Jesus' InvitationsSample

The exclusive invitation

Remember those childhood birthday parties where only a few could be invited? There was both joy and sorrow in that moment. If you were invited, you felt honoured. But if your friend Susie wasn’t, it left a twinge of sadness. That mix of inclusion and exclusion captures something of the weight in Jesus’ words in this verse.

‘Come’ is not just a kind word – it’s a royal summons from the King to those who belong to Him. It’s not a general, open-ended invitation, but one spoken to those already marked as His own. Later in this passage, Jesus also says to others, ‘Depart from me’ (v41). There are only two outcomes. This verse is in the middle of a parable about the final judgement. Jesus, the Son of Man, returns in glory and separates all people, just as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. It echoes the Old Testament expectation of a day when God would judge the world, rewarding the righteous and punishing the wicked.

Jesus then described the kind of life that characterises those who are His: they are people who fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, welcomed strangers, clothed the naked, and visited the sick and imprisoned. These acts were not to earn favour but revealed love for Jesus, shown through love for His people.

For those who belong to Jesus, this verse is a promise of future joy and rest in His kingdom – an inheritance prepared not recently, but ‘from the foundation of the world’. That means it was always God’s plan to welcome His people home.

Written by QUYNH EASTMAN