The Least of These My Brethren
March 17, 2002
Dear Friends,
In Matthew 25, we have an extended and elaborate parable of Jesus. Beginning in verse 31, Jesus tells the disciples that when he returns to the earth to set up his kingdom, he will divide his flock in two groups — sheep and goats. To the sheep he will say “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
In the parable, what is the determining factor in dividing the sheep and the goats? Jesus gives the answer in an unusual way. He tells the sheep that they gave drink to a thirsty Jesus, housing to a homeless Jesus, clothing to a naked Jesus, visitation to an imprisoned Jesus. This answer confuses the sheep and they ask when they did this. Jesus tells them in plain language the principle upon which their judgment was sealed. “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” What a profound statement!
Who are these “least” brethren? If this is the determining factor for our judgment, then we ought to seek these people out and treat them like kings. If Jesus sees how we treat them as how we treat him, should we do no less than treat them as kings? But this is not the point, is it? The sheep did not do it because of the reward, they did it because that is what sheep do. Think of it this way. The sheep heard the Gospel and responded to its call. They believed it and acted on it. Their faith manifested itself in the way they treated “the least of these my brethren.” This was the very litmus test which Jesus spoke of when he said “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:35) The sheep were aware of the reward, but it was not their chief motivation. They acted as they did because they were compelled to do so by their faith.
The goats, on the other hand, did not act on their faith. Notice that Jesus did not say they mistreated “the least of these my brethren.” They simply didn’t DO anything. It would be interesting if we could hear some of their excuses for doing nothing, but I am sure they wouldn’t be too different from OUR excuses. “I was just so busy, Lord.” “If I had only known it was you, Lord.” “But these brethren were so marginal, Lord.” “I really was planning on doing it, Lord.” “Everyone else did the same thing, Lord.”
The implied irony in the passage is that while the goats, the supposed elite of the ecclesia, “go away into everlasting punishment”, the sheep, who are made up of many of “the least of these my brethren”, go off “into life eternal.” The situation in completely reversed as to what Jesus’ disciples expected as had happened many times before (rich man and Lazarus, rich young ruler, etc.).
The moral of the story then is this: whatever you do or don’t do to a brother or sister in Christ is doing it to Christ. There are no second class brethren — only brethren. It matters to the extent that what you do to these brethren will determine your judgment (although we could site other factors as taught in the Scripture). The love that Christ has clearly demonstrated to us must show in our lives toward others. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”
Have a great week!
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