Stories of the Kingdom: The Parables of JesusSample

Parable of the Sheep and the Goats

In this parable, Jesus describes a scene of judgment, where the Son of Man comes in His glory and separates people as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. He places the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

To the sheep, representing the righteous, the king says that they are blessed because they fed him when he was hungry, gave him drink when he was thirsty, welcomed him when he was a stranger, clothed him when he was naked, visited him when he was sick, and came to him when he was in prison. The righteous are surprised and ask when they did these things for the king. The king answers, "Truly, I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."

To the goats, representing the unrighteous, the king says they are cursed because they did not do these things for him. The goats also ask when they neglected to do these things for the king. The king replies, "Truly, I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me."

The parable concludes with the righteous being rewarded with eternal life, while the unrighteous are condemned to everlasting punishment.

Why do you think Jesus identifies himself with the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, and imprisoned?