I often observe how continually in the word of truth the people of Christ are called sheep and I don’t need to point out the various reasons which make that figure peculiarly descriptive of their character and condition. 

   It appears to me that a large numbers of ‘christians’ are navigating the earth functioning more as ‘practical atheists’ who disbelieve in an active GOD and prefer to argue, ridicule and hair split theological principles and pushing man made doctrines.

    Sheep are simple; they trust their shepherd and they don’t hurt any thing. They are skittish of the slightest upset… even afraid of a moving stream (lead me beside the still waters). The instinct of sheep is to flee, not fight. Sheep are peace lovers! Goats, on the other hand are bullys, and are more likely to try to bite whatever is in their path.  Goats like to devour the tangible and pays little attention to what else is going on around them.  Goats enjoy biting, butting and winning.

    Goats are more ornery and cantankerous.  Goats will butt you, particularly billy goats… and goats will eat anything.  ANYTHING! I’ve seen goats try to eat tin cans.  They are gluttons, in this case gluttons for intellectual crap, arguing and fussing and judging and condemning and butting heads.  Goats enjoy butting, they’ll chase you down just to butt you.  Goats will bite you.

    Sheep, on the other hand, are relatively delicate, tender and skittish.  Sheep won’t chew up a tin can; their mouths are gentle.  Sheep gently graze where their good shepherd guides them.  Sheep never try to dominate; sheep receive protection, provision and love.

    Goats are curious by nature, quite independent and are known to stray off on it’s own.  A sheep on the other hand prefers to stay put in its flock.  Jesus said to His disciples, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.” (Matthew 10:6)  This indicates the vulnerability of sheep when they are sent out on their own without their shepherd.  

   But sometimes sheep go astray, drawn aside by the example of others.  You know how prone sheep are to follow each other, and if the lead sheep does but direct the way, how first one and then another rushes almost madly and blindly after him.  An old Puritan writer, if I remember right, relates an incident which he himself witnessed at Shrewsbury, where there is a bridge that crosses the river Severn, there tolerably wide.  A flock of sheep was passing over the bridge, and one of them took it into his head, as we should say, to leap off the road upon the parapet, which I suppose in those days was of a lower character and of a cruder structure than in our modern bridges.  The next sheep followed suit, and the third followed him.  But they had got a very narrow spot to stand upon.  Down, then, goes the first sheep into the water, the next follows, the third imitates his example, until the outcome was that the whole flock fell into the river.  But also sheep often go astray not from maliciousness; not from a natural desire to live like the goat but from a weariness of the fold or of their companions and not from any sudden antipathy to their shepherd.  Another cause of the sheep’s going astray is a hankering after a fresh pasture, even though there are poisonous herbs in it.  Now, we may well understand that when the sheep sees near at hand a richer pasture, it is easily tempted to leave the fold and the flock to get a fuller feed.  And yet what danger there may be in it.  

  The sheep seems to get weary of so small a territory, grows tired of being always penned up closely in a fold, and ever treading up and down the same narrow ground so they go looking for greener pastures so to speak.  Sometimes we, like the sheep go looking for something else, bigger churches, more and better worship, big name preachers, or we go seeking a ‘name’ for ourself when in fact we need to stay right in the field the Shepherd has placed us.  

    A sheep will become very agitated if it is separated from the rest of the flock.  And sheep who have gone astray, they never come back by themselves. They are so silly, stupid, and ignorant that when they stray they never can find their own way back to the fold. The shepherd must himself go after them and bring them back, or never, never will they come back of themselves.  Have you not found it was easier to go out of the way than to get back into it; easier to stray, wander and get upon the wild mountains, or fall into some pit or hole and there get smeared with mud and mire, than it was to get back or get out, and return to the fold?  No, we never shall get back unless the Lord himself comes out after us, searches for us in the dark and cloudy day, lays us on his shoulders, and himself carry us all the way home.  Mary had a little lamb who followed her to school one day; lambs love to stay close to their shepherd.   

    So, with all this said, I want to share what I’m learning about who the goats could likely be.  Obviously, JESUS called the goats the status quo religious leaders, the pharisees and other sorts who argued religious principals AND prioritized such intellectual learning over walking the walk, practicing what they preach! 

  A word to the ‘shepherds’,  a well fed sheep will lay down and rest but a hungry sheep will go looking to be fed. 

   Don’t be a goat going around butting and biting, be a peace-loving, gentle lamb who loves! 

    Separating the sheep from the goats..

   Jesus spoke of the final judgment as being like a shepherd separating sheep and goats (shepherds grazed them in mixed flocks). Separating sheep from goats in western countries is not difficult, as the sheep have been bred to accentuate their wool production so they look quite different.  However, sheep and goats in Asia and Africa are often similar in appearance, consistent with them belonging to the same created kind.     (Matthew 25:31–34, 41, 46)

   Non-shepherds find it difficult to distinguish such sheep and goats, but the shepherd knows the difference and easily separates them. For example, there are differences in behavior: sheep tend to follow; goats go their own way.  At the judgment, the Great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20) will know the difference and will separate those who followed Him (Matthew 10:38) from those who went their own way.  (Matthew 25:31-33)

   In His love, 

Elizabeth