You Ought To Be Congratulated

Now let’s just stop and think about what is really happening here. There is a whole group of people who have just been told that they are cursed and they will spend the rest of their lives in an eternal fire along with the devil and all his angels of darkness. What is the reason? It is not because they are thieves and murderers. It is not because they were drunkards and drug addicts. It is not because they had uncontrollable rage and were abusive. It is not because they were sexual predators and rapists. The contrast in this passage is not between the sheep and the wolves. It is between the sheep and the goats.

That is a significant contrast since the typical goat and the typical sheep in Israel look very similar. It is easy to tell the difference between a sheep and a wolf. It wasn’t always easy to tell the difference between a sheep and a goat. When Jesus talks about the sheep and the goats He is not talking here about the difference between the scum of society and the cream of the crop. The only issue that separates the two groups is the way they have treated the representatives of Christ who have come to bring the message of salvation.

That is a staggering truth. The way we … we as the Gospel messengers … the way we are treated by the people around us determines how Jesus will decide their ultimate destiny. Jesus identifies with us in such a close manner that whatever happens to us happens to Him. Do you remember how it worked for Paul on the road to Damascus? I’ll read you Paul’s own words from Acts 22:4-8:-

“I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. "About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ’Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute Me?’ ’Who are you, Lord?’ I asked”.

Obviously the actions of Paul against Christians is not just an action against individuals … it is also an action against Jesus Himself. Those who reject the representatives of Jesus by implication are rejecting Jesus Himself. As a result they will be placed among the goats and sent off to be eternal cell mates with the devil.

That is what this passage is about. And that truth ought to cause us to have two responses. The first response has to do with the people around us. No matter what the people around us have done we should still be concerned for their ultimate eternal destiny. Despite how much we have been hurt we have to keep on bringing the message of salvation – for who would want to leave anyone among the goats. We need to tell not-yet-believers that there is a day of judgement … but that day does not need to be a day of hopelessness. For one thing the Judge has not always sat in heaven, waiting for judgment. Indeed, He has done much to prepare people for a favourable judgment.