Saturday's Scripture Story
The Sheep and the Goats
Luke 24:13-49
The Sheep and the Goats
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 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. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “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. 35 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, 36 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.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “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.’
41 “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. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 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.’
44 “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?’
45 “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.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Our scripture story speaks of a judgment day separation that, when pondered, hurts the heart. Many hope this to not be so. Yet Jesus clearly teaches that there is a judgment, described as a dividing of sheep and goats.
Does this portray God as heartless? Not when you consider the work of God in the life and ministry of Jesus prior to this event.
Let this teaching of Jesus be folded into your view of God, people, and of your own life. We return to our prayer from Wednesday
Prayer
Lord, Lord, if You were standing in front of me in need, I would give You whatever I had at my disposal. At least I’d like to think I would. You know that I don't want to be taken advantage of. Help me have a generous heart as well as a discerning spirit. I want to have Your Spirit Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and a spirit of wanting to help others. That Spirit caused You to give up Your life. I want to have that kind of spirit too – in my life, in my lifestyle – not just in my words. I pray this in Your name. Amen.