Holy Week - Follow the Final Steps of JesusSample

Serving starts with seeing...

Tuesday:

After a long day in Jerusalem calling out the deception of the Pharisees and lamenting over the city, Jesus and his disciples headed back to Bethany. As they sat on the slopes of the Mount of Olives, his disciples addressed him privately with a pressing question “What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Jesus answered with what is commonly known as the Olivet Discourse, a long explanation of what is to come, mixed with parables to teach his disciples, and us, what to expect.

Jesus’s discourse from Matthew 24:1-25:46 is thick with meaning and many theologians have drafted valuable commentary. But today, in our short time together, I want to take us to the end, Jesus’s conclusion of this important conversation.

“Then they also will answer, saying, ‘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?’ Then he will answer them saying, ‘Truly I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’” (Matt. 25:46)

Jesus reminded his disciples that while they waited and watched for his return, they should not neglect the least of these. Serving is how we wait well. When we serve the hungry, stranger, naked, or sick, we are furthering the kingdom, ushering it in bit by bit, one small action at a time, as we wait for its full reveal in the coming of Jesus.

How can you serve the least of these today? Serving starts with seeing. Who around you is in need of resources, kindness, or the simple reminder that they aren’t forgotten? Jesus spent his last days reminding us of this beautiful truth: when we love the least of these, we love Him.