Nancy Pelosi claims that she and the Democrats are devoted to the Gospel of Matthew. Pelosi, who supports laws so women can kill their unborn babies and men can marry men and women can marry women even though the Gospel of Matthew makes it clear that marriage is between one man and one women (Matt. 19:1-6) actually said the following in order to promote government welfare programs:
“‘When I was hungry, you fed me. When I was homeless, you sheltered me. When I was in prison, you visited me,’ and so this for us is part of our value system.”
Taking a close contextual look at Matt. 25:31–46, one can see that government programs are not in view. Jesus is not addressing Caesar or the civil rulers in Israel. In each example Jesus gives, help comes from individuals, not the State. Jesus is not describing the development of government programs.
Governments do not visit people in prison; private citizens do. Governments put people in prison; private citizens do not. Governments cannot legitimately be charitable and magnanimous with other people’s money.
In the book of Acts, Christians voluntarily helped those in need by selling their own property (Acts 2:44–45; 4:32–37; 5:4). There was no petitioning of the government to implement a welfare state in the name of Jesus or the Bible.
The Democrat party despises the Bible but still uses it because most Americans respect what they think the Bible says but do not know much about it. So when a passage about feeding people is quoted, even if it’s out of context, many people will believe it and in terms of politics vote accordingly.
The Roman Catholic Church controlled the use of the Bible to the point of executing people who wanted to translate it into the language of the people. Those in leadership positions could manipulate the people in the name of divine revelation. William Tyndale, for example, was burned at the stake in 1536 for translating the Bible into English.
He had rejected the Roman Catholic view that the Scriptures could only be read and interpreted by approved clergy, opposing the Pope: “I defy the Pope and all his laws. If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that drives the plow to know more of the Scripture, than he does.”
Tyndale, before being strangled and burned at the stake in Vilvoorde, Belgium, cries out, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.” Woodcut from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs (1563).
The film The Book of Eli (2010) shows the sinister nature of political leaders who use the Bible to control the masses:
Jesus was often confronted by His enemies who quoted often out of context from what we call the Old Testament and from the oral tradition called the Mishnah to entrap Him (Mark 7:5–13). The Democrats follow the same methodology to bamboozle ignorant voters. The Democrats are not the only ones guilty of this well practiced scheme.
The verse from Matthew 25:42 that Pelosi quoted is not a directive of what the civil government should do. Jesus was condemning the way His followers would be treated by the enemies of the gospel. To attack Jesus’ bride was to attack Jesus.
Because of their treatment of His disciples they showed their faith or unbelief in Himself. … Few of them recognized the claims of Jesus in His disciples, but treated them most indignantly, as the “Acts of the Apostles” fully show. Jesus, however, reckoned the treatment shown to His disciples by the Jews during the period as done to Himself, and rewarded or punished accordingly. ((William Hurte, The Restoration New Testament Commentary in Question and Answer Form: A Catechetical Commentary (Rosemead, CA: Old Paths Publishing Co., [1884] 1964), 53.))
Stephen was killed by his own countrymen (Acts 7). “Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles…. But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison” (8:1, 3).
James, the brother of John, was put to death by Herod, an act that “pleased the Jews” (Acts 12:3). This led to the arrest and imprisonment of Peter (12:3–5). The book of Acts tells us that the Apostle Paul was a prisoner at Philippi (with Silas), Jerusalem, Caesarea, on a ship across the Mediterranean, and in Rome (Acts 16:22–23; 23:10–11, 31–33; 26:32–27).
- For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles (Eph. 3:1).
- I want you to know, brethren, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ (Phil. 1:12–13).
- Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving; and pray for us also, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear, as I ought to speak (Col. 4:2–4).
- Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved fellow worker (Philemon 1:1).
Epaphroditus from Philippi was a great help to Paul who ministered to his needs (Phil. 2:25–30).
The Apostle Paul describes how he was treated by his own countrymen (2 Cor. 11:21–27; 1 Thess. 2:14–16; 2 Tim. 1:15–18; 4:10–22). The first persecutors of the church were Jews who opposed the gospel because it was out of sorts with the old ways of Judaism.
Paul was permitted to live in his own rented quarters “with the soldier who was guarding him” and in chains (Acts 28:16; Eph. 6:20). It was during this house arrest that he “was welcoming all who came to him” (Acts 28:30).
Pelosi, like so many politicians, has little or no regard for the moral tenets of the Bible. She is using her false religious arguments to increase her political power in the name of Jesus, thus, taking the name of the Lord in vain.