It was the last days of Jesus’ earthly life. According to Matthew it was his last
parable of his last teaching and it concerned the last days1. Yes I am referring
to the parable of the Sheep and the Goats. What was the point Jesus was
trying to make in this parable? It mentions that the sheep went off into
eternal life and the goats into eternal punishment. Is this the central focus of
this parable? I don’t believe so.

In this paper I would like to suggest the primary meaning of this parable
through an examination of its literary and historical context. But given so many
Christians get hung up on the words “eternal fire” and “eternal punishment” in
this story and therefore sidetracked from its real meaning, I will deal with
these issues first and then return to the intent of the parable in its historical
context.