How does welcoming strangers in Matthew 25:38 align with Jesus' overall ministry? Setting of Matthew 25:38 • In the parable of the sheep and the goats, Jesus lists six concrete acts of mercy. One of them: “When did we see You a stranger and take You in…?” (Matthew 25:38). • The King identifies personally with “the least of these brothers of Mine” (v. 40). Welcoming an outsider is, in His eyes, welcoming Him. Jesus consistently welcomed outsiders • Birth narrative: Magi from the east are among the first worshipers (Matthew 2:1-12). • Calling fishermen, tax collectors, zealots—diverse, unlikely disciples (Matthew 9:9-13; Mark 3:13-19). • Eating with “tax collectors and sinners” (Luke 5:29-32). • Ministering to Gentiles: the Roman centurion (Matthew 8:5-13), the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:21-28). • Crossing cultural lines with the Samaritan woman (John 4:4-42). • Inviting Himself into Zacchaeus’s home: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). • Parable of the good Samaritan makes the despised foreigner the hero and model of neighbor-love (Luke 10:25-37). His teaching reinforces the call to hospitality • Greatest commandments: love God and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). • Old Testament foundation: “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love him as yourself” (Leviticus 19:34). • Kingdom vision: “Many will come from the east and west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Matthew 8:11). • Final commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Theological threads that tie it together • Incarnation: “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us” (John 1:14). God Himself crossed the ultimate divide to dwell with those far off. • Identification: Whatever is done “for one of the least of these” is done for Christ (Matthew 25:40). • Redemption plan: Jews and Gentiles become “members of God’s household” (Ephesians 2:19). • Evidence of saving faith: “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). Works do not earn salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9) but flow from it (v. 10). New-covenant practice • “Share with the saints who are in need. Practice hospitality” (Romans 12:13). • “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers” (Hebrews 13:2). • “Show hospitality to one another without complaining” (1 Peter 4:9). Living it out today • View every newcomer, refugee, or outsider as someone Christ values. • Open homes and church fellowships to those who have no spiritual or social family. • Support missions and local outreach that cross cultural and socioeconomic barriers. • Remember that welcoming strangers displays the gospel: we were once “strangers and foreigners,” now welcomed into God’s family (Ephesians 2:19). |
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