Mid-week Prayer Focus
Sheep vs Goats
Pastor Wes
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Hey guys! This week we’re going to finish working our way through Jesus’ teaching from Matthew chapter 24 and 25. We’ve broken down these 2 chapters up into several bite sized pieces over the past several weeks. Again, the context is that Jesus is still responding to a question from the disciples over the destruction of the temple and the end times when Jesus will return. We looked at some of the events He foretells that would happen to Jerusalem, events that happened in the year 70, but some of the events and signs he mentions seem to possibly be referring to perhaps both the destruction of the temple and also the end times/His return. But now as we are nearing the end of His discourse, towards the end of chapter 25, He obviously has been speaking just concerning the end of times and His return. He’s warning all to be alert, prepared, patient for His return, and as we looked at in the previous message- He talks about the judgement and reward that will take place in the end- as we each will be judged accordingly to how we use what God has given us. Now in verse 31 of Matthew chapter 25, and following, He presents yet another illustration. Let me read verses 31-34 to you, it says…
This passage continues, and the full thought is carried to completion in verse 46. So really, verses 31-46 need to remain together as we study this, but we’re going to break up this chunk of scripture into 2 parts, the first part that sets up this passage we’ll look at right now, (verse 31-34) and the second part (verses 35-46) we’ll tackle in the next message. To sum up this first part I just read, Jesus says that when He returns, He will sit on His throne as King of the world, and all nations (the whole entire world), will be divided into two groups based on whether they are a “sheep” or a “goat.” In the verses that follow, He tells us that it is the sheep who will be welcomed into His amazing Heavenly Kingdom- because of their righteousness- because of their appropriate actions, decisions, responses in this world. But the goats, will be put out into punishment- because of their unrighteousness- because of their lack of appropriate actions, decisions, responses in this world.
Now again, we’re going to look at this entire passage in more detail next time, but for right now I want us to consider specifically this analogy of sheep and goats. Why did Jesus choose this imagery? He could have said He will separate mankind into dogs and cats, or monkeys and apes, or lions and tigers… and/or bears…
Well, number one Israel is a land whose people throughout history relied on sheep and goats for meat and dairy nourishment, as well as for their tent housing and clothing- using the skins from sheep and goats. Still today, in modern times, you probably couldn’t visit Israel without seeing some sheep and goat herders somewhere outside, tending to their animals. So sheep and goats were common animals, whose tendencies and characteristics were generally well known by the society at large in Jesus’ day. Now maybe you’re a sheep or goat farmer, but if not, you might get a lot more out of this entire passage if you understand some of the differences between sheep and goats.
One difference is in how they feed. Sheep graze, slowly eating short vegetation that is close to the ground. Goats browse, looking for foliage all over, whether grass, vines, shrubs, trees, “or even” fences shoes curtains etc. The application for us in realizing this difference, is to know that as followers of Jesus, there is good nourishment for us in God’s word, the Bible. And He has called us to live in a certain way- we don’t need to experiment with, “Umm, let me try this, oh look, what about this over here, or maybe that electric fence would taste nice”- no there are good parameters set in place that God has for us, so that we don’t wind up at the veterinarians office, needing surgery to remove a shoe from our stomach. He loves us and desires for us to be nourished from Him, and He doesn’t want us wandering off, feeding ourselves with things that could really hurt us.
Now part of what makes a goat eat almost anything, is a high level of curiosity and independence. A goat will challenge being fenced in, it will climb to jump and escape. Sheep on the other hand have a strong flocking instinct and are dependent on the flock. Sheep have a desire to be with the other sheep, and not to be independently isolated from the other sheep. The application for us as believers is for us to understand that we are intended for community. We are designed to be dependent on one another- to encourage one another, hold each other accountable, support each other, keep each other safe- this is what God intends for His church. Listen, at the risk of stepping on anyone’s toes, I feel I need to say that if you are content with isolating yourself as a Christian, proclaiming that “You and God are good,” and not having any regular interaction with other believers, then you are acting more like a goat than a sheep. It’s not healthy, and if that is you, I encourage you to get plugged in with other believers- through a local church body or through regular, spiritually-intentional get-togethers with other believers.
Lastly, a sheep is led by its shepherd. The Shepherd leads the sheep to food, water, and safety. But goats don’t follow a goatherder too well, rather, often the goatherder follows the goats. Goats go where they want, again browsing, and the goatherder follows and has to correct or re-direct, depending on what kind of trouble the goats get into. In our world today, right now there are a lot of “goat” voices and opinions out there. So many are taking it upon themselves to determine what is right and what is wrong, and often what is right today is wrong tomorrow and vice versa. People’s current “feelings” are functioning as society’s moral compass. So many issues could be resolved if we as a people submitted as sheep to Jesus the good shepherd, who loves us dearly and laid down his life for us, and then if were consistent in living out lives that follow His footsteps.
My prayer for you is that you would be feeding from a steady diet of God’s word, that you would delight yourself in Him, being content and pleased with the richness He has to offer. May you encourage, and be encouraged by others from the flock, and not have any desire to wander off, independent from others. Proclaim God’s word as the standard for what is right and wrong, and then live according to its directives. I love you church- Sheep-life for life!