One Of The Least

And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ 

Matthew 25:40 

What is the focus of the Last Judgment? The larger context from which our text derives tells us. According to Christ, He receives those whom He calls His ‘sheep,’  on the basis of their works. He says, ‘for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’  They are taken aback and respond with the question, ‘Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?’ Our text is His response. Christ regards the compassionate ministry to His Own as ministry directly to Him. This treatment of His people in kind and compassionate ways arises out of the belief His people have in Him. We all act according to what we believe. If we believe that Christ is God, the Redeemer, Our Head and that we are His Body, then care for other parts of His Body is the logical outgrowth of those beliefs. This seems to come quite naturally, so much as to be something of which the person who engages in it does not even recognize as unusual. They ask Christ ‘When did we do these things?’ Because they believed in Christ, they lived in the imitation of Him. As imitators of Him, they did all the good they could to those who were most in need. Christ saw they ministered to ‘the least of these my brethren’ and is satisfied.  

Our Holy and Wise God, 
we rejoice that You see everything. 
We praise You that You know 
the good that Your people do for those who 
are most in need.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning