Rev. Don Campbell
THERE ARE NONE SO BLIND AS THOSE WHO WILL NOT SEE
This statement is often traced to the Middle Ages, but its roots go much deeper: “Listen, you foolish and senseless people, with eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear” (Jer 5:21). When the disciples asked Jesus why he spoke to the people in parables, he replied, “because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matt 13:13).
In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus gave the sheep and the goats. In judgment, the sheep were on his right, and the goats on his left. The phrase I wish to highlight is “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison (vv. 37-38, 44). The phrase was followed with “and minister to you” or “did not minister to you” (vv.40,45).
In the case of the sheep, his response was, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (v.40).
In the case of the goats, his response was, “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” (v.45).
The conclusion: “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (v.46).
This parable is not about (1) The nation of Israel and world politics, (2) humanitarianism or benevolence, (3) social injustice.
The parable is about believers doing what comes naturally for believers to do: LOVE ONE ANOTHER. “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).
“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers (1 John 4:20-21, NLT). But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? (1 John 3:17)
