Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
Jesus said, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Mt. 25:40). From that arresting statement of our Lord, we know that Jesus loves even his most wayward children dearly and takes personally the treatment they receive at the hands of others. We should fear God and know that we are to treat the very least in God's kingdom with respect and charity.
But who are "the least of these my brethren"? We know God's thoughts are not our thoughts. Then, whom does God consider to be the least in His kingdom? We need to know so that we can avoid at all costs mistreating one of them. Fortunately, Jesus did not leave it to us to decide who is the least in God's kingdom; he told us who it is that God considers to be the least among His children.
In the famous "Sermon on the Mount", Jesus made reference to the smallest of God's commandments in Moses' Law. He said that every dot and comma of the Law bore weight in heaven and that all would be fulfilled (Mt. 5:18). Then, he added this revealing observation: "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven."
This, then, is the answer to our question. The least among Jesus' brethren are those children of God who break God's commandments and also teach others to do so. And it is in how we treat them that we demonstrate to Jesus how much we love him. Anybody can love those who say and do what you want them to say and do. Jesus told his disciples, "Love your enemies; bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate you; and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you, that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven . . . If ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? . . . And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others?" (Mt. 5:44-47)
Do you know of any child of God who is disobeying God's commandments and teaching others to do the same? He is one of the least of Jesus' brethren. Still, it matters to Jesus how that foolish man is treated by others. That is the love of God. Jesus even cares for those in his own family who show him great disrespect.
If you know of any saint of God who is lying to God's people, and who is disobedient to the Spirit of God, then you have found one of the least among Jesus' brethren. You may reprove him; you may remind him and warn him of the Judgment to come; you may even refuse any longer to keep company with that man. All those ways of treating the disobedient are permitted, and even encouraged, by the Bible. But in every circumstance, be careful to treat him with the respect due to a child of the King, for inasmuch as you do it to the least of Jesus' brethren, you have done it unto him.