“The Least of These My Brethren”
Matthew 25:31-46
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Matthew 25:40 And the King will answer and say to them, “Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ our Lord… When we hear the Gospel reading for today, our natural reaction – the reaction of our Old Adam, our sinful nature – is to take it as a set of guidelines for what we should be doing so that Jesus will allow us into heaven. On one side of the judgment seat there are those who did charitable works toward Jesus, even though they did not know they were doing them for Him. And on the other side there are those who did not do charitable works toward Jesus, and they likewise were unaware of His presence in these brethren who were hungry or sick or naked or imprisoned. The first group is called the righteous, and they go into everlasting life. The second group is called the cursed, and they go away into everlasting punishment.
Therefore, our sinful human nature logically concludes that we must do more good works. We must do more to help the poor and the needy so that we will be counted worthy to enter heaven. It’s a constant temptation for us to take the Word of God and turn it into a list of requirements that we can fulfill so that we will be right with God. Inherent within us is the idea that we can save ourselves by our own goodness and acts of love. So we keep looking for spiritual checklists that we can fulfill: feed the hungry: check. Clothe the naked: check. Visit the sick: check. There, I’ve done my part. I’m being a true Christian now.
But that is not the approach which puts our faith in Christ. Quite to the contrary, that approach puts our faith in ourselves. It is not relying on God’s goodness and love; it is relying on our own goodness and love. And to do that is contrary to Christianity. Now let me be clear: we should be helping the poor and needy. We should be doing charitable works toward our neighbor. In fact, the Fifth Commandment requires that we help our neighbor in every bodily need. But the Commandments, of course, are God’s Law, and we do not rely on the Law to save us.
In our attempts to keep the Law, we often forget the most important commandment: that we are to have no other gods, that we are to fear, love and trust in God above all things. If we are doing good works in order to gain eternal life for ourselves and complete our checklists for God, is that really loving God? If we do deeds of charity so that we can feel good about having fulfilled our responsibility, is that really trusting in God? Or, could it be really that we lack faith in God by attempting to manipulate Him to get what we want? We need to guard ourselves from taking today’s Gospel reading as a list of the things we must do in order to earn our spot at Jesus’ right hand. That is precisely the attitude of those on His left.
This Gospel is not so much about good works as it is about faith in Christ. The focus is on Him and what He has done. Notice what Jesus says: “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” Jesus is not just talking about any old charitable deeds here, but ones done towards His brethren. And so we must ask, just who are the brothers of Jesus that are referred to here? St. Matthew would have us to understand that these brethren are in fact the preachers of the Gospel. And the difference between the sheep and the goats is whether or not they received Jesus’ brethren and believed the Gospel that these men proclaimed.
In Matthew’s account of the resurrection of Jesus, the angel at the tomb said to the women, “go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you” (Mt 28:7). The term “His disciples” refers to the 11 apostles – the 12 minus Judas. At Galilee, Jesus gave the command to these 11 brothers of His to “Go and make disciples of all the nations . . .” (Mt 28:19). They were to do this by baptizing and by teaching His words. Matthew 24 states that this Gospel of Jesus will be preached to all the nations, and then the end will come. “The brethren” in today’s Gospel, therefore, are clearly the apostles whom Jesus sent, and also all those after them who are in the apostolic office of the ministry, those to whom it has been given by Christ to baptize and preach the Gospel in His name to all the nations until He comes again.
Already in Matthew 10 (40) Jesus said to the disciples whom He sent out to preach, “He who receives you receives Me.” Jesus had bound Himself to them so that their words were His words. To welcome them was to welcome Christ Himself.
And so, Jesus says to the preachers of the Gospel still today, “He who receives you receives Me.” For such men are called and ordained by Christ to be His representatives and ambassadors. When a pastor says, “I forgive you all your sins . . .” he is not speaking for himself but in the stead and by the command of Christ. When a pastor says, “This is My body,” that is not his voice but Christ’s. The same thing is true of Holy Baptism. Martin Luther said, “To be baptized in God’s name is to be baptized not by men but by God Himself. Although it is performed by men’s hands, it is nevertheless truly God’s own act” (LC IV: 10).
We could rightly say that no baptism that takes place here was ever done by a pastor, but by Christ. For Christ was the one giving out the gifts of salvation in the water. The fellow whom Jesus uses to do that is really secondary; he’s covered up in robes to show that he represents not himself but the Lord. To receive a brother of Jesus, then – to receive a preacher of Christ – is to receive Christ Himself, not because of the merits of the minister but because Christ is truly present in the ministry of His words and sacraments for your salvation.
Having said that, let us again examine the scene in today’s Gospel. Jesus is seated on the throne of His glory for the final judgment. All the nations are gathered before Him, all the nations to whom He sent His apostles and preachers to make disciples. It’s as if Jesus had said, “I have sent My brethren to you; I have sent My messengers of the Gospel. I have given them to be My mouth and hands, to speak My words and to shower on you My mercy and forgiveness and righteousness. You on My right have received them and their message. You have believed the Gospel, which was made known by your care for those who proclaimed it to you. You may not have been aware of it, but whatever you did for these My brethren who acted in My stead, even the least of them, you did for Me.”
“But you on My left did not receive my preachers or their message. You trusted in your own wisdom and works. You did not believe the Gospel, which was made known by your failure to show any regard for those who proclaimed it. You may not have been aware of it, but whatever you did not do for these My brethren who were acting faithfully on My behalf, you did not do for Me.”
That the brethren would be sick or hungry or naked or in prison was a very real possibility, particularly in the days of the apostles, though it certainly remains the case in every generation of this fallen and rebellious world. Jesus told the twelve, “I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves” (Mt 10:16). The Apostle Paul ended up in jail several times for his preaching. He spoke of sometimes having plenty and sometimes being in want. But He also gave thanks to God for those who received the Gospel and believed it faithfully, churches like the congregation in Philippi who on more than one occasion sent material aid to provide for his necessities.
So, you see, dear fellow redeemed, this passage is chiefly about those who embrace the Gospel of Christ and those who reject the Gospel of Christ. It is not primarily a call to do works of mercy. It is ultimately about faith in the Gospel of Christ and the concrete signs of that faith. This faith is brought to perfection on the Last Day, when the sheep seem blissfully unaware of the things they have done. For faith focuses not on one’s own deeds, but on the deeds of Christ. “When did we do all these things? All we did was believe the Gospel!” Faith forgets itself that it may forever remember and retain Christ and His eternal gifts.
Our Lord Jesus won those gifts for you by becoming needy in your place. He was weak and hungry in the wilderness. On the cross He said, “I thirst.” He Himself took your infirmities and bore your sicknesses in His own body on the tree. He was treated like a stranger even among His own people. He placed Himself into the bondage of your hellish prison so that He might burst the bars of your captivity from the inside out by His mighty resurrection.
Through faith in Christ you are set free from death and the devil; you are released from your sins; you are cleansed, and you are forgiven in Him. He made Himself to be the least of the brethren so that you might receive the greatest of His mercies. It is Christ who showed the truest and highest charity, paying with His own lifeblood to redeem you, that you might live in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. For Christ is risen from the dead; He lives and reigns to all eternity as your King and your Savior.
On the Last Day Jesus will certainly say these very words to you who believe, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” The Father has indeed blessed you by giving you the new birth of water and the Spirit into His heavenly family. You are now His sons and daughters in Christ. All that He has is yours. Christ has given you to share in His everlasting inheritance. And like any inheritance, it is not yours because you worked for it, but simply because you have been adopted into the family; it has been given to you. In fact, this inheritance was being prepared for you from the beginning of creation before you were even around. It is all a gift given to you through the merits of Christ.
Believe that Gospel. Trust in that promise. For just as Jesus will come on the Last Day with all His holy angels, so also He comes “with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven” to bring you His kingdom in the Sacrament of His body and blood which we receive today and every Lord’s Day. Come, you blessed of the Father, receive the kingdom; receive the King.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
