WWUTT 2103 What You Have Done to the Least of These (Matthew 25:34-46)

In Matthew 25 40 Jesus said that which you have done to one of the least of these brothers of mine you have done it for me and some will argue that this is.

All of the marginalized in a society is it when we understand the text this is.

When we understand the text. A daily study of God's Word that we may be filled with the knowledge of his will. For questions and comments send us an email to when we understand the text at gmail .com.

Here's your teacher Pastor Gabe. Thank you Becky and greetings everyone. This is our last lesson on the Olivet Discourse as we are finishing up Jesus talking with his disciples about the end this is Matthew 25 verses 31 to 46 which I'm reading from the Legacy Standard Bible.

Hear the word of the Lord. But when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him then he will sit on his glorious throne and all the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate them from one another.

As the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats and he will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right come you who are blessed by my father inherit the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.

Then the righteous will answer him saying Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you something to drink. And when did we see you a stranger and invite you in or naked and clothed you.

And when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you. And the king will answer and say to them truly I say to you to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine even the least of them you did it to me.

Then he will also say to those on his left depart from me accursed ones into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink.

I was a stranger and you did not invite me in naked and you did not clothe me sick and in prison and you did not visit me. Then they themselves will also answer saying Lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you.

Then he will answer them saying truly I say to you to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these you did not do it to me. And these will go away into eternal punishment. But the righteous into eternal life.

The Final Judgment in Matthew 25

This is a very famous passage and an often twisted and misunderstood passage especially when it comes to what Jesus says in verse 40. The king will answer and say to them truly I say to you to the extent that you did it to one of the least of these brothers of mine even the least of them you did it to me.

So what is Jesus talking about here when he tells them I was sick I was in prison you came and visited me. I was hungry and you fed me. He says so to the righteous but to the unrighteous to the wicked.

He says that you did not do these things to me. What is what is Jesus saying about this. Exactly now as we have been considering as we've been going through the Olivet discourse this is the last of the five discourses that Matthew records in his gospel the second longest one after the Sermon on the Mount which is in Matthew 5 6 7.

This discourse is in Matthew 24 25. And this is the conclusion of the discourse when Jesus finally gets to the end of everything this is the end of all things. Everything is done. Now we're at the final judgment at the throne and all the nations every single person that has ever lived on the earth will be gathered before him where he sits on his glorious throne.

When the Son of Man comes in his glory it says in verse 31. And all the angels with him he will sit on his glorious throne. And yesterday we considered how Christ's return in that judgment are all happening at once.

He will return he will collect his own. All the nations will be gathered before him. And then the final judgment takes place. And he separates the nations one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

The sheep go on his right the goats go on his left. And this is where we come to the understanding that believers in Christ are sheep and unbelievers are goats. It comes from this account right here in Matthew 25.

And this is not a parable. Jesus is telling his disciples these things that will happen. This is what is going to happen at the end. And he is going to say to those on his right come you who are blessed of my father inherit the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

We have a statement of God's sovereign election right at the beginning of the final judgment. Those that will inherit eternal life they inherit a place that had been prepared for them from before the foundation of the world.

We read in Ephesians 1. For just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we would be holy and blameless before him in love he chose us not just for salvation but that we would even be made holy and blameless because of his love for us.

Affections he placed upon us before we were even born by predestining us to adoption. It says in verse 5. As sons through Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will to the praise of his glorious grace which he graciously bestowed on us in the beloved.

In Ephesians 1 11 we read in him. We also have been made an inheritance having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. So here Jesus is saying at the final judgment these things were prepared for you before the foundation of the world now enter into eternal life.

But then Jesus goes on to explain that the works that they did demonstrated that they had been predestined from before the foundation of the world. It is by their works that they demonstrated that they were of Christ that they had been born again that they had been adopted that they had been clothed in his righteousness and clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

They did as Christ did. So in verse 35 Jesus says. I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in naked and you clothes me.

I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. Jesus is showing by their works they have confirmed that they belong to Christ. It is not by their works that they are saved as we contradict other places in Scripture that say we are saved by grace through faith and not of works.

That's Ephesians 2 8. In Romans 4 5 to the one who does not work but believes upon him who justifies the ungodly his faith is counted as righteousness. And these righteous deeds that Jesus is describing here are the confirmation that a person had faith in Jesus Romans 5 1.

Therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand and we boast in hope of the glory of God.

The Least of These as Jesus' Brothers and Sisters

And and so after Jesus says these things to the righteous they respond to him saying Lord did. When did we do all of these things. See you sick or in prison and come to you. And verse 40 the king will answer and say to them truly I say to you to the extent that you did it to one of the one of these brothers of mine even to the least of them you did it to me.

It is often assumed that the least of these refer to the marginalized in society. Television icon Oprah Winfrey said of the stories that she covered. I have always been drawn to and attracted to stories of people who are disenfranchised who are what the biblical term refers to as the least of these.

Former president of the United States Barack Obama once said when I decide to stand up for foreign aid or prevent atrocities in places like Uganda or take on issues like human trafficking it's not just about strengthening alliances or promoting democratic values.

It's also about the biblical call to care for the least of these. For the poor for those at the margins of society. Unquote. An article in relevant magazine took caring for the least of these to a whole new level tipping your waiter or waitress.

This was the article in relevant quote. Christians as a whole can keep Matthew 25 in the forefront of their minds when it comes to tipping and all forms of charity. When you tip your server you are likely tipping someone in need.

And Jesus will always identify with those in need that was courtesy of Tyler Huckabee of relevant magazine. Matthew 2540 is one of the most used passages when it comes to talking about helping the poor and caring for the marginalized.

But is that what Jesus meant when he said what you do to the least of these brothers of mine. You did it for me. Did he mean care for the disenfranchised. Promote democratic values. Tip your waiters and waitresses.

Now what is quick to say. See Jesus said we must care for the poor the hungry the thirsty naked strangers sick and in prison. Those are the marginalized those who are the outcasts of society. But this group of people Jesus is talking about is even more specific than just all the poor in a society.

Specifically Jesus was saying that we must care for other Christians especially the least of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Consider again that Jesus does not simply say as you did it to one of the least of these.

He says one of the least of these brothers of mine. Or in some translations if you're reading for the NIV I think it is brothers and sisters. Who are Jesus brothers and sisters. Do you remember back to Matthew chapter 12.

It was in verses 46 to 50 while Jesus was teaching his mother and brothers stood outside asking to speak with him. But he said to the man who told him that his mother and brothers were here. He replied who is my mother and who are my brothers.

And stretching out his hand toward his disciples he said here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. So there he says whoever does the will of my father who is in heaven.

These are the ones he calls his brothers and sisters other followers of Jesus all of us who are in Christ. Do you not call yourselves brothers and sisters in the Lord. We have been adopted into the family of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

And though it is good to show charity to anyone we are obligated first to care for his church. Whenever I talk about this and every once in a while on social media I will remind people Matthew 2540 is not about caring for all of the poor and marginalized in a society it is specifically caring about the least of these brothers and sisters in the Lord.

And whenever I will say that there is always pushback and it oftentimes is quite explosive. There are people that will be quick to jump and say look at you. You're all about only caring for Christians and you won't care for other people.

Or there are there are others that will jump into my feed and they will. They will start quoting to me who is my neighbor. You know taking from the parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus said everybody is your neighbor.

So you must love and care for anyone. Listen. I am NOT in any way saying that Jesus never said love your neighbor. Of course he did. We just read it in Matthew a few weeks ago where Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart soul mind and strength.

And the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor is yourself. On these two commandments hinge all the law and the prophets. And I even quoted from Romans 13 where Paul said love is the fulfilling of the law.

Loving your neighbor is love everyone. Everyone is your neighbor. But where we read in scripture specifically to love your brother that is not your neighbor. That is specifically the body of Christ our brothers and sisters in the Lord.

1st John 5 beginning in verse 1 everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God. And everyone who loves the one who gives new birth also loves the one who has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and do his commandments.

For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome. It was also previously in chapter 4 where John said beloved let us love one another. For love is from God.

And everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. And this is specifically talking about loving one another in the body of Christ. Even unbelievers know how to care for each other. But this is Jesus saying that you care for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine.

Remember back to when we read the parable of the faithful slave and the wicked slave. The faithful did everything that his master asked him to do. The wicked slave said my master is delayed and so he beat his fellow slaves and went out and ate and drank with the drunkards.

You would probably say of that guy. Well he loved the drunkards. Yeah he loved the drunkards so much that he got drunk with them. But he did not love the people of Christ. And so when the master returns he will come on a day that that wicked slave doesn't expect.

And he will cut him into pieces and consign him with the place. Consign him in the place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth he said. So we have an obligation to first care for the household of God and we show that we are truly of God when we love others who are of God.

The Apostle Paul said in Galatians 610 as we have opportunity let us do good to everyone and especially to those who are of the household of faith. So just like when you make a paycheck you're gonna care for your own family first before you give money to anybody else.

So it is to be in the body of Christ. We care for one another in our church in our body. That is our first obligation. But then as we have opportunity we may also show charity to other people. Now the number one rule the number one way that we show charity to others is by sharing the gospel with them.

And even those mercy works of service that we do whether it be giving money to the poor feeding them clothing them so on and so forth. Even in those things going and visiting prisoners we still take the gospel with us.

Otherwise we're just giving them a comfortable seat on their way to hell. The best thing that we as followers of Christ have to give the world even those who are on the margins in the world is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is the only thing that saves. Jesus said to his disciples in the upper room a new commandment I give you that you love one another. Just as I have loved you you also are to love one another. And by this all people will know that you are my disciples.

If you have love for one another specifically what Jesus was talking about there was loving each other right there in that room the Brotherhood of Christ. Let me continue on with what Jesus says to the wicked.

He will also say to those on his left depart from me accursed ones into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink.

I was a stranger and you did not invite me in naked and you did not clothe me sick and in prison and you did not visit me. Now catch this in verse 44. Then they themselves will also answer saying Lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you.

What did Jesus say that the ones would say to him on that day. According to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 7 he said. Not everyone who says to me Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven.

But he who does the will of my father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to me on that day Lord Lord in your name did we not prophesy. In your name cast out demons and in your name do many miracles.

And then I will declare to them. I never knew you depart from me. You who practice lawlessness. So here we have those who practice lawlessness saying Lord they call upon him as Lord. They say when did we.

When did we not do these things that you said that we didn't do. And Jesus will answer them saying truly I say to you to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these. You did not do it to me.

About this passage in Matthew 25. Denny Burke who is a professor of biblical studies said this text is not about poor people generally. It's about Christians getting the door slammed in their face while sharing the gospel with a neighbor.

It's about the baker florist or photographer who is being mistreated for bearing faithful witness to Christ. It's about disciples of Jesus having their heads cut off by Islamic radicals. In other words it's about any disciples of Jesus who was ever mistreated in the name of Jesus.

This text shows us that Jesus will judge those who show contempt for the gospel by mistreating gospel bearers. Unquote. There are many who will think that they will get to heaven by their good works. Or they think that they are loving by their definition of love.

But are they really doing the will of the father or loving whom the father says to love the way he says to love them. There are people out there claim to be professing Christians and they will stand with the LGBTQ community.

Or they will help that single mom who is pregnant go to the abortion clinic so she can kill her unborn child. And they will claim that they are doing something loving. But this is love according to their definition and not according to God's definition.

Remember what we read in Romans 1 18. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. And then at the end of that chapter verse 32 although they know the righteous requirement of God that those who practice such things are worthy of death they not only do the same but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

And they will call that loving but God calls that evil and he will consign them to the place of eternal punishment. If they do not repent and love the things that God loves Matthew 25 46 these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.

So again the least of these in the context of Matthew 25 are the least of the followers of Jesus. How we treat one another in the family of God his church matters a great deal. This does not mean that we do not love unbelievers.

One of the first ways that we love those who do not know God is by showing them their sin warning them of the judgment that is to come which Jesus talks about here and sharing with them the gospel. But our first obligation is to care for one another in the church we show that we love God.

When we love the children of God let us pray heavenly father. We thank you for what we've read here this picture of the final judgment and may it stir in us an urgency and importance and understanding of being obedient to Christ if we say that we believe him.

Therefore we will also do what he says as Jesus said in John 14 15 you will show me that you love me when you obey my commandments. And as we've read here in 1st John 5 his commandments are not burdensome.

We have been freed from the power of the law and the death that we deserve. Because we have broken the law and now clothed in the righteousness of Christ we are able to keep the law in a way that is pleasing unto the Lord.

So help us to recognize and keep the commands of God especially caring for the least within those who are part of the body of Christ. As we have opportunity let us show charity to everyone but especially of the household of faith keep us steadfast in these things until the day of Christ's return.

It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen.

You've been listening to when we understand the text with pastor Gabe Hughes. Monday Tuesday and Wednesday Gabe will be going through a New Testament study. Then on Thursday we look at an Old Testament book.

On Friday we take questions from the listeners and viewers. Tomorrow we'll pick up on an Old Testament study when we understand the text.