Matthew 25:35-40 is a portion of the passage of the Bible on the Final Judgment. Jesus tells Christians on the last day, Judgement Day, that caring for people they didn’t know and were Christians was like taking care of Him. Jesus explains that His brother, sister, and mother were all those who do His Father’s will in heaven (Matt. 12:50).
The Democratic Party, which held a protest the other day with a mariachi band playing and singing, also displayed a sign that was a supposed Bible quote from Matthew 25:35. In black lettering on a white background, the sign read, “Welcome the Strangers, Matt. 25:35.” There was no punctuation on the sign. This was not a quote and was taken out of context anyway.
The Democratic Party, or whoever wrote the sign, intended the sign to refer to aliens who were in this country illegally. But actually, it refers to Christians who are strangers to their hosts. The person who made the sign was either a non-Christian or a Christian who did not understand the scripture they were quoting. The quote is closest to the English Standard Version (ESV), which states “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matt. 25:35).
We guess that few, if any, of the Democratic Party or the aliens who were in this country illegally, or the person who prepared this sign, are actual Christians. None of them knew the proper interpretation of Matthew 25:35, which is pathetic.
We offer the following short exposition of Matthew 25:35 so Christians can properly understand this passage and its context.
EXPOSITION
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 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.’ (Matt. 25:35-40)
Both the elect and the wicked people will die. We cannot distinguish between the wicked and the elect on Earth. But there is a day when Jesus Christ will separate the wicked from the elect and let us know who they are.
In the first two verses above, we are given six reasons why caring for other Christians, the elect, is like caring for Jesus Himself. We are told that these strangers were hungry and we gave them food, they were thirsty and we gave them a drink, we welcomed them when they came to us, they were naked and we clothed them, they were sick and we visited them, and they were imprisoned and we came to visit them.
These characteristics of Christians were given to them by God through His grace so that they may care for other Christians on Earth. This is not the reason that Christians spend the rest of eternity in heaven. The characteristics given to them by God allow them to treat other Christians with care and humility. God blessed them with a certain grace that allowed them to treat other Christians as God would.
In the next three verses, the Christians ask Jesus when they did these things for Him, and He told them in verse 40 that whenever Christians do for the least of the Christians who need these helps, we do it for Him.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Just as God has the grace to care for us, He has also given us the grace necessary to care for the Christian foreigners, travelers, and strangers we encounter. As Christians, we do so with every Christian we encounter during our travels throughout this life.
