Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico and his denomination, the Presbyterian Church (USA), distort the true meaning of being a Matthew 25 church, which they proudly proclaim that they are and which they follow.
The parable of the last judgment is found in Matthew 25 and describes the separation of the sheep and goats based on who fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, clothed the naked, and visited the sick and those who did not. Identifying themselves with the sheep is a common association made by certain churches and political candidates who want to be seen as compassionate Christians. What they misinterpret is Jesus’s emphasis on the spiritual nature of his compassionate ministry.
The mistaken interpretation sees the meaning of the parable as only applying to the physical and material needs of the people. But Jesus always emphasized the spiritual and eternal nature of his message and his mission.
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When tempted in the desert by Satan to change the stone into bread, Jesus, who was fasting, replied, “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God,” quoting from the book of Deuteronomy. When the crowd gathered around him the day after he fed the 5,000, Jesus reprimanded them, saying, basically, I know you just want me to give you a free lunch again. “You need not to work for the food that perishes but work for the food that is eternal (John 6:27).”
When he spoke with the Samaritan woman at the well, he shifted the focus from physical water to spiritual, saying, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14).
In his Sermon on the Mount, he taught that “blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6; 1 Corinthians 1:30), referring to the spiritual and eternal nature of one’s hunger. At another time, when the crowd asked him how they could work the work of God, he told them the work of God is “to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:29), emphasizing the spiritual nature of his calling and ministry.
When he appeared to Peter after his resurrection, he charged Peter to “feed my sheep,” and “feed my lambs” (John 21:15, 17). Although he was a fisherman, Peter knew that Jesus didn’t mean to catch some fish, broil them, and set them out for the disciples. He knew that he was to feed them the gospel — the word of God.
In the parable of the last judgment and the separation of the sheep and the goats, the goats are identified as the ones who failed to meet the needs of the people and he then commands them to depart into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels: “For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in” (Matthew 25:42-43).
When Christians fail to help meet the spiritual and eternal needs of people by withholding from them the teachings of Christ and his gospel, they align themselves with the goats and not the sheep. The sheep supply not only physical and material needs as they can, but they feed the people with the life-giving power of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.
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When politicians and churches use Matthew 25 as evidence of their Christianity because they want to emphasize meeting the physical and material needs of people but not their spiritual needs, they are neglecting the most important aspect of the Christian faith — eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.
May we all help meet the physical needs of the poor and marginalized, but let the church be true to the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, first and foremost. Hopefully, Talarico and the PC(USA) will see the light.
Ray Schroeder (M.Div., Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary) is a pastor and author of Pure Religion — the Priority of Visitation. Doctor of Ministry from McCormick Theological Seminary.