In this article I’m going to explain the parable of the Sheep and Goats in Matthew 25, also the parable of the Wheat and Tares in Matthew 13.
Matthew 25 contains three parables- the Ten Virgins, Talents, Sheep and Goats.
The parable of the Ten Virgins begins with the phrase
1...the kingdom of heaven be likened unto...
The parable of the Talents begins with the phrase
14...the kingdom of heaven is as...
It makes sense that the third parable is also about "the kingdom of heaven", which
the gospel of Matthew, as a whole, puts much emphasise on.
In Matthew 3 John the Baptist preached
2…repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand
In Matthew 4 Jesus preached
1…repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand
In Matthew 10 Jesus sent out his 12 disciples to preach
7…the kingdom of heaven is at hand
“At hand” meaning near.
This gives us an inkling as to the time-frame of Matthew 24 and 25.
Let’s dive into the sheep and goat parable.
Matthew 25
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Let’s back track to Matthew 24 where the Olivet Discourse began.
Matthew 24
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
First of all I want to mention, as I’ve done before, that “world” is from the Greek word aion. The KJV translates it as “world” but most versions translate aion as “age”, including the NKJV. I believe “age” is the more accurate translation for this text.
Let’s continue in Matthew 24.
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
How many people read these verses and think they’re about events happening either now or in the future? How many people read “the end is not yet” and assume it means the literal end of the world? Let’s continue on.
9 …ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another…
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Who would be hated and betrayed? Who would have to endure to the end?
Let’s go to Matthew 10 and read what Jesus said to his 12 disciples before sending them out to preach the gospel.
Matthew 10
5 These twelve Jesus sent forth…
7…as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents…
22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Almost the exact same words as in Matthew 24! It was Christ’s 12 disciples who would be hated, betrayed and martyred for his name’s sake.
Back to the Olivet Discourse.
Matthew 24
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Again, most people think this verse refers to the literal end of the world but let’s weigh it against Matthew 10.
Matthew 10
5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
Whoa! Jesus told his disciples that he’d return before they’d even gone over the cities of Israel.
Therefore “the end” cannot mean the end of the literal world rather the end of the Old Covenant Age.
Jesus made a similar statement to his disciples in Matthew 16.
Matthew 16
27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
He made a similar statement to the high priest Caiaphas.
Matt 26
64…Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Notice how these verses describe Jesus coming in clouds, glory and with angels. Does that sound similar to the parable of the Sheep and Goats?
Matthew 25
31…the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.
Let’s now get into the details of the sheep and goat parable.
Matthew 25
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand…
35 I was hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me…
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38-- When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand…
42 I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not…
45…Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Let’s compare this directly to Matthew 10
Matthew 10
5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying…
9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,
10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves…
11 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.
13 And if -- the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
Christ’s disciples travelled without money or extra clothes hence they relied on others to house, feed and clothe them. The next two verses are important.
14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Jesus said those who did not receive his disciples or their message, would experience God’s wrath on the “day of Judgement”.
Now take special note of the next two verses…
40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
Compare those to the parable in Matthew 25
Matthew 25
35…I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink…
40…Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
The parable of the sheep and goats describes “the day of judgement” mentioned in Matthew 10.
On “the day of judgement” sheep and goats were divided according to what? According to how they treated Christ’s 12 disciples whom he sent out.
Did they welcome them into their houses, feed and clothe them? Did they received their message?
Hence Matthew 10 establishes the time-frame for both Matthew 24 and 25. A very narrow time-frame.
While we’re in the gospel of Matthew, is there another parable that sounds similar to that of the sheep and goats? Yes, the Wheat and Tares.
Matthew 13
24…The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25…his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat…
27…the servants of the householder came and said unto him…
28…Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
Here is Jesus’s explanation of the parable…
38…the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39…the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire…
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father…
As in Matthew 24, “world” is aion, which can be translated “age”.
Notice that Jesus identified the “tares” as “children of the wicked one”.
Let’s go to John 8
37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me…
39…If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
40 But now ye seek to kill me…
41 Ye do the deeds of your father…
44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning….
The Pharisees were the “children of the wicked one”, the “tares” that were gathered out of God’s kingdom at the end of the Old Covenant Age because nothing that does iniquity could abide in the New Covenant Kingdom of God.
Finally Matthew 15 confirms that the “pharisees” were the “tares”.
Matthew 15
12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
Now I want to briefly consider the parable of the Sheep and Goats, Wheats and Tares in light of the bible as a whole, beginning at Genesis.
In Genesis chapters 1-3 God made the heavens, earth and sea. He planted a garden with the tree of life in the midst. When Adam and Eve sinned they were cast out of the garden and two angels kept the way of the tree of life.
In Exodus we read that the tabernacle of Moses had an outer court, holy place and most holy place in which the ark of the covenant sat. Two cherubim covered the mercy seat (Ex. 25:20-22)
Sound similar to Genesis?
The purpose of the tabernacle was so that God could dwell among his people.
Exodus 25
8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
Kings and Chronicles describe a “cloud" and “glory” filling the “house of the Lord” to the point where the priests could no longer work there (1 Kings 8:10&11, 2 Chronicle 5:14, 7:1&2)
Hence clouds and glory represent God dwelling among his people.
In Leviticus 16 we read how only the high priest could enter the most holy place once a year and sprinkle the blood of an animal upon the mercy seat to make atonement for the children of Israel.
Hebrews explains how Jesus entered the tabernacle “not made with hands” (Heb. 9:11), sprinkled his own blood upon the mercy seat then SAT DOWN (Heb. 10:12). The mercy seat became his THRONE.
Hebrews 1:8
…Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.
In Matthew 25 we see Jesus seated upon his throne, coming “in his kingdom” with glory and “all the holy angels”.
Jesus came to SPIRITUALLY restore the garden of Eden thus restore access to the tree of life.
In Matthew 3 John the Baptist preached
2…repent ye for he kingdom of heaven is at hand…
In Matthew 4 Jesus preached
1…repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand…
In Matthew 10 Jesus told his disciples to preach
7…the kingdom of heaven is at hand…
In Matthew 6 Jesus said to pray as follows…
10…thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…
The New Covenant Kingdom of God came to earth 2000 years ago! Not in a literal sense but a spiritual sense.
God dwells among his people NOW. Gods people have access to the tree of life NOW.
Hence on the “day of Judgement”, the wheat was gathered into the barn, the sheep inherited the kingdom prepared for them.
However Just as Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden of Eden, the religious people of Jesus’s day were the “tares” gathered out of the kingdom, they were the sheep sent away into everlasting punishment because nothing that does iniquity can enter or abide in God’s Kingdom of righteousness.
I hope this article inspires you to question commonly held beliefs and dig into the bible for yourself, allowing scripture to interpret scripture. God bless.
