And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Matthew 25:40)
I have read and wrestled with this passage for years as have many believers. I hope to reflected a good deal more here in the near future, but I have recently asked a new question of this passage that I would like to share here. I want to be clear that I am yet unsure of the answer to this question and would invite others to interact with me here.
The King speaks of the least of these, but who are these people? Are they anyone who is hungry or thirsty or in prison? The King adds one qualifier that until recently had gone unnoticed by me. The “least of these” the He is referring to are His brothers?
I put this question together with a reflection I have made in the past regarding Father’s Day and it seems that the parable changes a bit. I have heard pastors and believers celebrate on Father’s Day saying, “We honor our fathers, but we also honor the Father of all living things.” But this is not entirely accurate. God is creator of all things, but His use of the Fatherhood image He uses specifically to refer to His redeemed. Not all humans are the children of God. And the redeemed are the children of God only by virtue of being the brothers and sisters of the Father’s Son.
In the parable in Matthew 25 the King is Jesus and “the least of these” are His brothers. Believers are fellow heirs with Christ. Any reading of the Old Testament prophets must include a basic instruction to care for the poor and the oppressed within any God pleasing society. But it appears that this parable is not making a general appeal for social justice. This parable appears to be speaking of the King’s unwillingness to identify Himself with those who did not first identify with His own sons and daughters.
In the end, the sheep are being known by the King only as they were willing to identify with each other and specifically with the “least” among themselves. The goats are rejected because they were unwilling to identify themselves with the very members of the future kingdom.
Interestingly this is exactly what we see took place with the Apostle Paul. He was an enemy of Christ and a goat of goats as he was on the road to persecute the believers in Tarsus. It is on this road that He had an encounter with the King and is called to become one of “the least of these” in order to bring the gospel to those He would redeem. Read the letters of Paul and you will see one who became poor for the sake, not of a general social justice, but of the gospel, that is, the redeemed among the Gentiles.
If you have the opportunity I encourage you to read the Expositor’s Bible Commentary on this passage as it seems to indicate this sort of reading of Matthew 25. Please, I invite you to interact with me as I seek to understand this all important teaching of our Lord.
No comments yet.
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a comment
No Comments