After acknowledging his righteous place as King at God’s right hand, Jesus is portrayed in this story as a shepherd, an image Matthew employs throughout his Gospel. In Palestine, it was customary for shepherds to have mixed flocks. At night, they separated the sheep from the goats. Sheep enjoyed the open air of the pasture, while goats had to be
protected from the cold. Because they had more commercial value, sheep were often preferred over goats. As a shepherd, the Son of Man now separates the sheep, placed at his right hand, from the goats, set at his left hand.
At one level, this story is about the 'last judgment'. Western Christians, at least, are so familiar with this concept that it's hard for them to
wonder about what else might be being said.
It's worth noting that this isn’t a story about separating well-behaved sheep from poorly-behaved sheep. It’s about separating “sheep” and “goats” — and what makes a sheep a sheep and a goat a goat is God’s creative action in the first place, not the animals’ choices in life. In other words, the story paints a picture of a
world where “sheep” perform works of love and mercy. Such actions, then, are blessings of God, flowing from God’s creative, saving love, not the basis on which salvation is decided.
Jesus rejects the idea that salvation is a reward for righteous action. On the contrary, every truly righteous action indicates blessedness and salvation in the first place. Works
of love and mercy are the fruit of God’s saving grace, not the requirement.
And for this very reason, they are no cause for pride or boasting. Since works of love and mercy are framed as gifts enabled by God in the first place, they are occasions for humility and thanksgiving, not puffed-up arrogance. The more good works we do, the more humble and grateful we should
become.
Does this story comfort or challenge you? How could this story remind us to offer humble gratitude to God for our righteous actions?
Reflections by Rev Joe Taylor
