Are You a Sheep or a Goat? The Question Jesus Is Asking You Today
We are living in the last days. The Lord's return is near, and no one knows when that day will come. In this context, one question becomes urgent: are you a sheep or a goat? This is not a question of whether you are a Christian or not. Jesus, in Matthew 25:31-46, speaks of the sorting he himself will do among those who claim to belong to him. In his flock there are sheep and there are goats. This message wants to help you look honestly at yourself before God, identify what makes the difference, and walk today in a way that prepares your heart for that day.
1. The Context of the Last Days
The time we are living in is one of spiritual urgency. Revelation speaks of the white horse, the red horse, the black horse, and the pale horse (Revelation 6). We are in the era of the red horse, and the black horse (famines, epidemics, economic hardship, failed harvests) is fast approaching. The whole world is about to enter a time when holding on to faith will become very testing. If you do not build a real relationship with the Lord starting now, if you do not learn to listen to his voice and obey his will, you risk being swept away by the current of the world. That is why the question of sheep or goat is urgent today, not tomorrow.
2. The Separation of the Sheep and the Goats
Jesus says, "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 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" (Matthew 25:31-32). At the moment of the rapture, the Lord will come down in the air with the angels to take his bride and his people. Those who are taken are the sheep: those who were waiting for him, prepared, watching, walking in obedience to him. The goats will remain on earth to go through the great tribulation. This must be understood clearly: being a sheep today does not guarantee that you will still be one in a year or two. If you stop fighting spiritually, if you fall asleep, if you live according to your own thoughts, your own emotions, or the spirit of the world, you can become a goat. And the reverse is also true: through repentance and a return to the Lord, a goat can become a sheep. There is hope.
3. What the Sheep Do: Serving the Least of These
To the sheep placed at his right, Jesus says, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 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, 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" (v. 34-36). These are not only literal acts: they are symbols of everyone around you who is weak, isolated, in need.
Watch out for a trap: hosting colleagues at your home, treating a friend to lunch, that is good, but it is not what Jesus is talking about here. He is speaking of those who have nothing to give back to you. Those who would like to thank you but have no means to do so. When you invite someone who will return the favor, you have already received your reward on earth. But when you give to someone who cannot give anything back, you store up treasure in heaven. That is what the Father sees and rewards.
4. Concrete Examples of a Sheep's Heart
Missionary Jessica Yun served in Africa for nearly four years, at a center for disabled and abandoned children. She lived with the bare minimum. One cold night, she saw a severely disabled little girl with bare feet. She went to look in her drawer, where she had only two or three pairs of socks left, and she chose the best one (the softest, the warmest) to put on the girl's feet. That very evening, the Lord came to visit her and said, "I was in that little girl. What you did for her, you did for me. Thank you." That is a sheep's heart.
Another example, closer to home: a young mother at home with her little ones. She does not enjoy playing dolls or tea party, but every day she does it for her two-year-old. On the outside she smiles; on the inside her heart is exhausted. When you take care of a small child who cannot give back what you give them, you are doing it for Jesus. This hidden motherhood, this everyday work invisible to the world, is immensely precious in God's eyes. You are storing up treasure in heaven.
It is also the pastor who houses someone looking for a place to stay for a month or three months. Who looks after other people's animals, other people's children, without keeping count. When thanked, he replies, "But I haven't done anything special, it's only natural." That kind of heart pleases God. It is the heart of the bride.
5. What the Goats Do: Not Seeing, Not Caring
To the goats placed at his left, Jesus says, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 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" (v. 41-43). Hell was not created for humanity, but for Satan and his demons. Those who, on this earth, lived according to the thoughts, desires, and emotions of the devil instead of following the Lord, end up in the place prepared for their spiritual "father."
Be warned: many Christians no longer believe in hell. They believe in heaven but reject hell. This does not hold up against the Word. Hosea 4:6 says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." Without knowledge of the true God, without knowledge of the spiritual world, we fall.
The goats protest, "Lord, when did we see you?" They look with the eyes of the flesh. They do not see Jesus in the least of these. They live for their own plans, their own desires. They do not seek to know what the Lord would want to do through them. The world will not condemn them, but the law of the Kingdom is not the law of the world.
6. Living as a Sheep Starting Today
What Jesus expects of you is not heroic, it is everyday. Look around you. Who in your family, at your work, in your church, in your neighborhood is weak, isolated, exhausted? Who needs a word, a service, a visit, a prayer of intercession? Listen to the Lord's voice, ask him to make you sensitive to his thinking, and do what he shows you (with the Lord's heart, with humility, respecting the dignity of the other person). This is how you walk as a sheep. Not by your own strength alone: by asking the Lord for wisdom, power, love, and patience, and by leaning on the Holy Spirit.
Key Takeaways
- The separation of sheep and goats happens within the people who call themselves Christian, not between Christians and non-Christians.
- Being a sheep today does not guarantee being one tomorrow: it is a daily fight, sustained by communion with the Lord.
- A goat can become a sheep again through sincere repentance and a return to God.
- The sheep serve the least of these (those who can give nothing back) as if they were serving Jesus himself.
- The goats live according to their own thoughts and have no sensitivity to the Lord's will.
Personal Application
- Today, are you a sheep or a goat? What does the Lord see when he looks at your heart?
- Who around you is this "least of these" that Jesus is entrusting to you? What can you do concretely this week?
- Are you willing to serve someone who could never return the favor?
- How do you nourish your communion with the Lord to keep a heart sensitive to his voice?
- Is there an area where you live according to your own thoughts rather than God's will? Are you willing to repent?
Scripture References
FAQ
Can a true Christian become a goat?
Yes. Jesus is speaking here of people who claim to belong to him. If you give up the spiritual fight, if you live according to your own desires without listening to the Lord's voice, you can slide into the state of a goat. That is why you must stay watchful every day.
Can a goat become a sheep again?
Yes, as long as you are alive. Through sincere repentance, by humbly returning to the Lord, by seeking his face with the help of the Holy Spirit, the Lord transforms your heart.
Do you have to literally visit prisoners to be a sheep?
No. The categories Jesus lists (the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the sick, the prisoner) represent everyone around you who is in need and cannot give back what you give them. It is up to you to listen to the Lord to identify the "least of these" he places on your path.
to take notes and ask questions.