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Return to Writings Index
The
Sheep and The Goats:
An
Easy Illustration Just For "Ewe"
According to Jesus in Matthew 25, on Judgment Day there will be
two types of people: Sheep and Goats.
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly
glory. 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. He will put the sheep on his right and the
goats on his left." Matt 25"31-33
"Then the King will say to those on
his right [the sheep],
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance,
the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world."
- Matt. 24:34
"Then he will say to those on his left
[the goats],
'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared
for the devil and his angels... Then
they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to
eternal life." - Matt 25:41,46
And so it is today: there are those who are sheep and those who
are goats. Among the sheep, there is also a sub-category called
Lost Sheep. Lost sheep are NOT goats. They are sheep who have wandered
away from the shepherd and the sheep pen but they are sheep just
the same. (See the illustration below)
Jesus calls himself a shepherd, or a "sheep herder"
in John 10:
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd
lays down his life for the sheep."
- John 10:11
"I am the good shepherd; I know
my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me
and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must
bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there
shall be one flock and one shepherd." -
John 10:14-16
In the passage above, Jesus was speaking to a Jewish crowd. He
says he also has "other sheep" that were not in the pen
at that moment because He had not yet opened the door to His Gentile
sheep who would come in later. But there were also "goats"
in the crowd who were not of his flock who did not believe. Jesus
explained to them WHY they [and other goats] do not believe:
The Jews gathered
around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If
you are the Christ, tell us plainly."
Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe.
The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you
do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen
to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal
life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out
of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater
than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and
the Father are one." - John 10:24-30
Look at the phrase in bold above. Jesus did NOT say, "You
are not my sheep BECAUSE YOU DO NOT BELIEVE", rather he said
"you do not believe BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT
MY SHEEP." This is a "cause and effect" type
phrase.
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The Effect
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The Cause
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Biblical?
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You
are not my sheep
|
BECAUSE
YOU DO NOT BELIEVE |
No
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| You
do not believe |
BECAUSE
YOU ARE NOT MY SHEEP |
Yes
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To put it in the positive:
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The Effect
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The Cause
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Biblical?
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You
are my sheep
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BECAUSE
YOU BELIEVE |
No
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| You
believe |
BECAUSE
YOU ARE MY SHEEP |
Yes
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Part II: If God knows EVERYTHING then he can't learn ANYTHING!!
From God's timeless and eternal perspective, goats are always goats
and sheep are always sheep - even the lost ones. There is no question
in the mind of God as to "who is who" for each animal
is created by God to be one or the other. There is no such thing
as a Goatsheep or a Sheepgoat. Goats can not and do
not choose to become sheep. They are exactly as God created them
to be and we all live together until the Day of Separation that
Jesus spoke about in Matthew 25.
God the Father gave to Jesus the Son a flock for His very own before
the world was ever created (See John 10 above). God did not just
give Him a faceless group of people that would be named later once
He learned who had chosen to believe and who had not. Rather, he
gave to Christ SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS who would be born in time -
The Lost Sheep. It would then be up to Jesus with the assistance
of the Holy Spirit to seek out His sheep - one at a time - and call
them SPECIFICALLY BY NAME to come into the sheep pen. He does not
call the goats because the goats were not given to him. Goats wander
in to the sheep pen uninvited and often do great damage. They run
around the sheep pen butting the defenseless sheep with their horns.
They drink all the water and eat up all the the food leaving the
sheep to go hungry and thirsty.
Living in the sheep pen will never make goats become sheep.
It only makes sheep become miserable!
The real problem is this: Lost sheep live among the goats! Lost
sheep engage in "goat-like" behavior, eating garbage and
butting heads with others. They are ignorant of who they are and
WHOSE they are. They have wandered far away from their owner. To
the untrained eye, it is very difficult to tell the difference between
a lost sheep and a goat since they act so similar. But just because
WE can't tell the difference does not mean that the shepherd doesn't
know who belongs to Him. Jesus has told His sheep not to judge others
for this very reason: We have no way of knowing who is a goat and
who is a precious lost sheep. We are commanded to treat ALL men
with love and compassion - proclaiming the Gospel to EVERY living
creature because it is through the Gospel - the life, death, burial
and resurrection of the Shepherd - that the sheep are drawn home
and the goats are revealed by their rejection. The shepherd knows
his own and it is HE that goes looking!
Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around
to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered,
"This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." Then Jesus
told them this parable: "Suppose one of
you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave
the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep
until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on
his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors
together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'
I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in
heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous
persons who do not need to repent." - Luke 15:1-7
After He rose from the dead, Jesus spoke to Simon Peter and said:
"Simon son of John, do you truly love
me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." -
John 21:16
Take care of the sheep - not the goats. Jesus is not a "goat
herder" nor does he show any concern at all about the goats.
He lays down his life for the sheep because he loves the
sheep. He did not lay down his life for the goats because they do
not belong to him - they were not given to him. Later, Peter would
write to the flock to remind us that were it not for Jesus we would
all still be lost.
He himself [Jesus] bore our sins in his body on the
tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness;
by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going
astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer
of your souls. - 1 Peter 2:24-25
So to summarize:
The Sheep - Blessed, Loved, Righteous, Given
to the Son by The Father, Inheriting Eternal Life.
The Goats - Cursed, Hated, Separated, Abandoned, Sent to
Hell for Eternal Punishment.
So do YOU believe in Jesus?
 "I
once was Lost,
but now I'm found,
was blind,
but now I see!"
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"Na-aa-aa!"
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