Let These Sayings Sink Down Into Your Ears: For The Son Of Man Shall Be Delivered Into The Hands Of Men - Part 1918

Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungred and you gave Me meat. I was thirsty and ye gave Me drink. I was a stranger and ye took Me in. Naked, and ye clothed Me. I was sick and ye visited Me. I was in prison and you came to Me. (Matthew 25:34-36)

Matthew 25 contains a powerful message for those who will listen with their hearts. Here was Jesus teaching to the multitudes about the ultimate gift of salvation. The endless blessings that fall upon those who love Him. Believers in Jesus whose hearts desire the Word. Herein, the Lord Jesus was likening His teachings to the kingdom of heaven and eternal life. Jesus elaborates on the parable of the ten virgins and later, the parable of the talents --"For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance ... but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." (Matthew 25:29)

"For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath." (Matthew 13:12)

"No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covers it with a vessel, or puts it under a bed; but sets it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seems to have." (Luke 8:16-18)

But I digress. The Lord Jesus continues, telling the multitudes -- the blessed of His Father -- to come. "Come, "He says. Come to the one that loves you so much and you will inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. "For I -- [your Lord God] -- was an hungred and you gave Me meat. I was thirsty and ye gave Me drink. I was a stranger and ye took Me in. Naked, and ye clothed Me. I was sick and ye visited Me. I was in prison and you came to Me."

But the righteous in the crowds were unable to grasp the essence of Jesus' message. Instead, they answer the King saying, "Lord, when did we see Thee an hungred and fed Thee? Or thirsty and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? Or naked, and clothed Thee? Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison and came unto Thee?" You see, in the minds and hearts of the righteous, they had completed all that was required of them to earn their salvation. The righteous had performed good works. They lived good lives in their own eyes. They had lived their lives according to the letter of the law.

But obviously their contributions were not enough. For Jesus said, "And the King shall answer and say unto them, "Verily, I say unto you. Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me." In other words, all of their/our worldly contributions miss the point. Here was Jesus -- the Lord of Glory -- wanting to give them the kingdom too and yet, the righteous -- as described in the parable -- were not willing to give their Lord God and Saviour their hearts.

The righteous were not willing to press in to touch the hem of His garment like the woman with the sickness for twelve years. They weren't quite willing to say, "Lord Jesus, here I am -- I am yours." Or, mould me Jesus into the person You intended me to be for You are the potter Lord and I am the clay.

So instead, as Jesus shares in Matthew 25:41, the king says unto them on the left hand, "Depart from Me, ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels." Essentially, Jesus was saying, "My desire is to give you the kingdom and yet, you don't see My love for you. You don't understand that I -- Jesus -- grew the tree that was destined to become the cross at Calvary."

So much here to understand, but if we choose not to learn from Jesus' message herein, we miss eternal life. And even though hell (eternal damnation) was never intended for God's beloved creation, we will end up there when we don't look to Jesus for our all in all. As we say here, stand in the offering plate. Love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and in everything we do, let all the glory and praise and honour be unto Him.

This may explain why Jesus repeats these scriptures for a second time -- to catch our attention and to hone in on the importance of becoming that flow through of His love to others.

Therefore, the message for us today is to be not as the righteous. Rather, instead to rejoice in Jesus' abundant love. Bask in His grace and goodness today. Pour the expensive ointment on your Lord and Saviour like the woman with the alabaster box of very precious ointment in Matthew 26. Why? Because Jesus - the very same God who created us in the beginning -- who willingly became flesh and shed His precious holy blood for our sins -- loves us so much that He wants to give us the kingdom. (John 1:10-11; I Timothy 3:16; Matthew 1:21-23; Isaiah 9:6; Revelation 1:8)

Jesus wants to give us meat so that we are not hungry and sufficient drink should so that we will never thirst again. He desires to take us in and clothe us and release us fully from the worldly prisons that keep us bound. Most of all, Jesus wants to visit with us and confirm that we can rest in His grace and mercies forever.

Taste and see that the Lord is good. Know that this same Jesus whom ye crucified in your heart is both Lord and Christ. Know His love that stretches beyond what we can even see or understand, and yet He desires to give us life. His hope and peace and joy within our hearts, so that we can withstand the whims and trials of this earth.

For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever, amen.

Stand in the offering plate.