Gene’s Daily Scriptural Postings

Jesus’ Brothers: Matthew 25:31-46

Focus Passage: Matthew 25:31-46 (HCSB)

Every so often, as I am studying, a word or phrase jumps off the page at me, and in our passage for today’s journal entry, as I read through Jesus’ teaching, a single word jumped out at me that I had never noticed before.

As the King is responding to the “sheep” on His right, and how they ask Him when did they see Him hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, in prison, or without a place to stay, He says the following phrase in verse 40: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.”

The word that jumped off the page as I was reading this is the word “brothers”.

Often we think of God the Father as the one sitting on the throne as King, but God the Father has no “brothers”. However, Jesus did have actual brothers, because He came to earth and was born into a young family. When Jesus returned to heaven following the resurrection, He was lifted up as King.

This means that Jesus is the one sitting on the throne as a judge. This is something that other passages in the New Testament shed light on, but I had never noticed that it is clearly pointed to in Jesus’ words in this passage.

I believe Jesus also uses the word “brother” to help draw our attention to helping each other out in humanity. God and/or angels are not going to sneak down to earth to test us and see if we will be kind to them directly. By using the word “brother”, millions if not billions of opportunities open up as everyone is connected under the umbrella of the human race.

So instead of judging or looking for ways that excuse us from helping someone in need, how would we act if we saw that person as Jesus’ brother or sister? Jesus is a brother to everyone in humanity, and by helping the brothers of Jesus who are in need, we are actually able to help Jesus, the one who sits on the throne as King.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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