Least Of These

Least of These (by David Peterson at The Rock Of Jesus Church)

Matthew 25:40

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

Jesus did not put any conditions on us when He said this. He did not say; “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me”, …unless they were in a drunken stupor, or unless they were strung-out, or unless they were dressed in ragged clothing. In this statement He was commending His disciples, those on His right, because they did not mistreat anyone. However, for all of us, the message extends that we are not to treat anyone less than how we would treat Jesus Himself.

Jesus is telling us that we are not to look away from anyone we encounter. James, the brother of Jesus, wrote:

James 2:1-4

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

This concept of favoritism, or partiality, should not exist if we are the Christians that Jesus wants us to be. We harm people when we overlook them, when we discount them and when we disregard them. When we forsake or abandon them we miss our divine chance to serve them. Jesus commands us to love others as we would like to be loved (Matthew 22:39).

Apostle Paul reminds us that we are here to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). In essence, when we ignore or minimize others, especially those in need, we harm ourselves because we are not being the people Jesus desires.

Let us pray: King Jesus, teach us to look after one another with love and compassion. Mold us to help each other, from all walks of life, and fulfill your greatest commandments. Amen.