It’s not about the goats. Yes, I entitled the sermon, “Why doesn’t Jesus like goats?” but it’s not about the goats, and it’s not about the sheep, though I will explain the sheep and goats later. But if it is not about the sheep and the goats, then what exactly is this parable about?
Let’s consider the actors in this parable. We have the sheep and the goats, yes, and Jesus telling the story, but very quickly the scene morphs from pasture to throne room, and we have a king addressing the people on his right and the people on his left. Finally, we have one more group of people, referred to as “the least of these,” really meaning “a single one”
Now typically the way this parable has been interpreted is to consider the people on the right as the followers of Jesus, the good Christians who care for the hungry, the thirsty, the strangers, the naked, the sick, and the prisoners. This makes the people on the left the bad people, who do nothing for others and who don’t recognize Jesus in any form.
There is a lesson to be learned from that interpretation. The king, who is understood to be Jesus, the Son of Man, states, “When you helped one of the least of these, even a single one, who are members of my family, you have helped me.” It is both a challenging and an instructive statement. When we look into the eyes of another, we are seeing Jesus. When we help another, those who are in need in some way, then it is the same as helping Jesus. And that is an amazing thing – and a challenging thing!
I’m not sure that I look at every person I meet as if they are Jesus. I’m not sure that I help every person I meet as if it was Jesus there before me. It is so easy to judge, make assumptions, and jump to conclusions.