To finish out this chapter, Jesus offers yet one more story. This time he
draws on apocalyptic imagery that divides the people of the earth into
sheep and goats. Hearing the words of this parable read out loud may be the
most important spiritual exercise of the year. To be a sheep, we must help,
love, and notice the ‘least of these.’ To be a goat, we simply have to
overlook the ‘least of these.’ For what we do unto the least of these, we
do unto Jesus. This teaching lesson is the last one we get before reading
about the Pharisees’ plot to kill Jesus.