works

For the past few days, I've been using pray-as-you-go as one of my daily devotional readings (I'm also following a track that will have me read all of the Lutheran Confessions in a year). Today, they brought up what is, to me, one of the most frustrating passages of Scripture, Matthew 25 and the discussion of the sheep and the goats who were divided based on their treatment of "the least".

The thing about the passage that causes my frustration is that, "the least" is typically interpreted as the poor because they are hungry, thirsty, naked, imprisoned strangers. However, if we follow the logic there, then we are saved by our works (our treatment of the poor) rather than by grace through faith. So, in attempt to figure out what was going on here, I spent some time with the passage this afternoon.

The first thing I noticed is that these verses take place in an ongoing private discourse between Jesus and his disciples that begins in Matthew 24, where he is helping the twelve to understand the end of the age. This immediately causes problems with the "the least" being the poor because the full line says, "the least of these my brothers". That little pronoun creates an image of Jesus pointing to the very people who are the least which, in that context, would imply "the least" being the disciples, aka, Jesus brothers.

So, how could this be important in our understanding of works vs. faith in Matthew 25? Back in Matthew 10, Jesus sent his disciples out to share the faith. They were to go without extra food, clothing, or money, and visit various homes in the villages to see who would receive them and who wouldn't. In homes where they were received, they were to share the Gospel, and in homes where they weren't, they were to shake of their feet knowing that that place would be cursed on the day of judgment.

So, here's what I'm thinking. "The least" in Matthew 25 are actually the disciples who went into towns as strangers in need of food, water, and clothing. Those who received them are among the sheep, not because of their works, but because they were the ones who heard the good news. The goats on the other hand, are damned because they rejected the ones who brought the good news of Jesus (and this is their curse on judgment day). This also makes more sense with the visiting in prison line.

I know it challenges historic interpretation, but it makes a whole lot more sense in the broader Biblical picture. Thoughts?