Parable of the Sheep and the Goats

Text and Content

The passage appears only in Matthew 25:31-46. It forms the final section of Jesus' teaching on the end times (Matthew 24–25) and follows immediately after the Parable of the Ten Virgins and the Parable of the Talents.

The Son of Man comes in his glory and sits upon his throne, and all nations are gathered before him. He separates the people as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats, setting the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left. The King tells those on his right to inherit "the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world," because when he was hungry they fed him, when he was thirsty they gave him drink, when he was a stranger they took him in, when he was naked they clothed him, and when he was sick and in prison they came to him. They ask when they did these things. The King answers, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matthew 25:40). Those on the left go away into everlasting punishment because they did not do these things, while those on the right go into eternal life (Matthew 25:46).

Background

It is commonly explained that in Palestine sheep and goats were pastured together in a single flock and that the shepherd separated them as needed. In Scripture the right hand generally signifies honor and favor. Many interpreters connect this image of judgment by the separation of animals with Ezekiel 34:17, where God declares, "I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats." Because most of the passage describes the judgment scene directly and the shepherd imagery is brief, some scholars regard it as an apocalyptic depiction of judgment rather than a parable in the strict sense.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

This is one of the principal New Testament passages on the Second Coming and the Last Judgment. The idea that serving the least is serving God or Christ also appears in Proverbs 19:17 and Matthew 10:40-42. The passage is also read alongside James 2:15-17 and 1 John 3:17-18, which warn against faith and love without deeds.

Interpretation and Debates

• The least of these: A widely held interpretation understands the phrase as referring to all who are hungry and marginalized. Another interpretation, noting that "brethren" in Matthew usually refers to disciples, narrows the reference to Christians or to disciples who proclaim the gospel.
• All nations: Some take the phrase to mean all humanity; others take it to mean the Gentile nations. In dispensationalism the scene is sometimes read as a judgment of the nations immediately preceding the millennial kingdom.
• Works and salvation: Protestant tradition, generally presupposing that justification is by faith, interprets the good deeds in this passage as the fruit or evidence of genuine faith. The Catholic Church treats the passage as one of the foundations of its teaching on the works of mercy.
• Everlasting punishment: The passage is frequently cited in discussions of heaven and hell and of the eternity of punishment.
• The passage does not portray goats as inherently evil animals. The basis of separation is not the nature of the animals but what each person has done. Interpreters also frequently note that neither those on the right nor those on the left were aware of what they had done.

In Korean Churches

In Korean churches this passage is frequently cited in sermons emphasizing almsgiving and relief of the poor, social service, and diakonia. The expression "the least of these" in particular is widely used to describe churches' welfare and sharing ministries.