Proverbs 3-4

 Proverbs 3: How wisdom will bless your life

Proverbs 3:1-4 Love and faithfulness in your heart will win favor with God and man. Luke 2:52 states that as Jesus grew up, He increased n favor with God and man. Proverbs isn’t just about avoiding gangs and adulterous women; the promise of pro-active acts of righteousness is long life, peace, prosperity, love, and faithfulness. This is how heaven works.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Often quoted admonition to trust the Lord in all our ways, which, as the hymn says, means to obey Him; this passage promises that He will make straight paths for us. It is sometimes (often) a challenge to fully trust Him. That is the promise. 

But what does it mean to trust the Lord with all of your heart?

Proverbs 3:7-8 Health is promised to those who fear the Lord and shun evil.

Proverbs 3:9-10 Prosperity is promised to those who honor Him with their firstfruits. Tithing is not explicitly mentioned but the principle is there.  (Leviticus 27:30)

Proverbs 3:11-12 The Lord disciplines those He loves. It is a sign of being His child. Quoted in Hebrews 12:5-6, which elaborates. This principle requires that we recognize the spiritual realm’s influence on the natural. When we experience trouble after disobeying the Lord, these aren’t coincidences.

Proverbs 3:13-18 The true riches of God’s wisdom is not found in earthly wealth, but the tree of (eternal) life (Genesis 3:22). This life will be blessed with honor and peace.

Proverbs 3:19-20 The Lord used wisdom in the creation story revealed in Genesis 1:1-10.

Proverbs 3:21-26 The Lord will through wisdom bless your life with safety. But I have to wonder how to reconcile 3:25 with Job 1-2. Job’s ‘comforters’ used this principle to infer that Job had sinned and that caused his troubles. We know that, in the end, Job was vindicated and blessed, but the initial disaster that ruined his wealth and health and took his children seems inconsistent with this verse. The transcendent revelation that Job received after his tribulation reveals that merely human understanding of God and His ways is not on the same level as experiencing God’s presence hearing His voice directly. But He gave us this wisdom to guide us when we aren’t in His presence.

Proverbs 3:27-29 Deal respectfully with your neighbors.

Proverbs 3:30-35 Apart from avoiding violent gangs covered earlier (1:8-19; 2:12-15), on your own, do not take a perverse lifestyle - don’t be a fool, don’t mock others, don’t be wicked. In the end, fools like this will receive shame. 

Proverbs 4

Proverbs 4:1-11 A father’s admonition to his son to get and treasure wisdom, and do what wisdom says. The role of training of the young in right and wrong in their adult lives is incontestable. Some may reject their upbringing as adults, but most are profoundly and permanently shaped.

Jesus echoes 4:7 in His parable of the field and the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:44-46), that the kingdom (and wisdom) of God are so valuable that all other things are less valuable and can be discarded in favor of it. The beginning of wisdom is to recognize its value and live accordingly. The epistles promise believers a crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8), a crown of life  (James 1:12), and a crown of  glory (1 Peter 5:4). A crown is a symbol of authority, of honor, a recognition, in the case of Proverbs 4:9 the glory that comes through wisdom.

Proverbs 4:12-19 Wisdom and wickedness contrasted with a metaphor of walking on a path. Once again, walking with the wicked is warned against. Those who practice (until they become perfect at?) wickedness and violence do not even understand where that path leads. They are stumbling in the darkness. Don’t set foot on that path!

Proverbs 4:20-23 Guard your heart and fix it on wisdom. Everything you do flows from your heart, just as Jesus said. (Matthew 15:15-20)

Proverbs 4:24-27 Keeping your mouth, eyes, and feet from evil is one of the practical aspects of wise living. In Hebrews 12:13, this is connected to the admonition to accept the Lord’s discipline and chastening. This follows a quote from 3:11-12 that the Lord chastens His sons whom He loves.(Hebrews 12:5-6) Do not turn to the right or left is not a political admonition, but a moral metaphor: live according to moral wisdom revealed by God.

Proverbs 1-2

 

Proverbs 1:1-7 The purpose and theme of Proverbs: moral and spiritual formation. The purpose of discipleship is for good living. (1:2-3)  Prudence is the opposite of naïveté. (1:4) Learning and growth is the essence of life; settling for current knowledge and status quo is a downhill path, as documented in the second law of thermodynamics. (1:5)

Proverbs 1:7 Reverential awe of the Lord’s nature and character is the starting point for wisdom. It is hard to distinguish this from worship of who He is, for what He is, and for what He does. Are fools ignorant of Him or deliberately rejecting Him? What would human wisdom look like apart from God? With God’s wisdom, we can deal with the highs and lows of life with confidence that comes from understanding the underlying eternal spiritual reality.

Proverbs 1:8-19 Warning against the invitation of violent men and thieves. Our parents were our first teachers, before we knew anything. As we grow up, we should only reject their teaching when they are in opposition to the wisdom of God.  Solomon goes at length to warn against the temptation to boys and young men to join gangs and engage in violent theft, because this simply will ruin the life of anyone who joins in. Some things haven’t changed.

Proverbs 1:20-33 The rebuke and invitation of wisdom. The rebuke by wisdom seems almost synonymous with the conviction of the Holy Spirit, who among gifts, gives wisdom. (1:22-23)  (1 Corinthians 12:8, Ephesians 1:17) Is the law of sowing and reaping (Galatians 1:7) built into nature so strongly that it doesn’t need divine intervention to enforce it? (1:31) 

The laws of nature are evident on several levels. Solomon does not speak of the basic laws of physics such as the laws of motion, gravitation, electromagnetism, and so on. But he does elaborate on the two levels of the Ten Commandments. The first four deal with our relationship with God (Exodus 20:3-11), and the remaining six deal with how we live in human society, with interpersonal relationships (Exodus 20:12-17). Solomon does not dive into Spiritual warfare in the same way as Daniel (for example), not explicitly mentioning Satan or demons, but the hint is there in spiritual causation. If we open the door to temptations such as covetousness leading to theft and violence (1:10-19) or illicit sexuality (5:1-23, 6:20-7:27), there is an implicit spiritual force that leads to destruction. Most of the rest of the book deal with wisdom for living in human society, but the underlying eternal principles are from and empowered by God.

Proverbs 2

Proverbs 2:1-11 God’s wisdom will guard your life if you seek and apply it. There are (at least) three words used here: wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. Unfortunately the Hebrew lexicon does not clearly delineate which are which, but that doesn’t matter because Solomon clearly intended to include the all of them in the scope of this writing.

• Wisdom - good judgment to make sound decisions
• Understanding - comprehension to grasp and interpret the meaning of something
• Knowledge - facts, information, skills  
• Skillfulness - proficiency at doing something

Unbelievers can gather knowledge and become skillful. Understanding the meaning of something will be limited apart from the spiritual dimension. Having good judgment to make wise decisions is extremely dependent on seeing the long-term impact of morality in making decisions, to weigh competing claims against the absolute scale of eternal values. The Lord gives wisdom and knowledge as a gift. (2:6)(1 Corinthians 12:8)

Making right decisions and taking right actions results in being better able to discern what is right, true, and wise progressively. We need to do what Jesus has already told us to, so we can progress in discernment.

Proverbs 2:12-15 Wisdom will save you from wicked men (1:10-19) This theme is repeated several times in Proverbs, as a pedagogical technique perhaps. It is boys and young men this is addressed to, and it is well known that multiple exposures to an idea are critical to its being remembered and taken into account. The fundamental precept is that it is impossible to hang out with lawbreakers, violent men and thieves, without digesting their lifestyle as ok or normal. The decision to abstain must be made first. That is wisdom.

Proverbs 2:16-19 Wisdom will save you from the adulterous woman (5; 6:20-7:27) Boys and young men also need the same warning as regards women who tempt natural male sexual desires. The judgment is severe:  None who go to her return again, nor do they reach the paths of life. (2:19) 

Proverbs 2:20-22 The righteous will live and the wicked will die. Cut and dried. Apart from salvation in Jesus, there is no hope. And we need Jesus both to pay the price for our sins (atonement), and to empower us to live according to God’s ways. 

A Modest Proposal towards ending the budget impasse

The Federal government spends over twice as much on healthcare as it does on defense, yet there appears to be no House of Representatives Committee on healthcare.  In the Senate, health is lumped in with education, labor, and pensions. Perhaps there should be committees in both houses focusing just on healthcare. Perhaps there should be a special bipartisan commission on healthcare.  This goes beyond healthcare costs, to matters of policy and implementation. It’s more than just who pays the bills. Roughly 17.5% of the U.S. GDP is spent on healthcare, yet arguably we are less healthy. Simplistic phrases like make America healthy again need to be addressed with concrete investigations that get get to root causes. Perhaps a bipartisan agreement to establish such a commission and committees could uncouple this behemoth from the practical struggle to keep the government running.

Principles of Bible Study and Life - What is God’s advice?

 

Some thoughts on how we approach practical implications and application of faith.

• Don’t despise the youth of someone with different views; although experience counts for much, someone with a fresh viewpoint, unpolluted by sad experience of many years of pain, may hear clearly and directly from God. (1 Timothy 4:12)
• Pay attention to details, especially details of Scripture. Big principles are important, but implementation depends on little things as well. A little leaven leavens the whole loaf.  (1 Corinthians 5:6)
• Look for and recognize things that are inappropriate or out of place. They are often indicators of bigger hidden problems. (Ezekiel 20:28)
• Put things away properly. Failure to clean up or properly stow things can lead to dysfunction and bigger problems later, or ruin otherwise useful things. Clean up the kitchen after every meal.  (Exodus 16:19-20)
• Pay attention to and be faithful to the defining principle or characteristic of the group or organization, when confronted with multiple points of wisdom. (Ephesians 3:9-12)
• Look for and identify root causes. This may mean digging through multiple layers of intermediate effects, but the problem won’t be resolved until the roots of the weed are pulled. (Deuteronomy 29:18)
• When the Lord teaches you a lesson in your life personally, learn it and apply it. Otherwise, He will have to repeat it, which is usually painful.  (Acts 26:14)

Matthew 28

Matthew 28:1-10 The Risen Christ, and the women at the Tomb.  A second earthquake rolls away the stone. (28:2, 27:51) Apparently the act of the angel rolling the stone away was synonymous with the earthquake. His appearance understandably terrified the guards. The divine power emanating from the holiness and love that appeared as snow-white clothing and  lightning understandably terrified mere mortals. An earthly revelation of God’s nature and character - showing them the reality of eternity’s relationship to earthly things - is overwhelming to us in the flesh. (Isaiah 6:5, Ezekiel 1:28, Daniel 8:17, 10:8-9, Revelation 1:17)

Both the angels and Jesus tell the women to tell the disciples to meet Him in Galilee. This is followed. (28:16) Other gospel accounts tell of His appearing to the disciples in Jerusalem the same day, and one wonders why He didn’t just tell them Himself to go to Galilee. I don’t know.

Matthew 28:11-15 The Guards Report. The priests bribed the guards to lie about what happened. If these were Roman guards, it is hard to see how they could escape punishment or discipline for falling asleep on the job, if that was their story. But it is also hard to see how the Roman authorities would accept the story of what really happened. So we don’t know what became of them, only that the story of the disciples stealing Jesus’ body was evidently spread widely, as the priests wanted.

Matthew 28:16-20 The Great Commission. At the mountain in Galilee, Jesus authorizes and empowers His disciples and us, and is with us, to take the gospel to all nations. His specific instructions are to make disciples, baptize, and teach them to obey His commands. Jesus explicitly calls out the Trinity in His instructions on baptism, YHWH AB, Yeshua HaMaschiach, and Ruach HaKodesh. This commission is substantially different from the one He gave the disciples in Matthew 10:1. In the rest of Matthew 10, Jesus expounds at length on what proclaiming the good news of the kingdom consists of and what to expect. Perhaps He gave similar instructions here that are not recorded. Also, possibly, by His resurrection He had demonstrated His power to the disciples, and since the Holy Spirit would be indwelling them soon, they did not need detailed instructions because the Spirit would guide them. That would seem to be meaning of His promise that He will be with us to the end of the age. The teaching of His commands was evidently completely verbal for a few decades after this, until the gospels were written. At least we now have the Sermon on the Mount, the parables, and the discourse at the Last Supper to learn His commands from. This commission concludes Matthew’s written record.

Matthew 26-27

Matthew 26:1-5 Jesus foretells His death for the fourth time (21:45-46). The priests and elders scheme to do so. Why? Did they sincerely believe that Jesus was misleading the people and that since their arguments for the status quo religion were not prevailing, the greater good was served by killing Jesus? Or was it just a simple power game - politics continued at a deeper level?

Matthew 26:6-13 Jesus is anointed for His burial. The disciples concern for the poor (26:8-9) may have been based on Deuteronomy 15:11, or perhaps Jesus’ own words (25:34-46). Jesus explains that ministering to the poor is important, but total devotion to Him is more important (26:10-13). As a general principle, obedience to God’s commands is important, but the overarching consideration must be devotion to God, and putting all other directives in context to our worship of Him with our lives. That is why this woman’s act of devotion will also be told wherever the gospel is preached - she poured out her life savings to anoint Jesus for His burial. Symbolically, she was the only person ever to honor Jesus death in the flesh appropriately. (Those that buried Him in the tomb could not anoint Him at that time and He rose before anyone could.) 

Matthew 26:14-16 Judas agrees to betray Jesus, as prophesied in Zechariah 11:12. Thirty denarii, about 135 grams of silver, worth about $200 at today’s market prices. If the silver coins were shekels, that raises it to 400 grams of silver, worth about $600.  What a bargain for the priests and elders! How many people sell their soul that cheaply these days?

Matthew 26:17-30 The Last Supper. Jesus follows the commands given to Moses in Exodus 12, but Passover was fulfilled at the Last Supper. The bread and wine were done as commanded, but the Passover lamb without defect was Jesus Himself. The blood, instead of being on the sides and tops of the doorframe, was on the cross, which became the door to eternal life for those who believe. Whether communion involves remembrance and commitment, or a sacramental transformation, we are to partake. God thus brings judgment on those spiritual forces of evil  - the Egypt of sin - that enslave us. In this case (Exodus 12:15), abstaining from leaven symbolizes abstinence from sin, not voluntarily re-opening the connection to those things that God has judged and delivered us from. Sing a hymn instead. (26:30)  In 26:24, Jesus alludes to Job bewailing the day of his birth (Job 3:1), and Judas Iscariot would have been better off not having been born.

Matthew 26:31-35 Jesus predicts Peter’s denial, and quotes Zechariah 13:7. 26:34 was fulfilled in 26:69-74. How often do we make a promise to God when we experience His presence, only to not keep it when we have left church and are in the world?

Matthew 26:36-46 Praying in Gethsemane. In 26:39, 42, and 44 Jesus was seeking to reconcile His earthly will to the Father’s will, not pleading with the Father to change His mind. (John 8:29) Jesus’ holiness wasn’t just abstaining from sin, it was active obedience. It was just hard, even for Him. What He was going to do was very, very hard.

Matthew 26:47-56 Jesus is arrested; He  cites Scriptures and the prophets being fulfilled.(26:54&55) Possibly He was citing Daniel 9:26, although there are many other potential verses as well. Peter’s last act of courage was to draw a sword and cut off a servant’s ear (John 18:10), and Jesus rebuked him. When Jesus willingly surrendered to arrest, the disciples were understandably afraid, and left abruptly, lest they be charged as co-conspirators. In healing the servant’s ear, Jesus protected Peter from being so charged (at least there wasn’t any evidence).

Matthew 26:57-67 Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin; lots of false witnesses - are things any different today? Finally, two unnamed witnesses repeated what Jesus said in John 2:19-21.(26:61) They missed the whole point of that discourse a few years prior. They saw only the literal meaning of the words, and did not, perhaps could not grasp the symbolic, underlying spiritual reality.

Finally the high priest got fed up, and asked Jesus under oath to state whether or not He is the Messiah, the Son of YHWH. Jesus says “You have said so” and quotes Psalm 110:1 & Daniel 7:13.(26:64) Perhaps the best way to understand Jesus’ first response is something like ‘you said it!’ Meaning ‘right on!’. The high priest was clearly angry. The verdict was delivered.

Matthew 26:68-75 Peter denies Jesus three times.  The rooster crowing reminded him of Jesus’ prophecy and his confidence then (26:34), and now completely demoralized, wept bitterly. Do we deeply lament our failures before God?

Matthew 27:1-2 Jesus is bound for trial. Since the Jewish priests and elders couldn’t legally execute someone, they figured out how to have the Romans do their dirty work.

Matthew 27:3-10 Judas commits suicide. It seems odd that Judas would now recognize that he had betrayed innocent blood. Was his focus the previous day solely on getting the money that he ignored this, or did the Holy Spirit now convict Him, or was the devil now leading him to suicide? It is unclear where the prohibition on blood money is found. (27:6) I cannot find this explicitly or implicitly in the Pentateuch, so it must have been inferred from other rules in the law about how blood is to be treated. The quote from Jeremiah that Matthew cites (27:9-10) includes a reference to both Jeremiah 32:6-9 and Zechariah 11:12-13. What is the significance of the potter’s field? It was likely a field where potters got clay to make their wares, leaving it depleted of soil and unsuitable for farming.  

Matthew 27:11-26 Jesus is tried by Pilate. Pilate knew Jesus was innocent but was afraid of the crowds (27:18&23) The crowd wanted Jesus dead rather than in spiritual authority. (27:22-23) Pilate seemed to not care about spiritual matters, but did attempt to cleanse his conscience. (27:24) Did washing his hands work for that purpose? 

A curious intersection of three groups (priests, Pilate, crowd), but not mentioned in the trial is the spiritual battlefield. Satan wanted Jesus dead to eliminate his judgment, but God allowed it to happen to enable the removal of judgment on those people who accept Him but still have sinned. Satan was rebellious beyond redemption, but God was creating a spiritual fabric in which humans could ask for and receive it, albeit at a very steep price. Pilate was Satan’s unwitting tool, but God allowed it. Did Satan not realize that God in the flesh might be killed, but God transcends mere fleshly existence. As Aslan explains the deep magic at the stone table  in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, death cannot hold the sinless one who is killed, but all eternity begins to experience a reversal and turns towards life and light.

Matthew 27:27-31 The Roman soldiers mock Jesus. This is love - Jesus knew what was coming and did it anyway. (27:27-50) It was not just physical pain, as bad as that was (27:29-30), but the spiritual pain of knowing that these soldiers were mocking the Truth, by calling Him king of the Jews in jest, when He was truth(John 14:6), to their own eternal judgment.

Matthew 27:32-44 Jesus is crucified. Evidently Jesus’ words in John 2:19-21 were widely known, since the passers-by mocked Him with them. (27:40) The priests, elders, and legal professors all mocked Him just as the Roman soldiers had, not physically but in their words.

Matthew 27:45-56 the death of Jesus. Jesus quoted Psalm 22:1 while on the cross. (27:46) Perhaps He quoted the entire Psalm since it describes this event in detail. The reference to Elijah coming to save Him once again refers to what must have been a common belief among the Jews that since Elijah had been carried into heaven while still alive, he would return, and they thought Jesus was calling on that promise, unaware of the events recorded earlier. (17:1-5) 

When Jesus died, the veil in the temple that separated man from God’s presence was torn in two from top to bottom (27:51). Whether this was to allow man to enter God’s presence, or to symbolically release the Holy Spirit into the world is unclear. It definitely signifies the direct contact of God with mankind.  Ultimately (in the truest sense of ultimate), Jesus’ death was the defeat of death, His resurrection led the victory parade. (27:52-53)

Matthew 27:57-61 The burial of Jesus. Joseph of Arimathea is an enigmatic figure, appearing here, in fulfillment of Isaiah 53:9. What an honor, to be entrusted with Jesus’ body!

Matthew 27:62-65 A Roman guard is posted at the tomb. The Pharisees and the chief priests were afraid enough of Jesus’ widely known prophecy of His resurrection that they asked for the Roman guard at the tomb.  (27:63 —> 16:21) It didn’t help them deny the presence of the living Christ to those that encountered Him. 

Matthew 24-25

 Matthew 24 The signs of the end of the age

Matthew 24:1-2 Jesus talks about the end of the Temple; this happened in 70 AD, exactly as He described. Empty symbols have no value and won’t persist indefinitely. It was torn down.

Matthew 24:3-8 The disciples ask about sign of His coming and the end of the age. Don’t be misled by beginning of birth pangs. Wars, famines, and earthquakes are not signs of the end - they have happened throughout human history, and can be expected.

Matthew 24:9-14 Things that will happen before the end - persecution and cold faith. Christians will be hated and persecuted, the love of many will grow cold; the gospel must be preached to the whole world, as a testimony to all nations.  (Strong’s g1484, ethnos -  heathen, pagan, nations, tribes)

Matthew 24:15-22 The Abomination of Desolation a sign. This is mentioned in Daniel 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11. Things will go very badly after this.  Antiochus IV Epiphanes desecrated the altar of the temple in 167 BC by offering a pig to Zeus. Things did go very badly for the Jews living in Jerusalem at that time, as related by Josephus. Yet Jesus here speaks of a future event, so Antiochus was only a picture of what will happen in the times of the end. This is a true sign because the distress of that time will surpass any past or future era. So great, in fact, that mankind would be wiped out if Jesus Himself doesn’t come to end it.

Matthew 24:23-27 False messiahs and false claims of His presence. Even when the signs point to Jesus’ return, only recognize Him in the sky, nowhere else and no one else. Jesus was on earth once, only a small cadre recognized Him at that time; He died to redeem mankind, established the church to carry His message, and sent the Holy Spirit to empower it. When He returns, every eye will see Him, it won’t be a hidden event. (Revelation 1:7) 

Matthew 24:28 Vultures gather around carcasses. Corpses imply many killed in the open, perhaps as part of the events that are signs of Jesus’ return. Vultures feed on dead meat - the spiritual evil that will prevail and nearly destroy mankind, feeds on this distress and its victims.

Matthew 24:29-31 The sign in the sky. Jesus cites/quotes three separate passages that link signs in the sky to judgment: Isaiah 13:10 - Babylon; Isaiah 34:4 - The whole world; Daniel 7:9-10 - The four beasts. When He returns, He will fulfill these prophecies.

Matthew 24:32-35 Signs of the Times. Referring back to the preceding verses, the signs appear to be false messiahs, false reports of Jesus on the earth, the preaching of the gospel to every tribe and nation, and the abomination of desolation.

Matthew 24:36-51 The time of His return is not revealed to anyone, so live ready. Jesus refers to the time of Noah, described in Genesis 6:13. The emphasis in Noah’s day is on the world’s wickedness, so it will be at the time of Jesus’ return. Although we can decry the wickedness of modern society, this is only one of the signs of Jesus’ return. God is looking to rescue those who are His faithful servants. Those who are not faithful, even if they thought themselves servants to Him, will be placed with the actors - the hypocrites - in God’s economy.

Matthew 25 The two parables have a common theme - await the arrival or return. However, they have different foci on what was expected. The bridal party was expected to wait and be prepared, while the servants with gold were expected to be gainfully employed.

Matthew 25:1-13 Parable of the wise and foolish virgins. I have heard it inferred that having ten virgins wait with the bride for the groom’s arrival was a custom of the time, but that is really unimportant to Jesus’ point. The oil may represent the Holy Spirit, or may represent providing for the light of God to illuminate our path. When the foolish virgins ask the others for some oil, they ask the impossible. Neither the Holy Spirit nor God’s light to our path can be just given by one person to another. We must go to God for these things. Learning from His word takes time. And the door being slammed in their faces seems to speak of the rapture, of people who believe they are part of the bride of Christ being left behind, because they are not waiting with anticipation for the bridegroom. (Hebrews 9:28) Being a virgin by itself does not qualify them to go. Although personal holiness is important, there is more to faith - as Jesus will explain with sheep and goats.

Matthew 25:14-30 Parable of three servants with bags of gold. The talent as money seems to be a symbol or metaphor for man’s capabilities and time, perhaps talent as innate ability is not far off from Jesus’ meaning. The master gave bags of gold to each according to his ability (25:15). There is perhaps a hint that the third servant was jealous of the greater resources given the other servants, but that is not his excuse. He saw his master as a hard man who demanded the impossible. He completely misunderstood the master. It is like seeing God’s holiness as unachievable perfection and therefore not even trying to let God change his life, by running and hiding. God calls us to be active, not hide in our safe place. The outer darkness ultimately delivers the third servant from the Lord’s presence, but it is not a happy place.

Matthew 25:31-46 The sheep and the goats. In Psalm 23, the sheep accepted Jesus as their shepherd, and He directs their paths.  In Leviticus 16:21-22, Aaron was directed to release the scapegoat into the wilderness, with all the wrongdoings of Israel on it, to an isolated place.  This parable weighs into the faith vs. works debate firmly on the side of  James 2:18. There are lots of types of works - giving food and drink to and clothing the needy, welcoming strangers, and visiting prisoners. And these are just examples. Jesus’ point is simple: He identifies with these needy people, and He expects His followers to minister to them. To neglect them is to neglect Him. One has to wonder how Jesus’ warning weighs against our treatment of illegal migrants. Were the Pilgrims and Puritans, and the settlers in Jamestown illegal immigrants to North America?