Contrasts In The Parable Of The Sheep And The Goats

One way to study the Bible is to notice the contrasts. For example, look at Cain and Abel; Abraham and Lot; Joseph and his brothers; Jacob and Esau; Rachel and Leah. The one becomes a foil to show you the virtue of the other.

e of contrasts, Jesus separates the righteous from the unrighteous. TEXT: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:31-46).

PURPOSE: To help listeners appreciate how contrasts develop a Bible passage.

In Matthew 25, at the judgment of the nations, there is a series of contrasts. What do we make of them?

Contrast of sheep and goats

Contrast of right hand and left hand

Contrast of kindnesses shown and kindnesses withheld

Contrast between “Come” and “Depart”

Contrast between “Blessed” and “Cursed”

Contrast between “kingdom prepared” and “everlasting fire prepared”

Contrast of everlasting punishment and eternal life.

By looking at these, what do we learn from them?