The Sheep and Goats is the climactic parable of Jesus' Olivet Discourse and one of the most sobering passages in the Gospels. When the Son of Man comes in His glory, He will sit on His throne and "before Him all the nations will be gathered, 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" (Matthew 25:32-33). To the sheep on His right, the King says: "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Why? Because "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" (25:35-36). The sheep are puzzled: "Lord, when did we see You?" The King's answer is stunning: "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me" (25:40). Then He turns to the goats: "Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (25:41). Why? The reverse — they failed to serve the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, imprisoned. They too are puzzled: "Lord, when did we see You...?" The answer: "Inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me" (25:45). The parable does not teach salvation by works — Scripture is clear elsewhere that salvation is by grace through faith. It teaches that genuine faith produces a compassion that cannot be faked at the judgment. Christ so identifies with the needy that love for them is love for Him, and neglect of them is neglect of Him. The parable ends with one of the clearest statements of eternal punishment in all of Scripture: "These will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (25:46).