On Jesus Making the Most of the Least of These
On Jesus Making the Most of the Least of These.
** This article contains many film clips from “The Chosen” that dramatize much of what I am trying to say. If you don’t want to take the time to read this article, which is fine, then please feel free to watch these film clips. You won’t regret it. **
“For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you made Me your guest, I needed clothes and you covered Me, I was sick and you took care of Me, I was in prison and you visited Me… I am telling you the absolute truth, so take this to heart! Whenever you did these things for one of the least of these brethren of Mine, you did them for Me!” (Jesus’ complete parable of the Sheep and the Goats is found in Matthew 25:31-46).
Head on a Swivel. “Cmon, Larson, you’ve got to keep your head on a swivel!” I heard those words from every basketball coach I had, because that was my job as the point guard… to be aware of where everybody was on the court at all times, teammates as well as opponents. My eyes had to remain wide open at a high level of mental alertness, with constant awareness of how best to run the offense or read the defense. And so goes the life of all Christ-followers.
Teaching With The Chosen: Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, Matthew 25:31-46
“At the Last Judgment, it is our eyes that will be judged first. For in Matt. 25:44, the accused reply, ‘When did we see you hungry or thirsty or naked or sick?’ The first commandment of brotherly love is eye control.” (Rev. Helmut Thielicke).
Learn to See. When the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us, one of His first orders of business is to transform our eyes, our vision, how to truly see. As believers acquiring the mind of Christ, the Spirit is intent on giving us the eyes of Jesus, who didn’t miss a thing. He had what trained trackers call wide-angle view, or the “relaxed vision,” and literally saw the big picture of what was around Him at all times. He also was able to zero in and focus on the individuals and their needs. Nothing escaped the notice of the Messiah during His ministry, or now, for that matter, as He sits at the right hand of the Father. And the Son shares the same eyesight as the Father, who doesn’t miss a thing either. God has His head on a swivel every second of the day and night. Our God is a God who sees.
Two Ways to See. In the Bible, there seem to be two ways to see: to physically see with one’s eyesight; and to spiritually see, to understand, to perceive. To spiritually see is to notice, focus, think about, discern, and understand. It appears that God created us with physical eyes that have straight lines north to the brain and south to the heart. They’re all connected. When we truly see something, it kicks our minds into gear to think about it, and it jolts our hearts to respond to what it is that we see. The Gospel writers went into great detail about how Jesus became deeply moved after seeing something that went directly to his heart. What Jesus saw greatly affected Him: from getting a gut punch after seeing a need and being filled with a compassion that was literally felt in the pit of His stomach; to a visceral emotional response that resulted in overwhelming anguish, being thoroughly terrified and suffering through an anxiety attack; to literally jumping with joy over what He has witnessed, filled with great gladness, ecstatically rejoicing with what He has seen.
“Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to Yahweh, who had spoken to her… El-Roi. She said, ‘You are the God who sees me.’” (Genesis 16:13).
Like Father, Like Son. The qualities of Jesus as seen in the gospels will be perfectly consistent with what we read of Yahweh in the Hebrew Bible. In essence, they are one and the same Persons. Their union is complete. Jesus is Yahweh with flesh on, Yahweh incarnate. One overlooked ability by God is the ability to see. It is impossible for God to be blind to the needs and joys of this world. He is always keeping a close eye on His creation. As goes Yahweh, so goes Jesus.
El-Roi in the Flesh. Just as with Yahweh God, nothing escapes the notice of Jesus. He has universal vision and particular vision. He can always see everything perfectly. He seems to have a special antenna always working for those in any kind of trouble, for any who are in need of God’s touch and attention. There are a number of passages in the gospels that prove this unerring ability of Jesus to observe His surroundings, and allowing His awareness to result in meeting those needs with compassion. We read a number of passages like this… “When the Lord saw her…” (Luke 7:13, the widow’s dead son); “When Jesus reached the spot He looked up...” (Luke 19:5, to Zacchaeus); “When Jesus saw him lying there...” (John 5:6, a severely crippled man); “When Jesus saw her weeping...” (John 11:33, Mary of Bethany); “When He saw the multitude...” (Matt. 9:36, the helpless crowds); “When Jesus saw the large crowd...” (Matt. 14:14, the feeding of the 5,000). Jesus saw everything there was to see, and then some. He saw the multitude, He saw the individual. He turned and saw two future disciples in John 1:37; He saw Nathanael in John 1:47; He saw the man born blind in John 9:1; He even had the ability while being tortured on the Cross to compassionately see His mother Mary and John in John 19:26. Nothing escaped His attention And Jesus had compassion for whomever He saw. This is what Jesus said as He looked over Jerusalem, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.” (Matt. 23:37). Yahweh’s eyes were always wide open. Jesus had the same set of eyes as His Father. Jesus is El Roi, the God who sees.
Open Eyes that Lead to Bearing Burdens. “Continue bearing each other’s heavy burdens. In this way you will be fulfilling the Torah’s true meaning, which is upheld by the Messiah Christ. Keep carrying one another’s overwhelming loads, and you will be truly obeying Christ’s Royal Law of Love. By your ongoing offer to stoop down and help shoulder one another’s crushing burdens, you will be completely submitting to the way Christ expects us to live.” (Galatians 6:2). The first step in bearing each other’s burdens is to be aware of them in the first place. Believers in Christ are expected to pay attention to those around them, eyes wide open, fully noting the well-being of those in their orbit. The important ministry of burden-bearing doesn’t even get off the ground until believers have gained the habit of awareness, possessing attention spans adequate to caring for others. The Christians who are most effective in burden-bearing are those who desire to showcase Christ’s compassion by developing the eyesight of Jesus.
No Margins. Jesus didn’t expect others to do something He didn’t do, and so it’s logical that Jesus spent His ministry caring for the Least of These. As Jesus was fleshing out His story of love, He never left anyone stranded out there on the margins. He pulled them into the center of the story’s text. Those nobodies who were considered the least important became somebodies as the center of His attention. Those who were ignored were embraced. Those who were needy had their needs met. Those who were considered untouchable were literally touched by Jesus, skin-to-skin. Those who were treated as outside of God’s mercy were brought into His “in crowd.” Those who were not worthy of serious attention received first-class service. With Jesus, the rejected found acceptance, the pushed aside were pulled into His orbit, the unclean were purified, the insignificant became the most important. With Christ, everyone was worthy of compassion and TLC. Here are some examples of those gospel occasions when Jesus carefully tended to the Least of These:
(1.) The Sexually Sinful: A prostitute (at a Pharisee’s house – Luke 7); an adulteress (about to be executed at the Temple – John 8);
(2.) The Cheating Tax Collectors who Collaborated with the Enemy: Zacchaeus and Matthew – Luke 19; Luke 5;
Raising Jairus’ Daughter (Mark 5)
(3.) The Untouchable Dead Bodies: A young man and an even younger girl, resurrected by Jesus – Luke 7; Luke 8;
(4.) The Diseased and Isolated Lepers: Many examples, including a man with an advanced case in Matthew 8; the ten lepers in Luke 17; and the many other healings of lepers in Luke 5, Mark 1, Matthew 10, Luke 4, and Luke 7;
Jesus Heals the Leper (Matthew 8)
(5.) The Demoniacs: Many Examples, including demon-possessed men, women and children in Mark 1 and 9; Luke 1, 4 and 11; Matthew 8, 9, and 15; John 10;
Healed By Touching the Hem of His Garment (Luke 8)
(6.) The Unclean Woman with a Distressing Condition: The woman who had been bleeding for 12 years, whom Jesus called “beloved daughter” in Mark 5; Matthew 9; Luke 8;
(7.) The Half-Breed Samaritans: Many examples, including the woman at the well and her entire village in John 4;
(8.) The Religiously Rejected Gentiles: Many examples, including the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15 and Mark 7; the Roman Centurion in Luke 7 and Matthew 8; the crazed Gadarene demoniac in Matthew 8, Mark 5 and Luke 8;
(9.) The Public Sinners: Many examples, including being known as “the Friend of Sinners” – Matthew’s dinner with Jesus and the outcasts in Luke 15; Matthew 11; Matthew 9; and Mark 2;
Jesus Heals Mary Magdalene S1 Ep3 The Chosen “Golden Scene”
(10.) The Marginalized Women: Many examples, including the many women He honored and loved, such as Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna and many others who accompanied Jesus in Luke 8; Mary and Martha of Bethany in John 11; the “daughter of Abraham” and “dear woman” in Luke 13; the destitute widow in Luke 21; Peter’s mother in Mark 1, Matthew 8 and Luke 4; mother Mary throughout His life, especially at the Cross in John 19;
(11.) The Overlooked and Ignored Children: Jesus honored them in Matthew 18, Mark 9, and Luke 18;
Jesus Heals the Paralytic (Matthew 9) – YouTube
(12.) The Physically Disabled: Many examples, including the blind, the deaf, the mute, the paralyzed, the withered hand, the back bent over, epilepsy, and the man with dropsy… examples throughout the Gospels;
(13.) The Desperately Hungry Crowds: The multiplication of food: for the 5,000 people in Matthew 14, and for the 4,000 people in Matthew 15;
Jesus Heals Many – The Chosen #God #jesus #bible #christianity – YouTube
(14.) The Sick and Afflicted: Countless examples, as summarized in Matthew 4:23-24, “And Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So His fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought Him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures and paralytics, and Jesus healed them all.”
Jesus was indiscriminate in His ministry to the Least of These listed above. He was not shy about who He healed, touched, associated with, and He was definitely not particular or choosy. He fully understood the sacred importance of every needy person He met in His travels, and so He was remarkably assertive with His compassion. A divine distinctive in His ministry was that He loved to touch the untouchable, heal the chronically ill, minister to those who were long-forgotten. He literally embraced those who were overlooked, like women, children, or those who were considered unclean by the religious establishment. The perfectly Clean One was more than happy to connect with the unclean ones, those rejected by the religious leaders, those who were considered too impure to even worship in the Temple. The religious leaders were upset and befuddled by Jesus’ low standards in His social contact. Little did they realize that Jesus’ head was constantly on a swivel, for He was and continues to be El-Roi, the God who sees.