Sheep or Goat?

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

When the Son of Man comes on the Last Day, He will come in all His glory, accompanied by the angels. He will come suddenly and unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. However, He will not come secretly. His coming will be no more hidden than lightning across the sky. Every eye shall see Him, and even the dead shall awake from their slumber. He will come on the clouds, surrounded by the heavenly host, and will take up His seat upon the throne of God to preside over the final judgment.

From the throne of glory, the Son of Man will judge the heavens and the earth, the living and the dead. He will separate one from another, as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. Make no mistake – this is not a parable. While the image of the sheep and the goats is a metaphor for the righteous and unrighteous, the sorting to take place is no metaphor, analogy, or allegory. The Son of Man will without doubt sort the righteous and unrighteous persons and send them to their eternal destinations.

And why should you expect any different? After all, this is simply the final act of the Good Shepherd. Just as He has guarded the door to the sheep-fold and has kept watch over His flock, so now, at the last, He will welcome those who belong to His fold, and consign to hell those who would not enter by the door.

However, notice that this sorting takes place not on the basis of works, but on the basis of identity. The sheep are sent one way, and the goats another, and only after their separation is each group addressed. And notice how the Son of Man identifies them. Those on His right He calls “you blessed of My Father”, while those on His left He calls simply “cursed”.

The separation between the sheep and the goats has to do with their relationship to the Cross. At the gate stands the Lamb who was slain now come to call His own to Himself. There is no getting around Him without facing the cross. But some try.

After all, living under the cross is difficult. The Christian life is full of hardships, trials, disappointment, and pain. The Christian life is lived in the midst of death. However, the sheep seek not to escape this life-and-death tension, but rather hold fast to the Lord over life and death. On the other hand, the goats run from death. They fear death, and so they look the other way. They try to skirt the fence and sneak through the door. But no such luck.

The sheep and the goats are sorted, and the Son of Man turns to those on His right and commends them for feeding, giving to drink, clothing, healing, and visiting Him in times of need. Their response: “When did we see You...?” After all, no Christian has ever met someone on the street with a flashing halo and entourage of angels, and decided to buy Him lunch. Notice that there is no argument as to whether they did these things, only whether they did them to Jesus.

The answer: “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” Christians do not notice Jesus as the recipients of their works because they are not looking for Him. Quite simply, you do these good works to Jesus when you do what Christians do. Whether it is to the lowliest beggar or the highest King, you do works of love and service to your neighbor because that is what you have been created, called, and equipped to do in Christ.

The baptized Christian is set free from sin, death, and the power of the devil, and is set free to do the good works of love and service that the Law requires. Because the love of God and the grace of Christ dwells richly in you, you cannot not do these things.

Furthermore, even though you may not see the face of Jesus Himself while you serve others, you nevertheless see Him. Our Lord wears many masks, including the mask of those in need. Wherever there is suffering, there our Lord is to be found. The cross overshadows all things and all people. Because He has died for all, all are His, and we bear His image. Therefore, all men are your lords. The Christian is free from death and hell, but is the perfectly dutiful servant to all in the Gospel. But this is no burden because it is not you who serve, but Christ who lives in you. Therefore, your works will testify to the grace that you have received.

On the other hand, when sentence is pronounced to those on the left, they protest. Lord, when did we see you in need and not help you? Constantly looking over their shoulders, they never saw the Lord coming, so they failed to act. In place of the true God who gave Himself that they might be free to serve, they set up an idol out of their own legalistic hearts. The question becomes “what is enough?” If no one notices, do you need to help someone in need? If it does not count, do you need to love your neighbor? If you get nothing back, do you need to give to the one lacking? After all, it is not like Jesus will come down the street and see what you do.

Unlike those blessed of the Father, these have become cursed all by themselves. They want to be judged by their works, and not on the basis of Christ, and so they get their way. The Son of Man makes it clear that they have failed. They have neither believed in God nor loved their neighbor. They have not done “enough”. They chose this road, and so they are forced down to its end. “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

Hell is not prepared for men. God makes it clear that He desires no one to depart into the eternal fire. It is prepared for the devil and his angels, on account of their evil choices and acts. Men only enter the eternal punishment because they run and hide from the cross. When you avoid the cross, this is where you will end up. Those who serve God are called blessed by the Father, because they have remained in His love, but those who go into judgment are called cursed in themselves, for they have thrown off the yoke of the cross.

So, are you a sheep or a goat? Will you go to the right or the left? Do not look to your works or your own person to find the answer. If you look in the mirror, which is the Law, you will see a goat, because you will never be good enough or have done enough. Rather, look to Jesus Christ. Look to the cross where He gave His life for you. Look to the wounds wherein He hides you. Look to His tomb, into which you were buried with Him, and from which He delivers you. He will tell you where you belong, because He has placed you there.

Do not look inside, or to the signs of this world and life, but rather look to the concrete, tangible places where Christ our Lord gives Himself. There you will find Him, and in Him you will find your identity.

Look to your Baptism. In this blessed flood, Jesus has washed you clean. He poured the waters of rebirth and renewal over you and engraved His Name upon you. He declared you to be the beloved Son, in whom the Father is well-pleased. Let this blessed flood continue to well up within you, unto everlasting life.

Look to His Word spoken in Holy Absolution. Jesus' Word, spoken through the mouth of a man, bespeaks you forgiven and righteous. He means what He says. Your sins are forgiven, because He has declared it so, and shall continue to do so, as often as you confess your sins. Let this Word always ring in your ears, drowning out the lies of the devil.

Look to the Lord's Supper. In and under the bread and wine, Jesus gives His very Body and Blood for you, for the forgiveness of your sins. No matter how often you sin, no matter how great or how small your sins, they are forgiven as surely as those elements touch your tongue. He feeds you and gives you to drink. Let your hunger drive you continually to the Lord's Table, where He offers Himself as your daily bread and your overflowing cup.

Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:14-15) He knows you, because you are His own. He died for you, that you might be His own and live under Him in His kingdom in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.

Because you know Him, you cannot not see Him. His cross looms large over your life. You live each moment in the shadow of the cross. Because you are shaped and molded by the cross of Christ, you see the world through that lens. Through the lens of the cross, you see others. While the world looks for God and sees Him nowhere, you need not look for Him, but you see Him everywhere, in everyone. “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.'”

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.