The hidden King

We are all acquainted with the story of the Prince and the Pauper, wherein a certain prince and a poor beggar boy switched places and lived each other’s lives for a while.

Now in Jewish history there is a similar story, a legend of Solomon’s exile. In this story, King Solomon decides to dabble in the occult. Through this foolish behaviour he encounters a demon who flings him out of Jerusalem, takes on his form and reigns in his place. The real King Solomon starts wandering from city to city, begging for food. Some have pity on him and feed him, others drive him away. The king of Ammon employs him as a kitchen help, but then later throws him out into the desert to starve. The Sanhedrin in Jerusalem get suspicious about the king’s apparent behaviour changes, and when they realize what has happened, they search for the real King Solomon, reinstate him on the throne, and banish the imposter. This gives Solomon the opportunity to reward those who had been kind to him and punish those who had mistreated him.

According to D. Thomas Lancaster, this legend is referred to often and shows up in a variety of sources, so it must have been well-known by the time Jesus spoke of rewarding the just and upright and punishing the evil doers in Matthew 25:34-46. Upon reading these verses, we could rightly ask ourselves: When was the King hidden from his subjects so that they did not recognise him? How this came about is not written down for us. It could well be that this legend was the background which Jesus used when He spoke about rewarding the just and upright with their inheritance of the Kingdom, because they had shown the King acts of kindness when He was hidden or disguised from them. Just so, the evil doers were punished by being thrown in the eternal fire for not doing this.

 Feeding the hungry, sating the thirsty, showing hospitality to strangers, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and the imprisoned are acts of kindness that Jesus singled out here. To whom was He referring? He spoke to ‘all nations gathered before Him’ (verse 32), so I believe that when He said, “whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine”, He was not only speaking of His spiritual family (those who are believers in Him), but also of His real earthly family, the Jews. Nations will one day be judged on how they treated Israel.

Pearls to ponder:

The King is among us today, disguised in the form of the aged, the sick, the infirm, the hungry. He is to be seen in the famine-faced children we see in the posts of charitable organisations. He is hidden as the persecuted church; He is among us as the Jewish people. Can you recognize His disguises? Remember, whatever we do for the least of His brothers, we are doing for Him! Let us put aside our own selfish desires and start looking for ways to meet the needs of those less fortunate than us.