Read Matthew 25:31-46.
Once upon a time, long, long ago, there was a King who wanted to establish a perfect kingdom of mercy, justice, and love. He often taught his people how they should live. He told them they would be blessed and happy if they were humble and merciful. He told them that if they worked together for a just and peace-filled society, their dreams would be fulfilled. He taught them to honor God by they way they lived. He taught them to be kind and generous to everyone, even to those who could not repay them, even to those who were unkind to them. He told them that the summary rule is to love other people exactly like you love yourself.
But this King didn’t just teach about love and mercy. He lived it. He was widely respected for his compassionate life. Even though he was King, he seemed always to notice those who were ignored by the others. He spoke to people with gentleness and respect, even the “worst” people and the poorest people. He personally bandaged the wounds of people who were sick. He personally helped poor people find jobs and start working again. He often gave his coat to someone who was without. He often shared his food with those who did not have enough, yet he never seemed to run out.
He told his people that the Kingdom he was establishing was built on these simple principles. He told them that if they would live this way, like him, the Kingdom he was describing would begin to take shape in their very lives. He said this perfect, amazing Kingdom would emerge all over the world if only his people would follow his example and live lives of simple, generous love for each other.
His people were very kind to him. They always treated him with respect and dignity. They were all glad to have such a wonderful King. When he spoke to them about the principles of his Kingdom, they all nodded their heads and agreed that this was a good way to live. Many of them even took sacred vows to live as people of the Kingdom, to live lives of mercy, justice and love.
However, the King wondered how his people acted when he was not around. He wondered what they did in the quiet, secret times when they thought no one important was watching. He wondered if his people were really living as people of his Kingdom.
One day, the King announced that he was leaving on a long trip. He gathered his people and told them to live according to the Kingdom principles of mercy, justice, and love. He challenged them to hold each person in high respect and to care for each other with glad and generous hearts. The people all agreed.
Then, the King left on his trip. However, he did not go to another land. The King left the palace and the city alone. He secretly changed into the clothes of a poor beggar1. He rolled in the dirt and rocks until he and his clothes were dirty and torn. Then, he toured his Kingdom dressed as one of the poorest beggars. He wanted to see for himself how well his people live out the Kingdom principles of mercy, justice, and love.
Some people treated him well and shared their food with him. Some people gave him water on hot days. Some people brought him a coat in the winter. Occasionally, a kind soul would invite the beggar King into his home to get out of the rain. He also made friends with the other beggars. They taught him how to search the trash heaps for food, and they shared what little they had with him.
But some people in his Kingdom treated him poorly. Many people looked down on his dirty body in disgust when they passed him begging in the streets. Many, many refused to drop even a coin into his outstretched hands. Some stood right next to him and pretended not to see him. Some spat on him. Some kicked him when he asked for food.
Eventually, he was even thrown into prison simply for being a beggar. When he was in prison, even there he refused to reveal his identity. This beggar King endured the cold, dark, moldy prison simply to understand how his people are treated. In that prison he caught a cold. The cold turned into a cough, and the cough turned into a serious sickness.
This prison was in a basement below the city courthouse in the center of town. He often stood on a box, leaning against the wall coughing, looking out the small, high window watching the feet of his happy, healthy, wealthy subjects walking by. How often he longed for one of them to come to him in the prison just to talk with him or to bring him a little medicine! But for months and months, no one came.
Then one day, one of his top advisors made a tour of the prison, to make sure that it was being run properly. This was one of his most trusted aids, and one who had joined him in explaining the principles of the Kingdom to the people. The beggar King was now very sick, and he stumbled to the bars as the official passed. Excitement rose within him. He thought that of all the people in his Kingdom, this good man would be the most likely to have pity on him. The official barely glanced at the King as he walked past his cell. The beggar King reached his dirty hand through the bars and grabbed the official’s coat. “Sir … sir … I am … sick. … I need … help.”
The official looked at him and paused thinking for a long time, as though he might actually recognize the King. Then, he shook his head and said, “I guess you should have thought of that possibility before you became a criminal. I don’t have time for people like you. The King is away, and I have important business to do.” And just like that, he left his own King coughing in a jail cell.
Finally, a kind young woman came to the prison carrying food, blankets, and a bag of medicine. She quietly tended to each prisoner. When she came to the beggar King’s cell, he could not even walk to the bars to meet her. She had the jailer unlock the door. She immediately wrapped him in a blanket. After a few hours of talking, some hot soup, and some medicine, the beggar King felt his strength returning. And the young woman had learned that the beggar King had committed no crime except that of being poor. She pled his case to the judge, and the judge released the beggar King from prison. The beggar King walked out of the prison leaning on her shoulders, and she nursed him back to health over the next few weeks.
When the King was healthy enough to walk for long distances again, he returned to his palace. He took a long hot bath. He shaved and got a haircut and a manicure. He put on his royal robes and wore cologne for the first time in a year. Finally, the King put on his glorious crown and walked to his throne. When he took his throne in all his Kingly glory, no one would have guessed that earlier in the year he had held out dirty hands begging for bread at the city market, or that he had followed the other beggars to search for food in the city trash heap, or least of all, that he had nearly died of sickness and neglect in the city prison. He looked fully and truly like a King for all the world to see.
When the King was firmly seated on his throne, he called all of the people from every part of his Kingdom to assemble before him. When everyone had gathered in the palace, the King walked through the crowd looking each person in the face. He gently touched each one and sent some to his left and some to his right.
When the entire crowd had been divided into two groups, the King said to those on his right, “Come! You are the people blessed by God. Come and share my Kingdom with me. I have been preparing it for you, and now it is yours to own and to occupy with me. You have proven yourselves to be true citizens of my Kingdom. You have proven that my words are in your heart. You have proven that your heart is a Kingdom heart. You have truly lived as people of mercy, justice, and love. I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me water. I was cold, and you gave me a coat. I was homeless, and you gave me a place to stay. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.”
The good and kind people standing on his right said to the King, “O King, we don’t remember doing any of these things for you. We don’t remember seeing you hungry or thirsty or sick? When were you homeless or in need of clothes, much less in prison? Beg your pardon, sir, but we think you’re mistaken.”
The King smiled with the joy of a proud parent. He pulled out his dirty clothes. He showed them his shoes with holes in them. He showed them his poor man’s walking stick. He said, “I was there. I was the man on the street. I was the beggar at the park. I was the one stuck in the rain. I was the lonely person everyone ignored. I was the stranger in a strange land. I was the one in prison. Whenever you helped someone overlooked or ignored, you helped me. That was me. You did it to me!”
Then, the King said to those on his left, “I have taught you how to live, but you have rejected my ways. I have shown you mercy without end, but you have not shared it. I have loved you with my whole life, but you have not loved others. Some of you even took sacred vows to live in the Kingdom Way, but you have not fulfilled your vows. You have proven by your actions that I am not your King and that you do not trust my Way. You have rejected me. By rejecting me, you have brought a curse upon yourselves. Now, get away from me. Go on and go into the fire prepared for the devil and his crew.”
Like the righteous ones, they also answered, “But King, we never saw you hungry or thirsty or sick. We never saw you cold or in prison or lonely. Sir, surely you know, O King, that if we had seen you our King in need, we would have gladly helped.”
The King looked at them with sadness, compassion, and determination. He showed them his dirty clothes, his shoes with holes, and his poor walking stick. “Don’t you get it folks?! I was out there. I was the sick man. I was the lonely woman. I was the hungry man who dreamed of the food you put in your trash. I was the thirsty man without good water. I was the foreigner with no place to call home. I was the one locked in life with no way out. That was me! When you ignored one of those “insignificant nobodies,” you ignored your King. When you walked past that person who wanted to talk, you walked past me. That was me. Was it not enough that you wear the best clothes? Couldn’t you at least share some with me? Was it not enough that you eat expensive foods? Couldn’t you at least share some with me? Was it not enough that you walk freely on the earth in good health? Couldn’t you at least visit me when I was sick or in prison? Hadn’t I given you enough as King for you to share some with me again? Whatever you failed to do for one of the little nobodies, you refused to do to me your King.” Then those “goats” were herded out to their punishment.
But the King went with his sheep, his faithful servants, into the greatest feast of all Time celebrating the establishment of a Kingdom built on the very foundations of heaven: mercy, justice, and love.
Jesus Christ is our Beggar King. He left the throne of Heaven to live as a poor man and to die on a cross. He was raised from the dead, and now he reigns in Heaven as the King Eternal, “far above all rule and authority, power and dominion … not only in the present age but also in the age to come” (Ephesians 1:21). Yet this same Jesus Christ is our Beggar King, and he is all around us asking us to help him. Our Beggar King is the King Eternal, and he invites us into the Eternal Kingdom to live lives of mercy, justice, and love in service to him wherever he is.
Once upon a time, long, long ago, there was a King who wanted to establish a perfect kingdom of mercy, justice, and love. He often taught his people how they should live. He told them they would be blessed and happy if they were humble and merciful. He told them that if they worked together for a just and peace-filled society, their dreams would be fulfilled. He taught them to honor God by they way they lived. He taught them to be kind and generous to everyone, even to those who could not repay them, even to those who were unkind to them. He told them that the summary rule is to love other people exactly like you love yourself.
But this King didn’t just teach about love and mercy. He lived it. He was widely respected for his compassionate life. Even though he was King, he seemed always to notice those who were ignored by the others. He spoke to people with gentleness and respect, even the “worst” people and the poorest people. He personally bandaged the wounds of people who were sick. He personally helped poor people find jobs and start working again. He often gave his coat to someone who was without. He often shared his food with those who did not have enough, yet he never seemed to run out.
He told his people that the Kingdom he was establishing was built on these simple principles. He told them that if they would live this way, like him, the Kingdom he was describing would begin to take shape in their very lives. He said this perfect, amazing Kingdom would emerge all over the world if only his people would follow his example and live lives of simple, generous love for each other.
His people were very kind to him. They always treated him with respect and dignity. They were all glad to have such a wonderful King. When he spoke to them about the principles of his Kingdom, they all nodded their heads and agreed that this was a good way to live. Many of them even took sacred vows to live as people of the Kingdom, to live lives of mercy, justice and love.
However, the King wondered how his people acted when he was not around. He wondered what they did in the quiet, secret times when they thought no one important was watching. He wondered if his people were really living as people of his Kingdom.
One day, the King announced that he was leaving on a long trip. He gathered his people and told them to live according to the Kingdom principles of mercy, justice, and love. He challenged them to hold each person in high respect and to care for each other with glad and generous hearts. The people all agreed.
Then, the King left on his trip. However, he did not go to another land. The King left the palace and the city alone. He secretly changed into the clothes of a poor beggar1. He rolled in the dirt and rocks until he and his clothes were dirty and torn. Then, he toured his Kingdom dressed as one of the poorest beggars. He wanted to see for himself how well his people live out the Kingdom principles of mercy, justice, and love.
Some people treated him well and shared their food with him. Some people gave him water on hot days. Some people brought him a coat in the winter. Occasionally, a kind soul would invite the beggar King into his home to get out of the rain. He also made friends with the other beggars. They taught him how to search the trash heaps for food, and they shared what little they had with him.
But some people in his Kingdom treated him poorly. Many people looked down on his dirty body in disgust when they passed him begging in the streets. Many, many refused to drop even a coin into his outstretched hands. Some stood right next to him and pretended not to see him. Some spat on him. Some kicked him when he asked for food.
Eventually, he was even thrown into prison simply for being a beggar. When he was in prison, even there he refused to reveal his identity. This beggar King endured the cold, dark, moldy prison simply to understand how his people are treated. In that prison he caught a cold. The cold turned into a cough, and the cough turned into a serious sickness.
This prison was in a basement below the city courthouse in the center of town. He often stood on a box, leaning against the wall coughing, looking out the small, high window watching the feet of his happy, healthy, wealthy subjects walking by. How often he longed for one of them to come to him in the prison just to talk with him or to bring him a little medicine! But for months and months, no one came.
Then one day, one of his top advisors made a tour of the prison, to make sure that it was being run properly. This was one of his most trusted aids, and one who had joined him in explaining the principles of the Kingdom to the people. The beggar King was now very sick, and he stumbled to the bars as the official passed. Excitement rose within him. He thought that of all the people in his Kingdom, this good man would be the most likely to have pity on him. The official barely glanced at the King as he walked past his cell. The beggar King reached his dirty hand through the bars and grabbed the official’s coat. “Sir … sir … I am … sick. … I need … help.”
The official looked at him and paused thinking for a long time, as though he might actually recognize the King. Then, he shook his head and said, “I guess you should have thought of that possibility before you became a criminal. I don’t have time for people like you. The King is away, and I have important business to do.” And just like that, he left his own King coughing in a jail cell.
Finally, a kind young woman came to the prison carrying food, blankets, and a bag of medicine. She quietly tended to each prisoner. When she came to the beggar King’s cell, he could not even walk to the bars to meet her. She had the jailer unlock the door. She immediately wrapped him in a blanket. After a few hours of talking, some hot soup, and some medicine, the beggar King felt his strength returning. And the young woman had learned that the beggar King had committed no crime except that of being poor. She pled his case to the judge, and the judge released the beggar King from prison. The beggar King walked out of the prison leaning on her shoulders, and she nursed him back to health over the next few weeks.
When the King was healthy enough to walk for long distances again, he returned to his palace. He took a long hot bath. He shaved and got a haircut and a manicure. He put on his royal robes and wore cologne for the first time in a year. Finally, the King put on his glorious crown and walked to his throne. When he took his throne in all his Kingly glory, no one would have guessed that earlier in the year he had held out dirty hands begging for bread at the city market, or that he had followed the other beggars to search for food in the city trash heap, or least of all, that he had nearly died of sickness and neglect in the city prison. He looked fully and truly like a King for all the world to see.
When the King was firmly seated on his throne, he called all of the people from every part of his Kingdom to assemble before him. When everyone had gathered in the palace, the King walked through the crowd looking each person in the face. He gently touched each one and sent some to his left and some to his right.
When the entire crowd had been divided into two groups, the King said to those on his right, “Come! You are the people blessed by God. Come and share my Kingdom with me. I have been preparing it for you, and now it is yours to own and to occupy with me. You have proven yourselves to be true citizens of my Kingdom. You have proven that my words are in your heart. You have proven that your heart is a Kingdom heart. You have truly lived as people of mercy, justice, and love. I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me water. I was cold, and you gave me a coat. I was homeless, and you gave me a place to stay. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.”
The good and kind people standing on his right said to the King, “O King, we don’t remember doing any of these things for you. We don’t remember seeing you hungry or thirsty or sick? When were you homeless or in need of clothes, much less in prison? Beg your pardon, sir, but we think you’re mistaken.”
The King smiled with the joy of a proud parent. He pulled out his dirty clothes. He showed them his shoes with holes in them. He showed them his poor man’s walking stick. He said, “I was there. I was the man on the street. I was the beggar at the park. I was the one stuck in the rain. I was the lonely person everyone ignored. I was the stranger in a strange land. I was the one in prison. Whenever you helped someone overlooked or ignored, you helped me. That was me. You did it to me!”
Then, the King said to those on his left, “I have taught you how to live, but you have rejected my ways. I have shown you mercy without end, but you have not shared it. I have loved you with my whole life, but you have not loved others. Some of you even took sacred vows to live in the Kingdom Way, but you have not fulfilled your vows. You have proven by your actions that I am not your King and that you do not trust my Way. You have rejected me. By rejecting me, you have brought a curse upon yourselves. Now, get away from me. Go on and go into the fire prepared for the devil and his crew.”
Like the righteous ones, they also answered, “But King, we never saw you hungry or thirsty or sick. We never saw you cold or in prison or lonely. Sir, surely you know, O King, that if we had seen you our King in need, we would have gladly helped.”
The King looked at them with sadness, compassion, and determination. He showed them his dirty clothes, his shoes with holes, and his poor walking stick. “Don’t you get it folks?! I was out there. I was the sick man. I was the lonely woman. I was the hungry man who dreamed of the food you put in your trash. I was the thirsty man without good water. I was the foreigner with no place to call home. I was the one locked in life with no way out. That was me! When you ignored one of those “insignificant nobodies,” you ignored your King. When you walked past that person who wanted to talk, you walked past me. That was me. Was it not enough that you wear the best clothes? Couldn’t you at least share some with me? Was it not enough that you eat expensive foods? Couldn’t you at least share some with me? Was it not enough that you walk freely on the earth in good health? Couldn’t you at least visit me when I was sick or in prison? Hadn’t I given you enough as King for you to share some with me again? Whatever you failed to do for one of the little nobodies, you refused to do to me your King.” Then those “goats” were herded out to their punishment.
But the King went with his sheep, his faithful servants, into the greatest feast of all Time celebrating the establishment of a Kingdom built on the very foundations of heaven: mercy, justice, and love.
Jesus Christ is our Beggar King. He left the throne of Heaven to live as a poor man and to die on a cross. He was raised from the dead, and now he reigns in Heaven as the King Eternal, “far above all rule and authority, power and dominion … not only in the present age but also in the age to come” (Ephesians 1:21). Yet this same Jesus Christ is our Beggar King, and he is all around us asking us to help him. Our Beggar King is the King Eternal, and he invites us into the Eternal Kingdom to live lives of mercy, justice, and love in service to him wherever he is.
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