Jesus liked to speak in parables to His disciples – Parables are stories that seem simple but have a deeper meaning and lesson. One parable that Jesus told was about sheep and goats and how we should treat others.

The quickest way to visually tell the difference between a sheep and a goat is their tail: A goat’s tail typically points up, whereas a sheep’s tail hangs down. Another obvious difference is a sheep’s woolly coat that requires annual shearing. While there are long-haired goats, most have short, coarse coats, often with varying sizes of beards, which sheep do not have. Lastly, the great majority of goats have varying sized horns, but very few sheep have any, and if they do, they are thick and curl around the sides of their heads. A goat’s horns are typically thin and straight.  

Sheep are more mellow than goats since they prefer to eat what is on the ground and only graze to eat what they can see there.  They tend to obey and follow the shepherd.  Sheep are natural flock animals that rarely can be found on their own. They feel safe in small groups and quickly become agitated when separated from their flock, making sheep easier to handle and keep together in one place.  Sheep are shy (sheepish?)

Goats are usually considered more independent, curious, and troublesome since they love to explore. They are very curious about their surroundings and will interact with their environment to a high degree.  Of course, this habit also makes them far more curious, brazen, and mischievous than sheep, and they can cause havoc in your garden if left unchecked. Goats are also incredibly agile, far more so than sheep, and they can climb up to areas that one would never think possible. They are expert escape artists, too. 

How are you like a sheep?  

How are you like a goat?

The Sheep and the Goats

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 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. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

As Jesus and His disciples rested on a hillside overlooking Jerusalem, He talked about the end of the world. Jesus told them some parables. These parables showed them a little bit about the Last Day. The parables also showed how to live to be ready for Jesus’ second coming.

READ Matthew 25:31-32

ASK:

• What are some of the things that will happen on judgment day? (The Son of Man will come in glory with angels; He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory.)
• What will happen to the people? (All of the nations will be separated like shepherds separate sheep and goats, to the right and left.)

Jesus will separate the people like a shepherd separates sheep and goats. The sheep will be on Jesus’ right, a place of honor.

READ Matthew 25:34-36

*Remeber that “Son of Man” and “King” refer to Jesus.

ASK:

• What do those on the right get? (The Father’s [God’s] blessing; inheritance of the kingdom.)
• What do you think this kingdom is? (Allow all reasonable responses.) If you have time and your students express interest, you may wish to invite your pastor to share a time of teaching on this subject.

READ Matthew 25:35-36

ASK:

• What had those on the right done? (Fed the hungry, gave water to the thirsty, taken in strangers, visited prisoners, looked after the sick.)
• Who do you think these people are? (Believers who obeyed God by helping the people with needs that have been overlooked; they fed the hungry, clothed those who were without, and looked after the sick.)

The people on the King’s right hand will ask when they did all those things for the King. The King will tell them that anything they did for others was the same as doing it for Him.

READ Matthew 25:40

“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

ASK:

• What was the reason Jesus gave for showing kindness to “the least of these”? (When we do something kind for them, we are really doing it for Jesus.)
• What did Jesus call “the least of these”? (He called them “my brothers.”)

READ Matthew 25:41-46. 

ASK:

• What happened to those on the King’s left? (He called them cursed and told them to depart into the fire, the eternal punishment for the devil and his angels.)
• How had they shown that they didn’t really have faith or love God? (They hadn’t helped people in need.) 

One way we show love to God is by showing love to people in need by helping them.

Using the parable of the sheep and the goats, Jesus told how one day He will judge the nations. Then He spoke of how real righteousness is demonstrated in caring for others who are needy.

Jesus, You died upon a cross and rose again to save the lost 

Forgive me now of all my sin
Come be my Savior, Lord, and Friend. 

Change my life and make it new . Help me, Lord, to live for You. 

Thank you Father, thank you Son, thank you Holy Spirit,                            

our God is three in one.  

Change my life and make it new.  Help me, Lord, to live for You.

Amen. 

Join CLP Fellowship for dinner at 5:15 and break out Bible studies at 6.  While you go deeper into God's Word with Pastor Adam, your kids will do the same in OVERFLOW!

Come join The Church at Litchfield Park as we celebrate Easter with a community Easter egg hunt, photos with the Easter bunny, snow cones, and more!  The egg hunt starts at 10 am and is open to children of all ages!