Mt 25:31-46
Sheep and goats: Throughout his Gospel, Matthew has argued that members of his church are not to determine who will be inside or who will be outside the kingdom of God. The weeds and the wheat grow together. The dragnet is large enough to hold everything (everyone). The guide for correct behavior, according to Matthew, is righteousness, doing the will of God.
Matthew reminds his church that the Son of Man will come in glory some day, and on that day, whenever it is, he will judge all the nations. But before that final day, a daily judgment is taking place. This daily judgment is based on one’s adherence to behavior patterns that have already been established—giving food to the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, caring for the ill, visiting the imprisoned. This is the way that a person does God’s will and is declared to be righteous.
However, according to Matthew’s story, the motivation of those who behaved in these ways was not the fact that they knew that Jesus would identify himself with the poor and suffering, but they recognized their actions to be the behavior that God wanted. Only after having cared for the poor and the suffering did they discover that they were caring for Jesus. Only after caring for the poor and the suffering are they declared righteous, those who have done the will of God.