Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 25:32

"and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats;" — Matthew 25:32 (ASV)

Before him shall be gathered all nations — The phrase is better translated as all the nations, or perhaps even better, all the Gentiles. This word, when used with the definite article as it is here, almost always refers to the heathen nations of the world, distinguishing them from God’s people, Israel (for example, in Romans 15:11-12; Ephesians 2:11).

This interpretation serves as the key to the distinctive teaching that follows. In this chapter, we have already encountered several laws of judgment:

1. In the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, the law of judgment for all members of the Church of Christ.
2. In the parable of the Talents, the law for all who hold any office or ministry in the Church.
3. Now, the law by which those will be judged who have lived and died as heathens, not knowing the name of Christ and knowing God only as revealed in nature or in the law written in their hearts.

Every stage of what follows confirms this interpretation.

As a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats — Elsewhere, the shepherd’s work is a symbol of protective, self-sacrificing love, and our Lord emphatically claimed for Himself the title of the Good Shepherd (John 10:14). Here, however, we are reminded that even the shepherd must sometimes execute a judgment that involves separation. The “right” hand and the “left” are used according to what we might call a natural symbolism, indicating good and evil, or acceptance and rejection, respectively.