Counting sheep

Prompted by the beauty of Jerusalem's Herodian Temple and their Master's prediction of its ignominious future, the disciples of Jesus asked Him:

Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the age? (Matthew 24:3b)

The answer to that question is recorded in two chapters--24 and 25--in Matthew's Gosple and forms what has become known as the Olivet Discourse, so named because it was spoke by Jesus on the Mount of Olives. Though there is considerable difference of opinion regarding specific interpretation of Jesus' words, upon this there is consensus, that His response describes a series of future events.

Just how far into the future these events would stretch is a main issue of debate among students of the Bible today. However, it seems that the key to correct interpretation is in connecting the answer directly to the question which prompted it. The entire Discourse is in reply to a request for signs of Jesus' coming and of the END of the age. This is not to say that some of the events prophesied would not take place long before the glorious return of Jesus (such as the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., to which Jesus refers in Matthew 24:2), but rather that the main focus of the teaching is upon the time immediately before, and immediately after, the Second Coming.

One portion of this apocalyptic material has become surprisingly well known, largely due to its dramatic narrative format, lending its use to nearly every humanitarian cause from the pro-life movement to prison ministry. There are very few people--even those outside Bible reading circles--who have not heard Jesus' commendation of those who feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, house the stranger, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned. His words--"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."--are among the best known and most cited sayings of Jesus.

However, we miss the main point if we divorce this narrative from its context, which is clearly that time in the future "when the Son of man shall come in his glory" (Matthew 25:31). This is, after all, what these two chapters are all about. The scene takes place when Gentiles (the alternate translation of "nations") are gathered before Jesus' throne of judgment and declared "righteous sheep" worthy of reward or "unrighteous goats" worthy of punishment, based upon their treatment of His brethren, even the least of them.

I believe the fulfillment of these words will come at the end of the Tribulation period when Jesus returns in power and glory to defeat His enemies and establish His Kingdom. Gentiles alive at that time will be judged, based on the clearest external manifestation of their internal motivation, namely how they treated Jews, the most vilified group of people walking the earth in the days of the Antichrist's global domination. Only those Gentiles motivated by a genuine love for the Lord will risk the consequences of aiding and abetting any one of Jesus' kinsmen (brethren) according to the flesh and thus, that they are truly His sheep there can be no doubt.

Whatever one's interpretation of the timing of these events recorded in Matthew 24 and 25, a careful reading of the actual text and context makes it perfectly clear that there is a direct connection between how one feels about, and deals with, the Jewish people and how he feels about, and is related to, their greatest brother, the Lord Jesus Christ. There are the "other sheep" of whom the Great Shepherd speaks in John 10:16 and one of their most distinguishing characteristics, it would seem, is a love for Jacob's descendants.