IDEA: Jesus is pictured as a Shepherd/King and Christians are portrayed as sheep.
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 realize the qualities that characterize God's people.
If you could be any animal in the world, what animal would you like to be?
Suppose you didn't have the Bible. If you were thinking of an animal to represent Christians, what animal might you choose?
From what you know of the Bible, when God wants to speak of believers, what is His animal of choice?
I. Sheep are the most frequently mentioned animal in the Bible (nearly 400 references to them, if we include references to flocks).
The prominence of sheep in the Bible grows out of two realities.
Sheep were important to the nomads and the agricultural life of the Hebrews; everywhere people looked, they saw sheep.
The qualities of sheep made them a good source of image for spiritual realities.
II. Jesus used sheep to speak of the righteous in Matthew 25.
What kind of picture do you have in your mind when you read Matthew 25:31-32? Jesus separates the sheep from the goats. Do you find this difficult to visualize?
The scene would not have been uncommon to the people to whom Jesus was speaking. Palestinian shepherds commonly herded mixed flocks of sheep and goats, but then separated them in the evening. Sheep preferred open air and goats needed the warmth of a shelter.
III. What are the qualities of sheep that make them a good picture of the righteous?
Sheep are dependent creatures.
They are totally dependent on shepherds for protection, grazing, and water. Sheep would not survive long without a shepherd.
Isaiah 40:11 tells us that "He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young."
They are also singularly unintelligent.
Sheep will put their heads through a fence and keep wanting to go through the opening which is too small. It never occurs to them to draw back.
Psalm 23 tells us that God leads us in the right paths.
Sheep are prone to wander, and they're unable to find their way to a sheepfold even when it's within sight.
"All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6).
"For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls" (I Peter 2:25).
As sheep need a shepherd, so Christians need Christ.