Verse of the Day 9/27

Matthew 25:40 "And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'  New Living Translation (NLT)

In yesterday's verse we noticed that God takes notice of those who provide a cup of water, offering  refreshment to those who are in need, especially among fellow Christians.  In today's passage from Matthew 25 Jesus is coming at this from a slightly different angle.  It is in response to a question about "when did we see you" in need.  Once again, Jesus response shows that God the Father takes notice, and not only that, He is saying that what you do towards others is as if it were doing it for Jesus.

It should also be noted that this response was to those on His right, (v.34) to other disciples.  It is something that should be common among "brothers", among Christians.  The Message puts it in somewhat more sobering terms when it states "I'm telling the solemn truth".  The passage deals with separating the sheep from the goats, His sheep being the true followers.  In essence the sobering truth is that doing these acts of kindness, of good works to those in need is what separates the true followers to those doing lip service, talking a good game, following the rules but ignoring the weightier matters of the faith.

As with many other of Jesus' "I tell you the truth" statements it is sobering indeed.

Matthew 25:45-46The Message (MSG)

⁴⁵ "He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.'

⁴⁶ "Then those 'goats' will be herded to their eternal doom, but the 'sheep' to their eternal reward."

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Matthew 25:40The Message (MSG)

^37-40 "Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'