Matthew 25:31-46
The Sheep and the Goats
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Luke 10:25-37
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Matthew 20:1-16
The First Will Be Last
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.
“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Matthew 20:20-28
Jesus Came to Serve
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
21 “What is it you want?” he asked.
She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 5:43-48
Love for Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Luke 18:9-14
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Jesus said that we are really a nation, a world, if not a community, of neighbors...Jesus wants us to be and teaches us to be a community of good and loving neighbors...It is very clear from His teachings, when others are down and out in our lives He expects us to act merciful to our neighbors as He did and does...The outcast was one He looked and looks after...The one who needs help, He serves...And not only are we a world of neighbors, His Kingdom is a neighbor and lives in fellowship...Everyone, the greatest, the least, the first, the last, the famous, those we have never heard of, the very popular, the least popular one, the very rich, and the poorest one -is a neighbor...
Jesus teaches us, When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with are with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne...All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a Good Shepherd separates the sheep from the goats...He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on His left...Then the King will say to those on His right, Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world...For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a Stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me...Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink?...When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe you?...When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?...The King will reply, Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me...Then He will say to those on his left, Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels...For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me...They also will answer, Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help You?’...He will reply, Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’...Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life...
Jesus in His Parable of the Good Samaritan says, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers...They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead...A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side...So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side...But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him...He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine...Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him...The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper...‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’...“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”...The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”...Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”...
The first will be last and the last will be first...Jesus did not come to be served by others, but to serve others...Jesus wants us to help the least in this world...
The hardest part for me in following Jesus is following each of His teachings...It is easy for me to tell someone or write that everyone is my neighbor, but it is hard for me to practice it...I am naturally cautious, a skeptic, and analytic of others...So it is very difficult for me to let the stranger in my house...It is very difficult to go to prison and visit someone there...It makes me nervous and anxious to be inside a prison...And I have overlooked many stranded motorists in my time while driving...None of these things I do are the right thing to do, in fact, they are the wrong thing to do...Many of His teachings are difficult for me to put into practice...Participating in this world as He teaches means treating everyone as my neighbor, including my enemies (for they are neighbors too)...He means everyone around us and beyond are neighbors...We are a world of neighbors...And in His Kingdom we will meet the least and those who needed mercy and help, and everyone there will be a neighbor...
I can only do as the tax collector who prayed...I will pray today and pound my chest, and ask my LORD and Savior to have mercy on me, I am a sinner...I thank Him for sending a Son who died on the cross for my sins...And as He was dying on the cross for me, I think, that is what my sins did to Him...