Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25 about the final judgment is sometimes deployed by professing Christians to argue that our love for Christ will be reflected in how we care for the poor and suffering in our broader society, even the world. Mother Teresa, appealing to Matthew 25, once said,
Our work…calls for us to see Jesus in everyone. He has told us that He is the hungry one. He is the naked one. He is the thirsty one. He is the one without a home. He is the one who is suffering. These are our treasures….They are Jesus. Each one is Jesus in His distressing disguise.
Bernard Vincent Bradley, Essential Catholic Social Thought (Google Books).
Also drawing from the language of Matthew 25:40, Barak Obama used the phrase “The least of these” more than once in speeches aimed at exhorting Americans care for the poor and disadvantaged in America. CEO of the Christian humanitarian organization Habitat for Humanity, Jonathan Reckford, applies Matthew 25:40 to “The marginalized in our world.” The Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics published a book in 2014 entitled For the Least of These: A Biblical Response to Poverty in which they provide theologically rooted solutions for impoverished people inside and outside the church.
Beyond these examples, the phrase “The least of these” has been utilized by non-Christian individuals and to advocate for poverty care and social justice, including people like Desmond Tutu and Cornel West.
But my concern is not primarily with secular uses of the phrase “The least of these.” People and institutions in the West have been co-opting biblical concepts and phrases contrary to their intended purpose for centuries. My main concern in this article is how Christians interpret Matthew 25:40ff and how our interpretation will affect the way we think of Christian obedience.
The Context: The Final Judgment
In order to rightly understand the phrase “The least of these,” we must read it in its context. Our first observation is that the entire chapter of Matthew 25 is about the final judgment. Prompted by a question from one of his disciples, Jesus launches into a sermon about the end times. Matthew 24 focuses chiefly on the signs that will portend Jesus’ return and the great tribulation. Matthew 25 focuses on the final judgment and how his disciples should prepare for it.
The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) is about how Christ will settle accounts with his servants at the end of the age. Those who demonstrated their faith in Christ by a faithful stewardship of Christ’s resources will be warmly welcomed into heaven, not because they earned their way in, but because their faith in Christ evidenced itself in multiplying the resources Christ had entrusted to them. Those who neglect their stewardship indicate that they never had a genuine relationship with their Master and will thus suffer condemnation.
In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus explains how the final judgment will commence. Jesus will come back to earth in glory and sit on his throne. He will then gather the nations and begin to separate everyone into one of two groups: those who are blessed by his Father (the sheep) and those who are cursed by his Father (the goats). The judgment will be conducted according to two contrasting lifestyles, and the final result will be an entrance into one of two places—eternal life or eternal judgment.
Those who will inherit the kingdom, Jesus says, are those who, during their lives, fed Jesus when he was hungry, gave Jesus drink when he was thirsty, welcomed Jesus when he was a stranger, clothed Jesus when he was naked, cared for Jesus when he was sick, and visited Jesus when he was in prison. Jesus predicts, however, that the kingdom recipients will humbly question when they had actually fed, clothed, and visited Jesus during their lives. Jesus will respond: “Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me” (Matt 25:40). The goats, however, will experience a different outcome.
Jesus will tell those on his left to depart from him into “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels,” basing his decision on the fact that these people did not respond positively when they saw Jesus hungry, thirsty, naked, alone, and in prison. When confronted, these people will question Jesus in disbelief: When did we see you in need and fail to minister to you? Jesus will respond: “Truly I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me” (v. 45). The sheep did not enter heaven because their good works outweighed their evil deeds, nor were the goats cast into the enteral fire because they didn’t do enough good things in this life. Rather, in each case, the fruit was evidence of faith. The sheep believed in Christ and, therefore, demonstrated their faith in how they treated others. The goats did not really believe in Jesus and, likewise, demonstrated their unbelief in their neglect to care for others.
The question, however, is who are the “others?” What is the identity of the “least of these?”
The Identify of the “Least of These”
As I’ve already noted, some Christians take Jesus to be referring to all poor and disadvantaged people in society and in the world. The implication, then, is that true faith in Jesus is displayed by caring for the impoverished and marginalized people in our society: When we serve them, we serve Christ. But we have good reason for rejecting this interpretation and its implications.
Rather than reading Jesus as saying that true Christians will be known by how they care for the world’s disadvantaged people, he is teaching that entrance into eternal life will be according to how professing disciples cared for Jesus’ people.
We know this first from the text itself. When Jesus refers to “The least of these” in v. 40, he qualifies it with the phrase “my brothers.” But it is clear from the Gospels that Jesus did not count all people as “his brothers”: Only those who belonged to him by faith were part of his spiritual family (see Matt 12:48; Mark 3:33; Luke 8:21). The qualifying phrase “my brothers” in v. 40 is highly significant, then, and cannot be glossed over or treated in a universalistic sense as though all people are his brothers. Jesus commends the sheep because they showed genuine love toward Jesus’ people during their lifetime, even the “least” and most lowly of his brothers.
Interestingly, when Jesus informs the sheep of their good works, they respond with a bit of incredulity. “When did we see you hungry…thirsty….naked…a stranger…naked…sick…or in prison?” Their response indicates that their love for fellow Christians was so natural and integrated into their life that they never saw it as something extraordinary. This response fits with what John teaches about saving faith. According to John’s first letter, love for other Christians is essential evidence of saving faith: “We know that we have passed from death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death” (1 John 3:14); “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7). Faith in Christ will always be expressed in love for the people for whom Christ died.
Yes, it is true that Christians will have a love for all people because people are made in God’s image (Gen 1:26). Scripture also instructs us to do good to all people as we have opportunity (see 1 Thess 5:15). But Scripture also tells us to prioritize our efforts toward our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ: “So, then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially those in the household of faith” (Gal 6:10; emphasis added). Christians will have an affinity for their spiritual siblings that is unlike the affection they have for people outside the church. This spiritual affection is due to Christ’s union with his people.
Jesus’ Union with this Church
This last point brings us to the second reason we know that Jesus is referring specifically to fellow Christians in Matthew 25:40: We know that Jesus is referring to how his professing disciples care for other believers by how Scripture speaks of Jesus’ relationship to the church.
The New Testament refers to the church as the “Body of Christ,” his bride for whom he died. So closely is Jesus linked to his people that Jesus can confront Saul for persecuting him when, in fact, Saul was only persecuting Christians (Acts 9:4). Jesus Christ has joined himself to his people in a vital, intimate way. To love Christ’s people is to love Christ.
For these reasons, we cannot take the phrase “The Least of these” as a reference to the poor and marginalized in society as a whole. Jesus has a specific group in mind—his church. And Christians will be recognized for how they care in practical ways for Christ’s people (see also John 13:35).
Conclusion
My point in this article is not to discourage Christians from caring for the poor and marginalized in our respective locations. Christians, for the last two millennia, have been marked by a care for the poor inside and outside the church, and caring for the poor and disadvantaged outside the church is one way we show the love of Christ to the world so that our heavenly Father will be glorified by our good works (see Matt 5:16).
But just as importantly, we must also be careful that we don’t burden the consciences of Christians with extra-biblical requirements that originate from faulty interpretations. It is not the primary responsibility of the Christian to care for all the impoverished, sick, lonely, and imprisoned people in a given society. It is, however, the responsibility of the Christian to care for the impoverished, sick, lonely, and imprisoned Christians first in their local church and then in the universal church nearby or abroad. Indeed, saving faith is demonstrated not by dedication to general humanitarian efforts but by how a Christian loves his or her fellow believers. Will a Christian have compassion for those who are experiencing great suffering and need, regardless of that person’s spiritual status? Of course. But true faith in Christ will be best seen in how a Christian cares for fellow Christians, including the least of Jesus’ people.
