The Sheep and the Goats

I don't mean to get into a deep theological discussion of sheep and goats. The scripture makes pretty clear the differences in temperaments between the two animals. So this post will be brief.

The first point I want to make is that sheep and goats are similar animals. They both eat similar food in similar amounts. They both require similar shelter and climate. They were both acceptable offerings in the Old Testament (Lev 22:19). Some sheep look just like goats and some goats are a source of wool just like sheep. In many countries where mutton is more common than beef, both sheep and goats are considered mutton, and their meat is used interchangeably. Both animals are raised for both their meat and their milk. Functionally there is a large overlap in these animals; the differences between these animals are just not as monumental as we who were not raised around these animals would expect.

When Jesus spoke of separating the sheep from the goats, His listeners understood that this was not a drastic thing (Matt 25:32-33). A similar comparison was made by Jesus when he spoke of letting tares grow with the wheat (Matt 13:29-30). When we are talking about people, it's not always obvious who is a sheep and is a goat, and it isn't a good idea to try to clear all the goats out of the flock, at least if you listen to what Jesus said about the tares and the wheat. It's the similarity between the animals that sometimes allows goats to flourish among sheep.

There are precisely two types of people who inhabit this planet: children of God and potential children of God. You might say, "I know someone who would never be a Christian" but if you really truly believe they have absolutely no chance, you deny the awesome power of Christ. The marvelous thing about goats, at least metaphorically, is that they can become sheep. "You never know" could not be truer.

I think that the true difference between sheep and goats can be delved by looking at Phil 2:10-11. Perhaps the only real difference between sheep and goats is that when every tongue confesses Jesus, it won't be the first time for the sheep.