Governor Tim Walz recently cited Matthew 25:40—”To the least among you, you do of me”—to back immigration legislation. Many Christians apply this verse to the poor or marginalized and they’re wrong for doing so.

Jesus does call us to care for the poor—’Love your neighbor’ (Matt. 22:39)—but that’s not the point of Matthew 25:40. It’s a right truth taken from the wrong text.

Isn’t This a Bit Nit-Picky?

You might ask, ‘If it inspires care for the poor, does the text matter?’ Yes, it really matters a lot. First, loving God means listening His words, not twisting them. Your spouse doesn’t it like it when you do that, God doesn’t either (2 Peter 3:16). Second, modeling misinterpretation teaches others to misread Scripture. Third, forcing our ideas into a given text risks distorting the Bible to speak of our priorities and to miss God’s priorities. Speaking a true thing from a wrong text is better than speaking an altogether false thing, but not by much.

So, what is Jesus teaching here?

Who Are the “Least of These?”

The least of these is not about how we treat poor or suffering folks in general (even less about a specific public policy, Mr. Governor), but about how we treat Christians being persecuted for their faith. Here are four reasons why.

(1) What They’re Called. Jesus calls them “my brothers” in Matthew 25:40, which refers to his followers or disciples (e.g. Matthew 12:48-50), not the poor.

(2) What They’re Experiencing. Many of the actions mentioned—visiting the imprisoned or hungry—align with the experiences of disciples suffering because of their trust in Christ and not a broad social welfare mandate or sentiment.

(3) Why Some Are Judged. In this passage, Jesus judges the unbelieving nations (the goats) based on their treatment of his followers (i.e. the sheep). Salvation is evidenced not by one’s relationship to the poor in general, but their to Jesus’ people specifically.

(4) What They Ask. Both believers and unbelievers are shocked by Jesus’ pronouncement of them and ask, “When did we treat you this way?” Jesus’ answer is their treatment of his people (i.e. his brothers, believers) was their treatment of him. Jesus intimately identifies with his people. Jesus’ makes this clear in other places.

He asks Paul, the man who persecuted Christians, “Why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:1-5).

Jesus sends his disciples out to preach and says, “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me” (Matthew 10:40).

At the last supper, Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me” (John 13:20).

The point is clear, what we do to his people because they’re Christians, we do to him. Therefore, this underlines the point above: the “least of these” whom are treated as representatives of Jesus, those Jesus calls “his brothers”, are believers.

While Jesus commands care for the poor elsewhere (e.g., Matthew 22:39), Matthew 25:40 has a narrower scope: not the world, but the church.

Don’t Neglect Jesus

Why is this important? If we make this passage about the poor in general, it can easily cause one to care for the world (which isn’t bad) while neglecting to care for the church (which is bad). To use Jesus’ own teaching here: misreading this passage can cause us to care for the poor and neglect caring for Jesus.