The parable of the sheep and the goats is one of the best known of Jesus’s stories. Sadly it is also one of those most often misunderstood. Starting with the fact that the title we generally use actually misses the central point of the story. It isn’t actually about sheep or goats at all. We should not gloss over the fact that this is the parable of the separation of the sheep from the goats. The heart of its message concerns
The certainty of judgment
31 ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

People get distracted by the different characteristics of those who are placed to the right or on the left. We can miss the central point that this parable is a solemn warning about the radical division that will come on us all when Jesus returns. All the nations will be gathered, and the Son of Man, Jesus himself, will sit on the judgment seat. The Good Shepherd will then separate those people who will receive a glorious reward from those people who will face eternal punishment.
The Bible teaches us everywhere that this time of judgment will have at least two aspects. It will include the righting of wrongs and the rewarding of faithfulness
Romans 2 6 God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done.’ 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
At the same time judgment will be about confirming relationships. The personal relationship with God which believers have begun in this life will continue into eternity. Those people who do not have a relationship with God will find that situation confirmed. Judgment is certain, and the parable also confirms
The reality of punishment
This is not the only parable Jesus told about the judgment which is to come. Last week we saw that theme at the end of the parable of the three servants and the bags of gold, the parable of the talents, where the worthless servant who hadn’t even tried to do business on behalf of the master was thrown “outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The week before we saw that same grisly fate awaiting the wicked servant who was not ready when his master returned.
In Matthew 13 in his explanation of his parable of the weeds and the wheat, Jesus said this.
Matthew 13 40 ‘As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
Jesus also told a parable about a fishermen’s net. Matthew 13 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Here is the unpalatable reality. The return of Jesus will lead to what C.S. Lewis called “the great divorce” and Stephen Travis called “the dark side of hope.” The wonderful promises of eternal rewards are mirrored by warnings of eternal punishments. In the parable of the sheep and the goats we read,
34 ‘Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
If we believe there is some unfathomable reality behind that wonderful promise of a glorious inheritance for one group, there is no reason for us not to accept the tragic reality of the destiny of the other group.
41 ‘Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
This parable is all about separation and there is no escaping the plain meaning of the final declaration.
46 ‘Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.’

We also learn about
The basis of this division between the sheep and the goats

34 ‘Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was ill and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

On the surface it sounds as though judgment will depend on the good deeds a person may have done through their lives. Even though some may not realise that they were doing good.

37 ‘Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you ill or in prison and go to visit you?”
40 ‘The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

The parable teaches us that when we care for other people we are expressing our love for Christ himself. Somebody once asked Mother Teresa of Calcutta how she could work with the untouchables and the sick and the dying? Her answer was that she sees Jesus in each one of the people she helps. So as she serves and cares for those who are dying she is serving and caring for Christ Himself. In some real sense, Jesus is living in other people. When we love them we are loving him. And the words to those on Jesus’s left tell us plainly that failing to love other people is a failure to love Jesus.
But some people misunderstand the parable on this point. It does NOT teach that the outcome of the final judgment will be based on whether we have or have not helped our neighbours. It could not mean that. The reality is that however many of our neighbours we have helped, we have not helped them all. There will have been some occasions when we could have fed the hungry and thirsty and we did not. There will have been strangers we did not invite in and those ill or in prison which we did not look after. If judgment was only about doing good deeds or not doing good deeds every one of us belongs both on the right side and on the left side. Every one of us would receive a reward for what we did right but also receive condemnation for the good deeds we failed to do. So where would the dividing line be? Is it about doing good more often than we fail to do good? Would one act of amazing love outweigh the rest of life failing to do any good at all?
This parable needs to be considered alongside all the rest of Jesus’s teaching. Like the parable of the prodigal son, who doesn’t do anything right but is still forgiven and welcomed home solely on the basis of his father’s amazing unconditional love. Like Jesus’s wonderful acceptance of the woman caught in the very act of adultery. “Neither do I condemn you. Go and leave your life of sin.” Like the parable of the lost sheep. “The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.” In so many places Jesus teaches us that forgiveness and God’s gift of eternal life cannot be earned or deserved. They come from God’s grace, received through the channels of faith and repentance.
We need to consider the parable of the sheep and the goats alongside everything else we read throughout the New Testament about how we come to experience salvation.
John 3 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
We are saved by God’s gift of his Son Jesus, as we put our trust in Jesus for eternal life. It is faith, not good works that matters.
When the jailer at Philippi asked, ‘… what must I do to be saved?’ Paul and Silas replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.’ (Acts 16:30-31) Paul explained salvation in Romans 10:9 like this. If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. … 13 for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
We receive God’s free gift of eternal life by putting our trust in Jesus. Nobody is saved by doing good works. It is God’s grace that saves us, God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense. It is Jesus’s death on the cross which provides a way for us to be forgiven and we receive those blessings by faith, by putting our trust in Christ. In the face of the other teaching of Jesus, and of the witness of the whole of the New Testament, some people still persist in misinterpreting the parable of the sheep and the goats. Bu it does NOT teach us that we can be saved by doing good deeds. Feeding the hungry and thirsty, welcoming strangers, and taking care of the sick and those in prison will not earn a place in heaven for anybody.
On the other hand, some people make the opposite mistake in interpreting this parable. Because of everything I have just said about us being saved by faith alone, some people think that we can then safely ignore the parable of the sheep and the goats. Some people wrongly conclude that doing good deeds doesn’t matter at all, and they forget about this parable. Those people are equally wrong.
The truth is that we are indeed saved by faith alone. But the great Reformation teacher John Calvin made this important point. “We are saved by faith alone, but saving faith is never alone.” In other words, the good deeds which Jesus talks about in this parable are part of the evidence that a person does actually have the faith which is bringing them salvation. We love because God first loved us. If a person has received God’s gift of eternal life, they will want to express their gratitude by loving other people too.
The Letter of James chapter 2 explains the point like this.
James 2 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
If we have faith in Jesus we will express that faith in our actions. Paul explains how this works in Ephesians.
Ephesians 2 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
So Ephesians 2 is absolutely clear that we are not saved by doing good works. But then the passage goes straight on to say.
Ephesians 2 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
God saves us by his grace so that we can do the good works he has planned for us to do. Feeding the hungry and thirsty, welcoming strangers, taking care of the sick and those who are in prison. Showing God’s love to other people is not an optional extra for Christians. It is the way that we show to the world that God has saved us and that we are truly grateful for his amazing grace. If a person is not loving other people in the practical ways which this parable talks about, then they need to think very carefully about their position.
The parable of the separation of the sheep and the goats is a solemn warning about the day of judgment and in that also about the reality of the consequences for those who have not put their trust in Christ as their saviour. It does not say that we are saved by good works. but it does teach us that acts of love and charity will be the characteristic of those who are being saved. “We are saved by faith alone, but saving faith is never alone.” And the parable asks each of us this vital question. On the day of judgment, when Jesus separates all the peoples of every nation, which side will you be on?