And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’“The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’And the King shall answer and say unto them, 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.And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.
5 sermons cite this verse
… but this is how the parable begins, and it's in Matthew chapter 25, verses 31 through 46. If you have your Bible, turn there. and Jesus says this, when the Son of Man, remember that's what he called himself, when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory and all the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Now he's going to send the goats away. He's going to say, you have no part with me and he's going to send them away, but he's going to invite the sheep to join him. And when he invites the sheep to join him, and when he welcomes them into his kingdom, he says this, I was hungry and you gave me food. …
… wherever you may be. Merry Christmas. Let's talk today about Jesus in the small things. In Matthew 25 40 it says, truly I tell you whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine you did for me. Today before the music rises, before the lights get brighter before the story of Christmas unfolds again, I want to invite us to slow down. Because Christmas isn't loud to Jesus. It's not rushed. It's not about the biggest moment in the room. Jesus has always been found in the small. And if we are not careful, we can celebrate the story of Jesus while missing the presence of Jesus. Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me. I want you to think about something. What's striking about this passage is that Jesus doesn't say, when you sang about me, when you posted about me, when you gathered in my name. He says, when you noticed, when you stopped, when you served, when you showed compassion in places others walked past. …
… Truly, I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers and my sisters, you did it to me. That's from Matthew chapter 25 verse 40. You know my friends the kingdom of God is not like kingdoms of this world because you see worldly kingdoms are built on power and privilege and prestige but the kingdom of God is built on humility service and self-giving love. The very structure of God's reign flips the world upside down. Jesus reveals this paradox when he tells his disciples, listen, the greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled and all who humbled themselves will be exalted. Matthew chapter 23 verses 11 through 12. So in today's passage in Matthew, what I just read, Jesus gives us this startling truth. The king himself identifies with the least. I want you to hear that. Jesus identifies with the least Not with the puffed up Not with the princes and the kings Not with those with the most money Not with those who we elevate in positions But he identifies with the least of them Because he says what you do to them It's like you do it to me He does not say he is found in the palaces of emperors But in the hungry child He does not say he is enthroned in marble halls, but in the prisoner's cell. …
Or when saw we thee sick or in prison and came unto thee? And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as you've done it unto the least of these my brethren, you've done it unto me. Here are people who've been serving the Lord, doing acts of kindness. They're not keeping a record. As a matter of fact, they don't have it in their books. They say, Lord, when was that? When were you thirsty and I gave you something to drink? When were you naked? I gave you clothes. When were you in prison? And I visited you. You know, if we were to pay ourselves, if we were to keep the books, we might overpay ourselves sometimes and underpay ourselves sometimes. Sometimes what we think is the most incidental thing, if it's done out of loyalty, God blesses. I told you a while back about a letter I received from a man. He said, forgive me for taking so long to write this letter, but I want to tell you how God used you in my life. …
… and came unto thee? And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as you've done it unto the least of one of these my brethren. You've done it unto me.