“THE 7/25 PARALLEL: PUBLIC & PRIVATE DEEDS”
“THE 7/25 PARALLEL: PUBLIC & PRIVATE DEEDS”
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You as a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 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.’
Matthew 25:37-40 - NKJV
The Lord Jesus is indeed a captivating and enchanting figure. When He was here during His earthly ministry, His teachings amazed everyone, including those who were supposed to be the masters and academics. One of the most impressive marks left by our Lord, is how Jesus dealt and talked about reward or recognition for those who followed Him, especially regarding public and private deeds.
We can find a very provocative example of this in the 7th and 25th chapters of the evangelist Matthew.
What is intriguing about Matthew 7 is that the works supposedly done publicly by some, even “spiritualized tasks” - like prophesying, casting out demons and doing wonders, received a very hard reprimand from Jesus: “I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”
On the other hand, Matthew 25 shows a group of people who naturally, unpretentious and anonymously did things to others, and were very surprised when Jesus Himself complimented them, inviting those people into His Kingdom.
So what is the lesson here? I believe Jesus wanted to show that good works (for which we are called, according to Ephesians 2:10), and being nice to people has more to do with the intention of the heart than anything else. What drives Jesus’ heart is actually our motivation, the real intentions behind every deed we do. In a perfect world, the followers of Jesus would do both: the works of Matthew 7, in conjunction with those in Matthew 25. Nevertheless, even more important than our works, should be our desire to do what is right, whether publicly or privately, having in mind what really matters: Jesus’ opinion about it.
Wishing many blessings to you and your family!
Pastor Joshua