Joel M Bradshaw

31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,^f you did it to me.’

41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

I sit before you exhausted after late evening ministry and early morning snow shoveling! It’s a good exhausted, but still exhausted. 3 things stand out this morning about the famous sermon of Jesus.

1. Your destiny is an either/or. You will either be found on Jesus’ right or on his left. You will have either glorified Jesus with your life or you will have not. You will either be enjoying the eternal reward of Jesus or you will not. You will either be placed in eternal fire or you will not. The fact that Jesus considered this an either/or means that we pay attention now, and stay sober and alert (the main point of this chapter). Your life has either been about Jesus or it has not. And if not then repent. One day it will be too late. That day is not right now!
2. How we treat other people matters to Jesus. God brings people into our lives on purpose. How do you treat them? Are people merely means to an end for you? Are you more of a server or a served one? Do you treat people as if you are holding the tray or sitting at the restaurant table?
3. How we treat the ‘least of these’ matters to Jesus. This has motivated me in my 20+ years of pastoral ministry. I am always on the lookout for the broken, the messy, the awkward. The ones overlooked by others remain on my radar. It’s my priority in ministry. My favorite kind of people in the church or in life are those that befriend and intentionally journey with the least of these. The most satisfying time of ‘ministry’ in my earlier years was the season I worked at a group home for the developmentally disabled. I was helping with personal cares, cooking meals, dispensing medicine, and advocating for the residents. But every day it was care for the least of these. As a care pastor today, I journey with the least of these. It’s the greatest ministry honor of my life.–JMB