Acts of kindness do not go unnoticed nor unrewarded. Jesus continued teaching the host who disapproved of Jesus’ kind act of healing a man with dropsy on the Sabbath. Jesus switched the subject from humility to being rewarded for acts of kindness.
The host, a prominent Pharisee invited Jesus and his disciples to a dinner on the Sabbath. He wanted to investigate whether Jesus would violate one of his laws. Jesus began teaching the error of the leader’s laws, customs, and ways. Now he would teach about the secret blessedness of living servitude.
Apostle Paul told Jesus’ people, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'” (Acts 20:35) Why is it better?
Jesus’ answer is, “You will be blessed (when you do so). Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” The resurrection of the righteous is distinct from the resurrection of the unrighteous. The unrighteous will be judged. The righteous will be rewarded. (Daniel 12:2; John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 20:4-6) The righteous are those who have been pronounced so by God on the basis of Christ’s atonement and who have evidenced their faith by their actions. (Matthew 25:34-40) I need to act on compassion and love when I see the need for a random act of kindness.
