STUDY 6: HELP THE HELPLESS
Matthew 25:14-46
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by
my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you
gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and
you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you
came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did
we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when
did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And
when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will
answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my
brothers, you did it to me.’ (Matthew 25:34-40)
In considering the Old Testament (OT) principle of tithing, we have continued
to discuss what this means for us as the people of God today. We concluded that
if we are truly amazed by God’s grace freely given to us in Christ then we will
generously go beyond the norm in our support of spreading that amazing grace
to others. And so, in continuing the conversation concerning our generosity, we
are now starting to examine specifically where our giving ought to be going.
In our last study, we discussed how truly ‘giving back to God’ is at the very least
supporting the spread of the gospel and sharing God’s amazing grace in the
name of Christ. Therefore, we determined that we as God’s people today are to
ultimately support God’s gospel “shepherds” and to also help the helpless in the
name of Christ and His Kingdom.
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That being said, in our last study we looked at what Scripture says concerning
the support of gospel shepherds. So now we turn our attention to what
Scripture has to say about helping the helpless in the name of Christ.
In one of His great discourses recorded in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus shares a
parable of three servants who were entrusted with various amounts of “talents”
given to them by their Master. Two of these servants take what they’ve been
given and produce greater wealth for their Master while the other servant simply
buries what was given to him and produces nothing with it in return. Upon the
Master’s return, He commends the first two servants for their faithfulness but
condemns the third servant for his slothfulness. The Master declares, “you ought
to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have
received what was my own with interest” (Matthew 25:27).
Now, what are we to learn from this parable? Is Jesus here laying out a financial
principle that He expects all of His people to follow? Should we be investing as
much money as possible in hopes of earning the greatest return possible to then
later give more back to God? And would a low interest savings account or
hidden money under a mattress be a sign of slothfulness and worthy of hell?
Well, as much as this parable certainly provides some wisdom concerning
financial principles and how we ought to handle the money God’s entrusted to
us, there is a greater principle being taught in this parable that becomes clearer
as we examine the context of where this parable finds itself in Scripture.
In the entire previous chapter (Matthew 24), Jesus has been teaching the way in
which He is establishing His Kingdom now before His ascension and will one
day consummate His Kingdom at His return. Throughout chapters 24-25, Jesus
is laying out the implications of His “Already But Not Yet” Kingdom.
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The main application that keeps being repeated for those of us living in the
reality of Christ’s “Already But Not Yet” Kingdom is the command to “be ready”
(v. 24:44) and to be a “faithful and wise servant whom the Master has set over
His house” (v. 24:45). In the midst of this discourse, Jesus uses three parables in
succession to drive home this application (v. 24:45-25:30), and then He
concludes this discourse by describing what His return will be like for those who
were faithful in His absence and for those who were not (v. 25:31-46).
Therefore, as we attempt to understand the parable of the talents, we come to
realize that the primary principle being taught here is our responsibility as
Kingdom people to live in anticipation of our King’s return by being productive
with the time, energy and resources that He has entrusted to us. Faithfulness is
not simply a matter of trying really hard not to mess up. Faithfulness entails
active and responsible service to do what our Lord expects us to be doing.
So, that being said, could active and responsible service when it comes to our
money be the commitment to pursue financial investments with solid returns?
On some level, yes. However, our Lord gives us a more precise definition of the
type of active and responsible service He expects in v. 25:34-40.
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed
by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was
thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I
was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in
prison and you came to me.’(Matthew 25:34-36)
Faithfully investing in the lives of people always guarantees a fruitful return.
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As Christ’s servants currently set over His household and entrusted with certain
amounts of resources, we are to invest a great deal of our money into actively
and responsibly helping the helpless among us.
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)
When we are able to meet the obvious needs of a brother or sister in Christ and
yet choose not to, we are playing the part of the “wicked and slothful servant” in
our Lord’s parable. We might find ourselves reasoning like that unfaithful
servant saying to ourselves, “If I spend time and money investing in this person’s
need then I almost certainly will receive no personal gain in return. And if this
person takes advantage of my investment then I would have technically lost the
money that God has entrusted to me.” Therefore, we might conclude like that
unfaithful servant that the best response is no response at all. We might
persuade ourselves to avoid the risks of any loss whatsoever and play it safe
choosing to do nothing of any real value with what God has entrusted to us.
In the context of our Lord’s warning at the end of His discourse, those who are
considered faithful servants worthy of entering into His Kingdom are those who
devoted their lives here in this life to helping the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger
and those in great need. To be clear, we will enter the Kingdom not on account
of helping the helpless but on account of our transformed heart which is
evidenced by our desire and devotion to help the helpless. Those who truly
belong to Christ realize that caring for “the least of these” is the equivalent of
caring for Christ Himself. In contrast, those who will not enter into His
Kingdom are those like the slothful servant who have not necessarily sinned in
their actions but rather sinned in their inaction. To be sure, helping the helpless
is the inevitable heartbeat of someone truly transformed by the gospel of Christ.
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Our Lord reveals a startling reality that a heart lacking a desire to help the
helpless among us is a heart that is ultimately lacking the transformation
necessary to enter into His Kingdom. Faith without fruitfulness essentially
proves itself to be faithlessness.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have
works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and
lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed
and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is
that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
(James 2:14-17)
Our Lord even encourages active service to “the ungrateful and the evil”.
“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners
love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to
those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even
sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies,
and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be
great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful
and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:32-36)
Therefore, as those truly transformed by God’s amazing grace, we ought to be
actively and responsibly going beyond the norm in our support of spreading
that amazing grace to others by investing our money to help the helpless.
So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to
those who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:10)
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