The Least of These Matthew 25:31-46

Last summer, I led one of our mission teams to Livingston, Montana to work at the rodeo. One of the fun parts of the rodeo is the possibility of meeting a celebrity. Over the years, I’ve met or seen Arthur Blank, the owner of the Falcons, Jason Mamoa (Aquaman), possibly Chris Stapleton, and John Mayer is in attendance frequently . This year, I had a break and was standing there watching one of the events. I took a glance at the guy standing next to me and had to double-take. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite place him. He had aged and had clearly had some plastic surgery, but within a few seconds I realized I was standing next to the actor Dennis Quaid, fresh off of filming the Reagan movie. You just never know who you might see. Over the last several weeks, we have shared words from Hebrews about entertaining angels without knowing who we were serving. Today, we are talking about an even stranger possibility. The one we serve may be Jesus!

Our faith in Christ is revealed by the way we treat His people

I. Jesus Knows His Sheep vv. 31-33

In our passage this morning, Jesus confronts us with some very uncomfortable truth:

Our actions towards others reveal our hearts towards Him

We will be judged according to that truth

As painful as what we are going to read today is, we need to look into the mirror of God’s Word and consider what it reveals about us!

Jesus makes it clear that He is going to come again in glory; He will be revealed as He is, unveiled

Jesus will reign as a King, seated on a throne of authority

Jesus will identify His sheep; He knows them and has no problem distinguishing between the sheep and the goats

Jesus will divide the sheep from the goats; they have distinct identities and they have distinct destinies

I point all of this out to draw us to one big truth: Jesus is not confused about your spiritual identity or “what to do with you”

He knows whether you are connected to Him in faith

He can see the character of your life

He knows your eternal destination

If you are in Christ, you have no reason for fear, but if you are not in Christ, you have no reason for hope

The passage we are about to read is not intended to scare you, but it is to call you to some self-examination

Does your life show that you belong to Jesus? What is the truth?

The seasons are changing and it’s a good time to do some of those maintenance tasks around the house. If you’re like me, they slip up on you! I knew we had a few leaves that had blown into the garage, but I had not idea of the reality until I blew the leaves out. I knew that it was time to change the air conditioner filters, but I had no idea how bad the need was until I looked. I knew my truck had a little bit of pollen on it, but I had no idea until I really paid attention.

What about you? Are you paying attention to your spiritual life?

James 1:22–24

[22] But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. [23] For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. [24] For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. (ESV)

II. Jesus Identifies with the Least vv. 34-40

Next, we see Jesus issue a beautiful invitation:

All of His sheep are invited into a kingdom

They get to inherit it; they do not deserve this, but they receive it as a gift prepared for them by the Father

Jesus gives us the defining character of His sheep:

They cared for Him as He faced serious difficulties

They gave Him food, water, and clothing

They visited Him in sickness and prison

They welcomed Him when He was a stranger and took Him in

It is because of these practical acts of kindness that He identifies them as His sheep

There’s a plot twist though:

They have no idea what He is talking about!

They never saw Him in any of those positions

Jesus clears the issue, however

Whatever they have done for the least of His brothers, they have also done for Him

Who are these brothers of Jesus?

They are His disciples, those who love and serve Him

In our culture we tend to see this as a reference to all who are poor, hungry, or suffering

There are plenty of reasons given throughout the Scripture for why we should care for any of our suffering neighbors

However, in this instance the focus is on the family of faith

There is little personal benefit to joining the sufferer in their suffering, but there is great gain in ministering to Christ through His people!

How we treat His people is how we have treated Him, even the one we deem the least important ones of all.

A little girl stayed for dinner at the home of her friend. The vegetable was buttered broccoli, and the mother asked if she liked it. The child replied very politely, "Oh, yes, I love it." But when the bowl of broccoli was passed, she declined to take any. The hostess said, "I thought you said you loved broccoli." The girl replied sweetly, "Oh, yes, ma’am, I do, but not enough to eat it!"

This is where a lot of us are living. We love Jesus, but we don’t love Jesus enough to love His people!

James 1:26–27

[26] If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. [27] Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (ESV

III. Inaction is an Action vv. 41-46

Jesus then turns to the goats on His left and He harshly condemns them!

He sends them away; they are not blessed by the Father but are cursed

They are not going to an inheritance prepared for them, but a fire prepared for demons

What could they have done that was so bad that they deserved this kind of punishment? The answer is nothing!

The great problem is not all of the horrible things that they have done

Rather, we see that their inaction was a revelation of the genuineness of their faith

That’s what this whole chapter has been about:

10 virgins awaited the coming of the Bridegroom, but 5 of them proved unready

3 servants awaited the coming of the Master, but 1 of them proved unfruitful

Countless multitudes awaited the coming of the King, but a huge portion of them proved unfaithful

Their inaction demonstrated the reality of their faith!

James 2:14–19

[14] What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? [15] If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, [16] and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? [17] So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

[18] But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. [19] You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! (ESV)

What do your actions say about your faith?

Do you need to commit your life to following Jesus?

Do you need to recommit your life to loving His people?

Do you need to step out and join this Church?