Matthew 25:31-46 - The Parable Of The Sheep And Goats; The Final Judgment.
Matthew 25:34-36, 40 (NIV) Then the King
will say to those on his right, Come, you who
are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance,
the kingdom prepared for you since the creation
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, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I
was sick and you looked after me, I was in
prison and you came to visit me.. I tell
you the truth, whatever you did for one of the
least of these brothers of mine, you did for
me.
Mat 25:34-36, 40 (CWB) Then as Judge and
King He will say to those on His right, `You are
my Father's children because you are so much
like Him. Come! Now is the time for you to be
given a permanent home in His kingdom which He has
been looking forward to giving you for quite
sometime. Everyone could see the change that took
place in your life when you decided to become one
of God's children, because you cared about
others as you would care about me. When others
were thirsty, you gave them water. When they
were hungry, you gave them food, and when they
were lost and homeless, you took them in. When
they had nothing suitable to wear, you gave them
clothes. When they were sick, you visited them and
comforted them, and when they were put in jail, you
didn't forget them.'. `I know you didn't realize
this because a transformation had taken place in
your life and kindness and compassion became a
permanent part of your nature. What you so caringly
did even to those who are thought the least of,
you did for me.'
COMMENTARY PEARL
Some missed him.
Some miss him still.
We expect God to speak through peace, but
sometimes he speaks through pain.
We think God talks through the church,
but he also talks through the lost.
We look for the answer among the
Protestants, but he's been known to speak through the
Catholics.
We listen for him among the Catholics but
find him among the Quakers.
We think we hear him in the sunrise, but
he is also heard in the darkness.
We listen for him in triumph, but he
speaks even more distinctly through tragedy.
We must let God define himself.
When we do, when we let God define
himself, a whole new world opens before us. How, you
ask? Let me explain with a story.
Once there was a man whose life was one
of misery. The days were cloudy, and the nights
were long. Henry didn't want to be unhappy, but
he was. With the passing of the years, his life
had changed. His children were grown. The
neighborhood was different. The city seemed harsher.
He was unhappy. He decided to ask his
minister what was wrong.
"Am I unhappy for some sin I have
committed?"
"Yes," the wise pastor replied. "You have
sinned."
"And what might that sin be?"
"Ignorance," came the reply. "The sin of
ignorance. One of your neighbors is the Messiah in
disguise, and you have not seen him."
The old man left the office stunned. "The
Messiah is one of my neighbors?" He began to think
who it might be.
Tom the butcher? No, he's too lazy. Mary,
my cousin down the street? No, too much pride.
Aaron the paperboy? No, too indulgent. The man was
confounded. Every person he knew had defects. But one
was the Messiah. He began to look for Him.
He began to notice things he hadn't seen.
The grocer often carried sacks to the cars of
older ladies. Maybe he is the Messiah. The officer
at the corner always had a smile for the kids.
Could it be? And the young couple who'd moved next
door. How kind they are to their cat. Maybe one of
them
With time he saw things in people he'd
never seen. And with time his outlook began to
change. The bounce returned to his step. His eyes
took on a friendly sparkle. When others spoke he
listened. After all, he might be listening to the
Messiah. When anyone asked for help, he responded;
after all this might be the Messiah needing
assistance.
The change of attitude was so significant
that someone asked him why he was so happy. "I
don't know," he answered. "All I know is that
things changed when I started looking for God."
Now, that's curious. The old man saw
Jesus because he didn't know what he looked like.
The people in Jesus' day missed him because they
thought they did.
How are things looking in your
neighborhood? [Max Lucado Daily Devotional at
maxlucado.com]
COMMENTARY
I teach a lot of literature from the
Victorian period, when the world was reeling from the
publication of Darwin's theory of natural selection.
People were losing their faith en masse because
they could not reconcile this new science with
their version of Christianity. People still
struggle with a choice between science and religion,
but for me that's a false choice.
I appreciate the discoveries of that time
and the descriptions of what happens in the
natural world. But it's a dark truth, for sure. The
theory highlights the cruelty of the natural world,
which is bad news for the poor, sick, very young,
or elderly. Still, this truth only propels me
toward God. It highlights our need to transcend
natural instincts by taking a higher way.
Following Jesus means we take seriously
our responsibility to eradicate suffering in the
world. That's what distinguishes it from many other
belief systems. Jesus inverts the idea of natural
selection, calling us to deny ourselves, pick up our
cross, and follow Him into soup kitchens,
hospitals, prisons, and homeless shelters. Wherever
people suffer"that's where Jesus leads us. And as
we participate in building His kingdom, we
become supernatural agents, taking on divine love
that overcomes the natural way of things. by Gwen
Ford Faulkenberry
Faith Step: Where might you follow Jesus
today in order to alleviate suffering? Visit your
local nursing home. That's a great place to start.
[Mornings With Jesus 2019 Devotional by Guideposts and
Zondervan]
EXAMPLES
I began the blog in this space last week
with the disclaimer that I wasnt sure the
story was true. I check sources carefully and if
there is any doubt I either admit my hesitancy, or
I omit the story. So here is my entre to last
weeks blog:
I dont know if this story is true.
Ive never started a piece like this before.
Ive written in this space every Monday evening
for more than six years and Ive never started
even once with this beginning. I almost always
know more about the story than I know about this
one. But I think its true and its big
enough I know youll be blessed.
However, no sooner had the blog hit the
streets last week than I got a note from a dear
friend " our family physician " saying he had
found the original. So the story is true.
Here are a couple of specifics: It
happened in Louisville (I had just said it was from
Kentucky). The trash company is Hometown Hauling, and
the trash man is Jake Bland rather than Gus.
Other than that I got it right. So now maybe the
story is even more persuasive than before.
One Thursday morning Molly didnt put
her trash out at the curb. She was an older lady
and it had happened before so Gus, her trash
man, wasnt terribly concerned. But when the
cans were not there the next week, he was
worried. Gus got the name from his dispatcher and
called up the customer. Maam, he asked,
I see you havent put your trash cans out
for a while. Are you ok? Im doin all
right, she replied. The lady who comes in to
help me was afraid of the virus So?
asked Gus. So she stopped coming. I dont
have any trash these days because Ive run out
of food.
Well, maam, thats not ok.
Tomorrow is my day off; when I finish my run today
Ill stop by. When Gus arrived he asked her to
make up a grocery list. Maam, this list is
too short, he told her. Reluctantly she added
some more items. Suspecting he didnt have the
whole story he asked if he could look in her
fridge. It was stark naked empty.
Next morning Gus showed up with a dozen
bags filled to the top with every kind of grocery
she could need. Molly was speechless. Gus said,
Maam, you maybe didnt think you had family
living nearby. Well, you do now. Till your lady can
come back and help, my wife and I will see that
you have everything you need.
I love this story. A trash collector
sensed that here was a lady with a need and church
broke out. Here is a guardian angel, cleverly
disguised as a garbage man, doing kingdom business. I
dont know that his prayer that morning was,
And Lord, help me find someone today who needs
something more than having their trash hauled away.
But it wouldnt surprise me. Gods
people are like that. [By Don Jacobsen; NAD Prayer
Ministries]
What I Learned About Love From a Lady I
Dont Know
I dont know the ladys name. I know
what people call her but I dont think thats
her real name. Let me tell you what I learned
from her
There is in her city a Bridge Community.
I mean it is a community that lives under one
of the major bridges not far from the center of
town. She fell in love with them. All three
hundred of them. She wanted to tell them of Jesus
love, but her heart said, You cant tell them
about how much Jesus loves them if theyre
hungry.
So every Tuesday for the last 15 years
she has taken her crew of volunteers under the
bridge and provided a hot meal for all 300 of them,
adults, children, elderly, the working poor, those
with passports and those without. She raises the
money, trains her helpers, buys the food, and
drafts a religious leader from the community and
gives him/her eight minutes to tell them how much
Jesus loves them. And they listen.
She also solicits clothes and distributes
them. Through some of the trained medical and
dental professionals she drafts she provides some
simple health care. And job skills. The project has
been going on long enough that many from the
Bridge Community have been able to work their way
out of poverty; some of them even come back now
on Tuesdays to help. And scores of them show up
regularly in area churches.
She explains, Nearly 400 times in
Scripture God speaks of His love for the hungry, the
homeless, the sick, and those in prison. They
represent the ache in His heart for the needy.
Rather that wring her hands, she gathers her people
together to pray that God will lay on their hearts
the same compassion He has. And then they work
to demonstrate that love in tangible ways. She
has taught me much.
But theres more. Recently she visited
one of the nations in the Islamic world. About
98% of the population claim loyalty to a
different god than the Creator. As she walked the
streets of the capital she found herself praying,
God, I want to be so bold as to ask that you will
show us how we can reach a million people in this
city with the gospel. She mused, I thought
God would be pleased that I should make such an
audacious request. But then in my heart I sensed
Gods reply. I thought I heard Him say, But
there are 4 1/2 million people here, what do you
suggest I do with the other 3 1/2 million? She
said, I had no answer.
I learned so much from this precious lady
who is half my age and whose real name I
didnt even know. I learned that (1) if I wish to
represent the heart of God I must be ready to offer
help to those in need, and (2) that I need to
expand my prayer commitment to the lost. All of
them. By Don Jacobsen of NAD Prayer Ministries
CLOSING THOUGHT
The Touch of God
In Scripture Matthew 8:2 is symbolic of
the ultimate outcast: infected by a condition he
did not seek, rejected by those he knew, avoided
by people he did not know, condemned to a
future he could not bear. And in the memory of each
outcast must have been the day he was forced to face
the truth: life would never be the same.
The banishing of a leper seems harsh,
unnecessary. The Ancient East hasnt been the only
culture to isolate their wounded, however. We may
not build colonies or cover our mouths in their
presence, but we certainly build walls and duck our
eyes. And a person neednt have leprosy to feel
quarantined.
The divorced know this feeling. So do the
handicapped. The unemployed have felt it, as have the
less educated. Some shun unmarried moms. We keep
our distance from the depressed and avoid the
terminally ill. We have neighborhoods for immigrants,
convalescent homes for the elderly, schools for the
simple, centers for the addicted, and prisons for
the criminals.
The rest simply try to get away from it
all. Only God knows how many individuals are
living quiet, lonely lives infected by their fear
of rejection and their memories of the last
time they tried. They choose not to be touched at
all rather than risk being hurt again.
Some of you have the master touch of the
Physician himself. You use your hands to pray over the
sick and minister to the weak. If you arent
touching them personally, your hands are writing
letters, dialing phones, baking pies. You have
learned the power of a touch.
But others of us tend to forget. Our
hearts are good; its just that our memories are
bad. We forget how significant one touch can be.
We fear saying the wrong thing or using the
wrong tone or acting the wrong way. So rather than
do it incorrectly, we do nothing at all.
Arent we glad Jesus didnt make the
same mistake? If your fear of doing the wrong
thing prevents you from doing anything, keep in
mind the perspective of the lepers of the world.
They arent picky. They arent finicky.
Theyre just lonely. They are yearning for a godly
touch.
Jesus touched the untouchables of the
world. Will you do the same? [Max Lucado Daily
Devotional at maxlucado.com]
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE
Matthew 25:31-46 - The Parable Of The Sheep
And Goats The Final Judgment.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2019/20190826-1157.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David
DeRose, MD, MPH:
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Hope Awakens Bible Study Guides:
https://www.hopeawakens.study/lesson-header;id=2
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio (currently live):
https://bible.awr.org/the-warning/
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
The Last Day of Prophecy by Pastor Doug
Batchelor:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmGvdtMCf1aJTiC59-lPtuUMEq_uEn0BK
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
