The parable is told only in the Gospel of Matthew, in which it is set within the Apocalyptic Discourse. The parable of the Last Judgment is the final piece of the discourse given by Jesus to his disciples. There is some controversy over whether this illustration is truly a parable. Over time the parable has become known as the Parable of the Last Judgment, or the Parable of the Sheep and Goats. Even if the narrative is not a parable, it is an interesting description of the Final Judgment that was given by Jesus to assist in our understanding of the day the when He will return again.
Most modern scholars prefer all human beings as the expression's meaning.
F or the purposes of this paper, I assume that Jesus intended the phrase to signify every person. In the story, the sheep and goats were brought before the Shepherd, who separated them, placing the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. The herding of sheep and goats is still not an uncommon occurrence in the Middle East. Within the parable, t he separation of the sheep and goats symbolizes the final separation of people those who followed the Lord, and those who did not. In this context, being placed on the right signifies a position of prestige, while being placed on the left signifies shame and degradation.