“For I was hungry and you gave Me food” – Matt. 25:35a.
In applying this to the Jewish people or the nation of Israel, you need to understand that the first recorded mention of food in the Bible has to do with revelation. This was when our first parents ate food and their eyes were opened or they had a revelation – Gen. 3:6-7.
Hungry Israel
Beloved, the people of Israel as a whole are spiritually hungry and so need the revelation of our Lord Jesus as the Bread of life that fills up the vacuum in lives. This is important because Israel as a whole has a spirit of spiritual blindness to our dearest Jesus, their Bread of satisfaction – Rom. 11:7, – “What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks, but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded….
Rom. 11:25, – For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.”
Beloved, Israel (who in Judas) sold our Lord to be crucified is blind and cannot see Him as their Messiah. This is just as Joseph, (who was sold by his brothers) did not initially recognize him as the Prime minister of Egypt until later.
But God’s desire is that our Jewish brothers see or have a revelation of Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord.
Mysterious blindness
When I went for studies in the Holy Land and visited various Holy sites I realized how mysterious Israel’s blindness was. Beloved, whereas my spiritual eyes were opened (based on various physical evidence in the Land that our Lord Jesus once came in the flesh or physically), those things did not mean anything spiritual to the Jewish people. No wonder, only a negligible fraction of them believe in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord from their sins.
Provoking Israel to jealousy
But this is where you as a gentile believer come in. By receiving the revelation of Jesus as our Redeemer and Substitute by grace, God wants you to minister the same grace or mercy to Jesus’ brethren – Rom. 11:29-31,
“For the gift and the calling of God are irrevocable. For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so, these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown to you they also may obtain mercy”.
How to minister grace to Israel
You must, therefore, pray for the people of Israel for them to see Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord by God’s mercy shown to you, just as the Apostle Paul did – Rom. 10:1 – “Brethren, my heart desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.” Now, if God will not answer your prayer for the revelation of Jesus to them, He would not have led the Apostle Paul to pray for their salvation.
You know, it is by mercy and grace that they will be saved. Mercy is not obtaining the bad things you deserve. And grace is obtaining the good things you do not deserve. The two are the same thing in practice. So, our dear Jesus who is full of grace and truth is to be ministered to Jesus’ brethren as the Bread of life or the true Manna that fills their hungry spirits.
Thus, when they hear you speak to them about their own brother Jesus Christ, they will be provoked to jealousy over your knowing Him that, they will want to have their Own back – Rom. 10:19. Hallelujah!
What great wisdom God has! – Rom. 11:33.
Physical feeding
Now, apart from this spiritual feeding, both Israel and other hungry nations of the world are to be ministered to with nutritious food befitting people created in the image of God.
You know, the hungry people of the world still form a great percentage of the population of our world. Some of these are in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Now, all righteous people who are Kingdom-minded should take practical steps to physically feed the hungry people of the world – Jas. 3:14-16, “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith alone save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, depart in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?.
The example of our Lord Jesus
When our dearest Jesus was on earth, He fed the hungry. There were two occasions (in the space of about three years) that He fed as much as five thousand and four thousand men; excluding women and children (who were most likely more than the men) whom He fed also.
Yes, the Bible says our Lord literally went about doing good – Acts 10:38. By this, He was obviously known to people as a man of good works and not only of anointed works.
Indeed, the Holy Spirit anointed Him to do good first and to heal or physically restore bodies.
Physical restoration
Beloved, Jesus’ numerous physical healing acts was the main sign of His restoration-to-physical-normalcy message of the Kingdom that He had brought. Thus, his miracles were signs of something He wanted mankind to literally see.
Similarly, my friend, the Holy Spirit on you makes you a good person to bring physical restoration to humanity concerning what rightfully belongs to humans. So, you must be noted for good works such as feeding the poor and hungry.
Good works and the Gospel
This is really how people of the Gospel of Jesus must be. We need to be full of good works also – Gal. 2:10, – “They (Peter, James and John) desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do”.
Beloved, the early Apostles who walked with our Lord Jesus and the great Apostle Paul learned from Jesus’ example – to send the Gospel to mankind together with ministering to the physically poor among mankind. So, we must have farms and other means to feed the hungry.
Tit. 3:8, – “ This is a faithful saying and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.” Beloved, obviously, feeding the hungry is a good work that profits or benefits mankind. Hallelujah! – Tit. 3:14, – “And let our people also learn to maintain good works (not just do it once), to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.” Yes, our dearest Lord Jesus redeemed us to be “His own special people, zealous of good works”– Tit. 2:14.
You know, the Holy Spirit encouraged Titus to set in order the things which were lacking in the Church he pastored. This included getting believers to be zealous of good works that helped to lift up human dignity such as feeding the hungry. How do you feel to see a human being hungry and emaciated? Not a good feeling, not so?
Thus, Pastor Titus was told by God to “speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority.” – Tit. 1:5, 2: 14-15.
Halleluiah!
My friend, feeding the hungry is the first way to inheriting or enjoying the Kingdom of God. Yes, one of the greatest inner joy you can have is to see the poor and hungry eating from your toil and benevolence – Eccl. 5:11; Eph. 4:28.
It enriches your life on earth, akin to the joy of God to be experienced by righteous nations and peoples (who feed the hungry now) in the Kingdom-future.
Hallelujah!
