It's never been about the sheep nor the goat .
They are stock images. They aren’t blessed because they act like sheep whereas others act like goats. The point is that one group inherits the kingdom, and the other group does not inherit the kingdom. That is the point of each of these illustrations. So, to make this about the different characteristics of these animals imposes a foreign meaning onto the text.- But there is an interesting detail in this parable. Both the sheep and the goats seemed surprised by their fate. The sheep didn’t realize it was “Jesus” that they were providing for. Likewise, the goats did not know it was “Jesus” they were rejecting. This, I believe, is the key to properly understanding this passage. They are not sheep because they do these good deeds or goats because they fail to do these good deeds, but rather their doing of the good, or failing to do the good, is precisely because of their character. Wise virgins wait. Good servants serve. Sheep serve. That’s the point of Jesus’ teaching here.
Matthew 23-25
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