world with the Shepherd’s riches.
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