Exhortation Station

I had a few thoughts springing from a passage in Matthew…

Matthew 25:31-36 — “When Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. ³² 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; ³³ and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ 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; ³⁶ naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’”

In this passage, Yahshua is telling His disciples about His coming return.  He likens His followers to sheep and then proceeds to tell a story whereby the King (representing Yahshua) congratulates the righteous for helping Him when He was in need. 

Can you imagine what it would have been like to be able to serve Yahshua Himself when He was hungry, thirsty, etc.?  Imagine this: you invite some guests for dinner and Yahshua Himself shows up.  At some point Yahshua says, “It’s been a long journey, and I’m a little thirsty.”  Wouldn’t everyone be scrambling to be the first to bring Yahshua a glass of water?  After all, which one of us would pass up an opportunity to serve the Son of Yahweh Himself if we had the chance?  Too bad that’s just wishful thinking…or is it?  Wait a minute — there’s more to this passage…

Matthew 25:37-40 — “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ³⁸ And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ³⁹ When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰ 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.’”

This passage tells us that every opportunity to serve Yah’s children is, in fact, and opportunity to serve Yahshua Himself!  That’s how Yahshua views it.

There’s also a sobering part of this passage in verses 41-46 whereby the King tells those who did not help Him when He was in need to depart into eternal punishment.  When this group of people asked when they did not help Him, the King answers, “‘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.‘  These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

I think there is a very important lesson for us in these passages:  Yahweh wants us to treat His children as we would treat Yahshua Himself.  Notice especially the part of this passage that says “even the least of them.”  This makes it clear that treating someone like we would treat Yahshua is not contingent upon how perfect or imperfect that person is.  I think it’s easy sometimes for us to think “well, he/she did this or that, so he/she doesn’t deserve to be treated the same way Yahshua does.”  That may be true, but it misses the point completely, because neither do any of us deserve to be treated the way Yahweh treated us in His mercy.  It’s not about what the other person deserves, it’s about following Yahshua’s example of having compassion even on those who do not deserve it.

What about people out there in the world, like our bosses at work?  How does Yahweh want us to act toward them?  Colossians 3:23 — “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.”  1 Peter 2:18 — “Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable.”  These passages hit really close to home for me because, as a college student, it is tempting to have a wrong attitude about certain professors being “unreasonable,” “too hard,” etc.  While some professors may be difficult, doesn’t Yahweh know what’s best for me?  Hasn’t he given me the teachers I have for a reason?  There is a great sense of peace that comes when I learn to embrace what Yah has allowed in my life and thank Him for it.

To conclude, here are two key takeaways from these passages:  1) when you see someone in need, recognize the opportunity to serve Yahshua Himself, and 2) learn to see what Yahweh has allowed in your life in the context of His perfect will and love for you.  Let us wake up each morning with these words in our hearts: “Thank you, Yahweh, for Your perfect love for me.  Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve You, the Creator of the Universe.  Help me to see Your children with compassion and to serve them as I would serve Your Son Yahshua, and help me to work as unto You rather than for men.” 

Next time you invite people over for dinner, remember Matthew 25.  Who knows?  Maybe Yahshua will give you an opportunity to bring Him a glass of water.

Matthew 10:24 — “And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”

(All Bible passages NASB — Hebrew transl. added.)