"The Least of These My Brothers"

“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Matthew 25:40 (ESV).

Matthew Chapter 25 is a very interesting chapter, first of all it has the parable of the 10 Virgins and the parable of the talents, both wonderful parables that emphasize the teachings of Chapter 24 where Jesus stated, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”.  Of course, it is taught that no one knows when Jesus will return to establish His kingdom. His major point with the parables of Chapter 25 was for all of us to be ready for His return at any moment. This is one truth that should change the way we live our lives. We need to be expectant of His return, and to do what we can for our master while we are waiting for His return. Both parables in Chapter 25 teach rich truths about how we are to live our lives for our Risen Savior.

But I would like to focus our attention on the teachings of Jesus in verses 31-46. My Bible has the heading of this section as “The Judgement”; your Bible might have something similar. I’d prefer to call it “To the Least of These”. In this parable, Jesus, the Son of Man, identifies Himself as the “King” who separates the righteous sheep and places them on His right, and the unrighteous goats and places them on the left. Those who were declared righteous were declared so since the foundation of the world and had nothing to do with their good deeds.  Those who are accursed will be cast into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels. It really makes you think of the Great White Throne of Judgement in Revelation 20:11-15, doesn’t it? But unlike John’s account of the actual final judgment event in Revelation, this parable brings up a very interesting activity. You see, the King brings up something that catches both the righteous sheep and the unrighteous goats by surprise. The King discusses how the righteous and the unrighteous treat others, specifically in the “Lease of These”. I’m very aware of the various symbolisms in this parable, but I want to look at the attention the King pays to some very seemingly insignificant actions.

First, we find those already declared righteous from the foundation of the world, the sheep, going through their lives doing “good deeds” and not putting too much thought into it. The King mentioned how they fed Him when He was hungry, gave Him a drink when He was thirsty, invited Him in when He was a stranger, clothed Him when He was naked, visited Him when He was sick, and went to see Him when He was imprisoned. Which completely caught the sheep by surprise. They protested to the King and couldn’t imagine a time when they did these things to and for Him. Little things, nothing big, nothing that got the attention of the whole Church or community, just little things that brought a blessing to Him and the “Least of These”. You see, God knows our hearts; He knows when we extend a hand of blessing to those among us who are not at the top of the party invitation list. To those who are struggling with their walk of faith, for those to whom others may not pay attention. To those who need a blessing, no matter how small it may seem to us.

There are many teachings in the Scriptures about how God pays attention to the details or small things of this world. Remember when Jesus said in Matthew 10:29-31 “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Showing that God does indeed care about the things of this world that we might call insignificant. Remember the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”, and by others he also means “The Least of These.”.

You see, our King sees all that we do for others, and especially for the “Least of These”, as ministering to Him directly. So, the next time you have the privilege to be a blessing to someone, remember that someone is also our King. We need to stop looking at the believers that get all the attention and have public ministries, and start looking around for just one of the least of these that might need that special blessing today, a cup of water or maybe an invitation to lunch? The “Least of These” parable has a lot to say about how we should be living our lives to bring honor and glory to our King.

Go ahead, offer that cup of water, or morsel of bread, that article of clothing, go ahead and visit the sick and imprisoned, be a blessing to “The Least of These”!

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"