David Pool

Did you know that despite the remarkable and wonderful diversity of people the world over, there are really only two kinds of people in the world? That may seem hard to justify when individualism and “you do you” are so emphasized in our society. But it’s what Jesus taught!

In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus gives some well-known teaching regarding his role and our responsibility that will determine the outcome of each person’s life. It is known as the story of “the sheep and the goats.” In this passage, Jesus speaks of his deciding role in the final judgment of all mankind. “All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” 

We can see here what C.S. Lewis so eloquently noted, namely, that Jesus did not claim merely to be a great moral teacher. He is claiming that every person’s eternal destiny will be decided by him. 

As he continues, the sheep are put on his right and the goats on the left. To us, it may seem like an easy thing to distinguish between sheep and goats, but in the first century world sheep and goats often grazed together, and from a distance it was hard to tell the difference between them. The sheep are blessed by the Father to receive the kingdom that has been prepared for them from the creation of the world. The goats, on the other hand, are cursed and sent into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

The interesting feature of this story is how Jesus identifies the people as sheep or goats. It is by the conduct of each person’s life. The sheep are blessed because they “gave [Jesus] something to eat, something to drink, or provided shelter,”etc.

The goats are cursed because they did not do those things. “For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat ... nothing to drink … you didn’t clothe me when I was naked …” Both groups are surprised, and their replies are largely parallel. They ask, “When did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison …?” 

The critical connection and the interpretive heart of Jesus’ teaching turns on his answers in verses 40 and 45, “Whatever you did (or did not do) for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did (or did not do) for me.” 

Many people understand Jesus to be saying that a person’s eternal fate depends on how they ministered to the poor and needy. The logical conclusion would then be that one is accepted by Jesus based on their good works and deeds done to those in need. While there are certainly many places in the Bible that affirm the importance of helping the poor of the world (e.g. Luke 10:25-37), that is not what Jesus is teaching here.

We know that because every occasion in Matthew where he uses the word for “brothers and sisters” refers either to biological siblings or spiritual kin. And “least” is the superlative of “little,” which in Matthew always means either literal children or fellow followers of Christ. 

The point of Jesus’ teaching here, then, is that one’s eternal destiny hinges upon whether a person welcomes the Christian messenger (who were often poorly treated) and thereby welcomes the message of the gospel.

So, there are, in fact, only two kinds of people in the world: Those who welcome and receive the message of Christ and those who don’t. Which kind are you?

(David Pool is pastor at Grace Point in Powell.)