One of Jesus’ most haunting messages is found in Matthew 25:31-46. His disciples ask in chapter 24 to know the signs and timing for his return at the end of the age.
The answers Jesus gives focus not on signs or timing but on how to live in light of his return. And the crescendo is found in his telling of how the gathered nations will be divided into two groups, referred to as sheep and goats, and judged for their actions.
Shockingly, it appears that many people who refer to Jesus as Lord in the story are caught completely unaware that their lives totally missed the mark.
What divides these two groups is how they respond to the hungry, thirsty, unclothed, sick and imprisoned. Worth noting is the final category of people, often translated as “strangers.” This Greek term literally means alien or foreigner (see Matt. 27:7; Acts 17:18,21; Eph. 2:12,19; Heb. 11:13). And what is true of everyone standing before Jesus is they don’t realize the gravity of their actions or inaction.
Perhaps, in this cultural moment, the words we need to be reminded of are “the least of these.” Jesus tells the multitude what they did or didn’t do for the various groups in need, specifically “the least of these brothers and sisters,” they also did or didn’t do for Jesus himself.
We are in a time in which it is so easy to be caught up in what my friend calls “Cable News Theology,” a worldview defined by the loud voices around us rather than by Jesus. One extreme of the political spectrum seems to have hijacked concerns like social justice for their own means and the other extreme seems to have demonized justice and caring for the most vulnerable. As we consider how to view those around us, we must be most concerned about what Jesus has to say rather than the loud voices.
As a group of around 220 churches, different from one another in our regional cultures and diverse to the point that we hold Sunday services in 12 languages, we are never going to see all things the same. We will always have unique viewpoints, opinions and cultural values. And that can be a strength.
However, we are also prone to view one another as “more” or “less” far more than we might want to admit. And that is where “the least of these” becomes a powerful phrase.
Who do I see as less? Is it the undocumented immigrant? A person of a particular social or economic status? Do I see people who think differently, act differently, vote differently or who have different needs as not worth my attention, effort and love?
It is worth the effort of answering the question, “Who do I see as somehow less?” Jesus clearly states that when we care for, feed, clothe and welcome those who we might overlook and be inclined to see as less, we do it for Jesus. And when we do overlook those we value less, Jesus says we overlook him as well.
Aaron Box began serving as the USMB national director in July 2024. Previously, Box served for 13 years as senior pastor of North Park Community Church in Eugene, Oregon. He has more than 20 years of ministry leadership experience. Box served on the USMB Leadership Board from 2014-2022 and has extensive volunteer experience leading in his local community. Box and his wife, Jennifer, have two children and reside in Eugene.
