and gave thee drink? (38) When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? (39)
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? (40) 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. (41) Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: (42) For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I
was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: (43) I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me
not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. (44) Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw
we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
(45) Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of
these, ye did it not to me. (46) And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into
life eternal.‖
In Y‘shua‘s day, Palestine was full of poverty, hunger, illness, people forced into a life of crime, ―country-
bumpkins‖, and the like. The same He viewed as a potential harvest! His concern for the underdog, the
oppressed, the poor, the handicapped, abandoned, and abused is best seen in Matt 25:31-46.
In this passage of Scripture, Messiah is telling His disciples (then and now) about that day ―When the Son of
Man [Messiah] comes [the 2nd time] in His glory, and all the angels with Him‖ and sits ―on His glorious
throne‖ as King and Judge over all the nations of the earth. Notice in this passage that there is no mention of
believing in His Messiahship, of fulfilling the Law of Moses, or of being a ―faithful Christian‖ or a ―devout
Jew‖-Messianic or otherwise. Instead, His concern is about: ―Did you give the hungry something to eat?‖ ―Did
you give the thirsty something to drink?‖ ―Were you kind to strangers (even ―strange‖ ones)?‖ ―Did you clothe
those who needed it?‖ ―Visit the sick and imprisoned?‖ ―Help the widows?‖ ―Provide for the orphan?‖
During His first coming, Y‘shua did not just ―preach‖ and ―save souls‖. He healed and fed people, too. He
shunned no one. Denied no one. He touched lepers; fed strangers; reached out to ―bag-ladies‖, and hob-
knobbed with the ―low-life‘s‖. Hookers and the party crowd found in Him a kind of ―city of refuge‖. Pagans
saw a new and living hope. He ate with sinners and attended their parties. The self-righteous labeled Him ―a
glutton and a derelict‖! He lifted the bruised and the crushed. Gave hope to the hopeless. And more! In fact,
Y‘shua offered His help as far as the curse was found! He did not just ―minister to their souls‖. He blessed
everyone He came in contact with in some way, shape or form!
But why did He befriend the riffraff, the hookers, the tax-collectors, uneducated farmers, fishermen, and
pagans? After all, there were so many ―good‖ and upstanding people in Palestine, too. He did it in their own
best interests!
All right – so what are we, the Body of Messiah, supposed to do today? the very same thing! We are to
continue the work of Messiah as the Body of Messiah. Look around...what did we miss?
(15) ―If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them,
(16) ―Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their
body, what use is that?‖ (James 2:15-16)
And again, 1 John 3:17-18 tells us: ―(17) But whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need
and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? (18) Little children, let us not love
with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.‖ Let me put it his way: anyone who says that he or she
knows YHWH, and does not translate that knowledge into acts of kindness and benevolence towards others
is a hypocrite – plain and simple. And hypocrites ―will have their share in the lake of fire which has been
prepared for the devil and his angels‖.
If you, who have accepted Y‘shua as your Saviour expect that Solo Fide (faith alone) will make you ―worthy
of the Kingdom‖, you could be in for a big surprise!
―Faith, if it has not works, is dead...‖
―Show me your faith by your works...‖
―For a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone...as was Abraham.‖
―Just as the body is dead without the spirit, so also faith without works is dead.‖
In these references from James chapter 2, James is using ―your‖ and ―you‖ in a plural sense. He‘s
addressing a group – not individuals. That group is the Assembly of Messiah. The Assembly of Messiah is a
community, and it‘s social in action. It is not only ―salt‖, staying corruption. It is not only ―light‖, dispelling
darkness. But it is ―life‖ and ―life-giving‖, too. It‘s a society within a society for its redemption. It lives in the
surrounding community socially. And, it interacts with outsiders ―for their best interests‖.