Jesus is wanting to restore fellowship and family within His Body! This is foundational and key to properly grow and mature in the Kingdom!
Jesus gave us two clear commands:
Matthew 22:37-39 (NLT)
“Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
The idea of neighbor has been taken to the external as evangelism and outreach in lieu of first building, caring and nurturing the internal first and foremost. There is mass dysfunction in the smaller families of the Lord and the lost can see it clearly!
It should follow the three steps below:
- Personal relationship
- Corporate relationship
- Evangelize the lost to bring them into a true functioning family
This scripture is used to support the “love your neighbor” as a push for outreach, although there is a truth to this, after much prayer and seeking I believe something big has been overlooked.
Matthew 25:35-36 (NLT)
“For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’”
We cannot overlook the precise words Jesus says here!
Matthew 25:40 (NLT)
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’”
“My brothers and sisters” aka the Brethren, the body of Christ.
Does scripture connect neighbors to those in the Body of Christ?
Ephesians 4:25 (NLT)
“So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.”
Let’s see it from yet another angle:
Philippians 3:20 (NLT)
“But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.”
So only those who are other citizens of heaven would truly be your neighbor, right?
And what did Jesus tell Peter?
John 21:15-17 (NLT)
“After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”
Feed His lambs, and tend and feed His sheep, and to be clear by doing this, all of what is said in Matthew 25 is covered!
I believe we are seeing the Lord come to cleanse His temple prior to His second coming. He is bringing correction and I see Him bringing back a Book of Acts church that began the church age to come again and bring it to a close.
Can we see a convergence taking place? Here we see Jesus’ rebuke to the first church age, that of Ephesus and notice what it says.
Revelation 2:4-5 (NLT)
“But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.”
Here we see Jesus’ rebuke to the last church age, the church of Laodicea.
Revelation 3:17 (NLT)
“You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.”
Interesting how Jesus' words here line up very close to what He said back in Matthew 25.
Matthew 25:35-36 (NLT)
“For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’”
The above is far more spiritual than natural and the answer to all of them isn’t materialistic stuff, it’s JESUS!!!
Hungry - needs food = Jesus the Bread
Thirsty- needs drink= Jesus the Living Water
Stranger- needs a home= Jesus the Spirit of Adoption
Naked- needs clothes= Jesus the Redeemer
Sick- needs healing= Jesus the Healer
Prison- needs freedom= Jesus the Deliverer
Remember Jesus didn’t send the disciples with stuff in order to evangelize, He sent them with the Gospel message, Power and Authority!
Luke 9:1, 3 (NLT)
“One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. “Take nothing for your journey,” he instructed them. “Don’t take a walking stick, a traveler’s bag, food, money, or even a change of clothes.”
In fact those who didn’t welcome the message didn’t get a bunch of free goodies either.
Luke 9:5 (NLT)
“And if a town refuses to welcome you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.”
And yet again Jesus follows the same pattern when he sends the larger group out.
Luke 10:4-12 (NLT)
“Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road. “Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay. “If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you. Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’ But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show that we have abandoned you to your fate. And know this—the Kingdom of God is near!’ I assure you, even wicked Sodom will be better off than such a town on judgment day.”
Jesus commends the sheep on His right that when they helped the least of them, that they did it to “Me”. Where else do we see Jesus use the word Me in reference to His Body?
Acts 9:4 (NLT)
“He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?””
Saul was persecuting those following Jesus, His Body!
We have to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches, scrap everything else and let God correct the dysfunction and begin building upon His ways!
Need to see it more?
1 John 3:11-19 (NLT)
“This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them. We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.”
James 2:14-16 (NLT)
“What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?”
Really read this and focus on the last statement!
Acts 2:42-47 (NLT)
“All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.”
We must get a hold of this!!!
Father forgive us, Holy Spirit help us, teach us, and give us the wisdom and strength to correct this shortcoming!!!