The Sheep and the Goats

This teaching is really a prophecy rather than a parable. It tells of Jesus' future coming as Judge.

The parable falls in three parts:

1. The coming of the Son of Man and his division of the nations (vv. 31-33).
2. The shepherd-king's word to the righteous sheep (vv. 34-40).
3. The shepherd-king's word to the cursed goats (vv. 41-46).

How is the teaching to be interpreted?

There is one end of the ages judgement in scripture with many descriptions.

Jesus is not merely evaluating the Gentiles based on their treatment of Jews before his millenial reign (a la the classic dispensational view).

Nor is this teaching a naive justification for the liberal social gospel.

It is, rather, a call for serious Christian community. Jesus identifies with his church when it suffers. Our proper response would be to take seriously our prayer for the persecuted church and to support the work of missions and evangelism in places where the Christian movement is opposed and believers suffer.

We must resist the modern evangelical non-chalant view of the Christian life and of Christian community.