Matthew 25 Does Not Justify The Liberal Social Justice Agenda Of Spreading The Wealth
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Kevin DeYoung over at The Gospel Coalition has done a series on passages that have implications for the notion of social justice. I would like to point out the one on Matthew 25 since it is always coming up in the political discussions today. The debate hinges on who “the least of these” are when Jesus warns us that we will be judged based on how we help this group. I have a label dedicated to this topic, you can read more here. And the passage in question:
31″When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34″Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37″Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40″The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
41″Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44″They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45″He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46″Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:31-46
Here is what DeYoung has to say about “the least of these”:
“So who are “the least of these” if they are not society’s poor and downtrodden? “The least of these” refers to other Christians in need, in particular itinerant Christian teachers dependent on hospitality from their family of faith. Let me explain…Matthew 25 is about social justice in the sense that it is about caring for the needy. But the needy in view are fellow Christians, especially those dependent on our hospitality and generosity for their ministry. “The least of these” is not a blanket statement about the church’s responsibility to meet the needs of all the poor (though we do not want to be indifferent to hurting people). Nor should the phrase be used as a general cover for anything and everything we want to promote under the banner of social justice. Jesus says if we are too embarrassed, too lazy, or too cowardly to support our fellow Christians who depend on our assistance and are suffering for the sake of the gospel, we will go to hell. We should not make this passage say anything more or less than this.”
Jesus repeatedly identifies Himself with his disciples, the brethren, and this is the case in Matthew 25 as well. What ought to concern Christians who understand this passage properly is that the Liberal agenda behind the other interpretation is a threat to the Body of Christ, the brethren, that Jesus warns us about taking care of. If the Liberal agenda was successfully implemented and their radical redistribution of wealth achieved, it would mean that Christians who care for the “least of these” could find themselves in trouble with the State. Marxism is not compatible with Christianity and the Liberal group that supports President Obama, the Matthew 25 Network, is essentially advancing a materialistic view of the passage and preach a false social gospel as well. Christians are to love one another and when some align themselves with those who want to ensure the brethren are viewed as intolerant bigots it is a sad day for sure but we know Jesus will have the last word on the issue.
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3 Responses and Counting...
Funny how DeYoung failed to mention Matthew 5:22-24, 47 and Matthew 7:3-5 in his support of "the least of these" being Christians…because it would have shot holes in his argument. Looking at how Matthew uses "brother" in those verses can lead on to interpret "the least of these" to be the needy.
It could be that there is a dual meaning here…not an uncommon feature in prophetic language.
But, since I'm a progressive Christian, and not a Christian in your eyes, I guess I should prepare for hell. Or maybe I take to heart the words of Martin Luther and "Sin Boldly!" And yes, I do know what Luther meant by that.
Craig,
I think those verses are compatible with the view of Matthew 25 DeYoung advocates.
Except for the whole part that adelphoi in those verses means everyone…
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