Will you be a sheep or a goat?

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I've always loved this passage in Matthew, and your post speaks to why, Ernest.  But, in reading through it now, I think this may be the first time I've noticed that the separation is taking place between "nations" and not merely individuals.  It seems to me that this distinction between "nations" is significant for a number of reasons too.

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But that may be part of the point, that "all nations" of the world and not just the herd of Israel will be judged on the basis of whether or not they cared for the less fortunate.  The prophets had made it pretty clear that Israel would be judged on the basis of how well it cared for the widow and the orphan, and now Jesus is saying that this standard of caring for the less fortunate will apply, surely to all individuals, but to all nations as well.