Sermon Illustrations

A young lady named Sally had an experience in a seminary class, given by her professor who was known for his elaborate object lessons. One particular day, Sally walked into the class and saw a big target on the wall. On a table nearby was a bunch of darts. The professor told the students to draw a picture of someone that they disliked, or someone who had made them angry, and he would allow them to throw darts at the person’s picture.

Sally’s friend drew a picture of someone who had stolen her boyfriend. Another friend drew a picture of his little brother. Sally drew a picture of a former friend, putting a lot of detail into her drawing, even drawing pimples on the face. Sally was pleased with the overall effect she had achieved.

The class lined up and began throwing darts. Some of the students threw their darts with such force that their targets were ripping apart. Sally looked forward to her turn, and was disappointed when the professor, because of time limits, asked the students to return to their seats.

As Sally sat thinking about how angry she was because she didn’t have a chance to throw any darts at her target. The professor began removing the target from the wall.

Underneath the target was a picture of Jesus. A hush fell over the room as each student viewed the mangled picture of Jesus; holes and jagged marks covered His face and His eyes were pierced.

The professor said only these words...

And the King will tell them, ‘I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

Matthew 25:40