This is serious business, so as I dove deeper into this passage, this is
what I discovered. That for each physical representation there is a spiritual
representation as well.
(v.35) For I was
hungry and you gave me something to eat
Each one of us as people are spiritually hungry, we are
looking for our souls to be at peace and in
Matthew 4:4 Jesus has the answer for that very problem. “Man does not live on bread
alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
As Sheep
(Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:
We need to feed others by speaking the word of God to those who are spiritually
hungry.
We all are looking for something that will fulfill that part
of us that seems to never be satisfied; thirst. Once again Jesus has the answer
in John 4:14 “But whoever drinks the
water I give him will never thirst.
Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water
welling up to eternal life.” Then in
John 7:37-39 “If anyone is thirsty, let
him come to me and drink. Whoever
believes in me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow
from within him. By this he meant the
Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.”
As
Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:
We need to supply drink; offer the everlasting water, relationship with Jesus to others.
(v.35) I was a
stranger and you invited me in
Beyond physical hospitality is the spiritual meaning;
evangelism. When Jesus, as a
representation of others, in this verse says that he was a stranger and we
invited him in suggests that he wasn’t apart of the group that we are a part of;
that is the body of Christ. Evangelism is inviting others into the
family of Christ. Matthew 12:50 speaks of family, “For whoever does the will of my Father in
heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Mark 16:15 the will of God is
clear, “Go into all the world and preach
the good new to all creation.”
As
Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:
We need to invite everyone around us, letting them know that they are welcome to come
into the family of Christ.
(v. 36) I needed
clothes and you clothed me
Just as equally important to have physical clothing for our
bodies is to be spiritually clothed in mercy and to clothe others around us in
mercy as well. In Luke
6: 27-36, generosity is the vehicle
to clothe others in mercy. 27 “But to you who are
listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,28 bless those who curse
you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the
other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from
them. 30 Give
to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not
demand it back. 31 Do
to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even
sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you,
what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those
from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners
lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies,
do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.
Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most
High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just
as your Father is merciful.
As
Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:
We need to extend mercy through generosity to others around us.
(v. 36) I was sick
and you looked after me
All of our souls are sick and need Jesus as our healer
according to Mark 2:17 which states, ‘“On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy
who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but
sinners.”’
As Sheep (Believers and
Followers of Christ) here’s our part:
Plain and simple, we need to care about the condition of
one another’s hearts and our sin-struggles.
Much like a physician we need to lovingly tend to the aid of one another’s struggles offering
Jesus as the cure.
(v. 36) I was in
prison and you came to visit me
We are all prisoners to sin until we allow Jesus to start
working freedom. In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus quotes the book of
Isaiah, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has
anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
As
Sheep (Believers and Followers of Christ) here’s our part:
We cannot reject others that have not come into
relationship and freedom with Christ and live in a Christian bubble. We need to reach out and love everyone around us.
So in the end, which group will you find yourself in? Which group are you in now? It’s not too late to make a change speaking
the Word of God, offering relationship with Jesus, inviting everyone, extending
mercy, reaching out in love.
