Sheep, Goats, and Hell

This week we have been looking at different passages from Jesus and hell. We have discovered that how we treat others in the church, what we do for Jesus, and racism can all send us to hell. In the text today we find that how we treat others in this life, especially the poor and needy, will also dictate whether we go to hell or not. here is the passage from Matthew.

Matthew 25:31-46

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 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, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers 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, ‘I tell you the truth, 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.” 

This passage and line from Jesus speaks a lot for itself. Simply put, if we love Jesus we will look at others just like Jesus did. So if we want to ask ourselves, our we going to hell, we need to look and ask ourselves some other questions too. Do we feel entitled because we know Jesus? Are we generous to others with out time, talents, and treasure? Do I truly care for the poor or let others do it? Do I help others intentionally or am I too busy? Do I view others through the eyes of Jesus? If we answer any of the questions in not a good light or way, we do not know Jesus and His kingdom and we might be a goat, destined for hell. Loving others like Jesus did is knowing Jesus and loving Jesus, which equals escaping hell.