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 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."

In Jesus' Name,
Dearly Beloved,

There is comfort for sinners in the picture Jesus paints for us of the Last Day when we will stand before Him as those who must appear before a Judge. Comfort for those who fear that Day; comfort for those who have no merits of their own to claim, no great response to Jesus to boast of or to trust in. "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You?"

For those with just sins to confess on That Day, nothing else, nothing more; whose only boast can be, on that Day, or on any other day, the life Jesus lived for them, then laid down for them, on the cross, to erase our guilt and shame, to purchase our forgiveness and redemption—for those with no other faith, or confidence, than this: the Good Shepherd, Who laid down His life for the sheep. Baptized into that; living from it's preaching; consuming and trusting it at the altar of His Holy Supper.

Well..."There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." That is why you and I, says St. Peter, are—according to promise—looking forward to new heavens and a new earth. We are looking forward to this, because our eyes are not on ourselves, what we have earned or deserved. Our eyes are on what Jesus has earned, what Jesus has deserved. Because our eyes are on Jesus, Who suffered and died for us, for all, upon the cross. "Sinless in the sinner's stead." "For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father."

We honor the Son, we honor Jesus, when we believe Him, when we trust that He suffered and died for us on the cross, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God—now, and on the Last Day. We honor Jesus by trusting that He died on the cross and then rose again so that He could give heaven to people like us, who do not deserve it. We honor the Son, Jesus, when we believe and trust that He does NOT WANT to give heaven as a reward for our good works, our behavior, but ONLY as the free gift His cross promises us.

So, rehearse your lines. Jesus gives you the script, here. "Lord, when did we see You down and out, in need of us and our love and good works, and we came through for You?" "Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me."

The goats, on the other side, have their eyes fixed squarely on themselves. There's God on one side, there's them on the other, and in between the two—there's this great response of theirs, something they can boast of, and defend if they must. "Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did NOT minister to You?" So confident. So sure. So..proud.

"I never knew you." You may have out-shined all the other sheep, but you did not out-shine this: "Inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me." There was at least one you missed, one you failed, one you did not get to, and I tell you—that was Me. "Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels."

This is why you and I must pray to God that He would teach us to repent, to turn away from ourselves, from being so sure of ourselves, trusting in who we are and all we do, content with that. God isn't content with that. Not when He's looking at us. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." "There is no one who is righteous, no not one." "We are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are like filthy rags."

When the Judge is looking at us, evaluating what we've done, basing His judgment on who we are, all we'll get is: "Inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me." However—according to His promise, when the Judge is Jesus, looking at Himself, at His own life, and cross, and Promises, all we'll get is: "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." That's grace, setting aside His judgment, calling us His. That's God's mercy, calling our works good. That's God's salvation, twice over. That's Jesus.

Now, let these words right here, promising such gospel, such hope and life, not only call us to faith today, but also to repentance: "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." Jesus would have us to honor Him in those He has placed around us. What we do to them, we do to Him.

"But, pastor, you don't understand. There are just some people in my life who don't deserve me being there for them, all nice and kind. They're not worth the trouble, giving so much of myself to help them. They don't appreciate me like they should, all the effort, the sacrifice. They never respond the way they should. They just go on proving their stripes, showing themselves sinners, failing to do for me as I've done for them, so ungrateful, so." "Yeah, right there!" says Jesus. "Right there!" "That's it!" "That's what I'm talking about." "Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these My brethren, you have done it to Me."

Welcome to the club. My club. For that is how I love you. And, in case you have forgotten, that is how I save you, now—and how I promise to save you on the Last Day. Not because of YOU, and your great response to Me—which really isn't so great. Certainly not something to point to, or to try and defend before Me on the last day. No.

For your comfort and faith; to give you strength to live the life My Father has called you to, and given you, I save you--as an act of mercy. As pity. As grace. Gained for you by My cross. Promised and given you by My Word, in My Washing, and in My Holy Supper. In spite of you. Aside from you. Without any help or contribution from you -- I save you. And call you Mine. And give you the inheritance My Son earned for you Himself.

I save you because Jesus fed the hungry, and gave drink to the thirsty; I save you because Jesus clothes the naked, and takes the stranger in, and visits the sick and imprisoned. And I clothe you now in all of that, in that garment of His righteousness, in Holy Baptism. I cover you with the garments of salvation every time I call you to My Supper, and say over you and all your failures at love, over all your sins: "Take, eat; take, drink; My Body, My Blood, for you, for the forgiveness of sins."

Dear God,
Grant us to believe this. To trust in this. To look only to Your Son, Jesus, for confidence and certainty on the Last Day. And, as You give us, God, to trust and believe in this,

Dear God,
For the sake of Your glory and the good of those You have placed around us, give us also the grace now to live this.

In Jesus' Name.
Amen