‘They’re expected to assimilate’: Speaker Johnson delivers Bible lesson to Pope Leo
House Speaker Mike Johnson has delivered a lesson on the Bible to Pope Leo after the Vatican chief openly condemned borders and quoted the well-known verse: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. …”
Johnson pointed out that borders are actually in the Bible.
“Sovereign borders are biblical and right and just. It’s not because we hate the people on the outside. It’s because we love the people on the inside,” he said.
JUST IN: Speaker Johnson responds to the Pope citing Matthew 23:35 to oppose Trump’s deportations
“Sovereign borders are Biblical and right and just. It’s not because we hate the people on the outside. It’s because we love the people on the inside.”pic.twitter.com/qVuCYx5yC5
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 3, 2026
A report at Not the Bee explained the pope’s latest political criticism of President Donald Trump cited Matthew 25:35.
“In this passage, Jesus is talking about how his followers treat other Christians. Those who ‘looked after the least of these brothers of mine’ with acts of humble charity and service will be considered great in the Kingdom of God,” the report said.
“It is not, in any way, a commentary on national sovereignty, borders, or immigration policy, but is often cited by left-wing politicians and faith leaders out of context to criticize people who think there shouldn’t be 20 million illegal aliens in their country.”
Johnson explained, “Immigration is not something that’s frowned upon in Scripture; in fact, it’s welcome. We’re to welcome the sojourner [temporary resident or wanderer] and love our neighbor as ourselves. But what’s also important in the Bible is that assimilation is anticipated and proper. When someone comes into your country, comes into your nation, they do not have the right to change its laws or to change its society. They’re expected to assimilate. We haven’t had a lot of that going on.”
The report charged, “This is correct. Verses like Leviticus 19:34 commanded the welcoming of foreigners. But verses like Exodus 12:49, Exodus 20:10, and Leviticus 17:10-16 commanded the law to apply equally to foreigners and citizens. Assimilation was essential, noted by God’s command to execute both natives and foreigners who blasphemed His name (Leviticus 24:16). This would have certainly included putting up temples to monkey gods in Texas.”
Johnson also noted: “When people cite passages out of the Old Testament, they say, ‘Well, you’re supposed to take care of the sojourner and the neighbor and treat them like yourself.’ Yes, but that is an admonition to individuals, not to the civil authorities. Civil authorities are given authority under Scripture to maintain order … Romans 13 says that the civil authorities are God’s agents of wrath to bring punishment upon the wrongdoer.”
Johnson added, “The civil authority is a calling. It’s a calling to maintain order in society, and we have not had that. When Biden and Harris opened the borders wide for four years, we had as many as 20 million illegals come across the country, and we all know many dangerous people – hardened criminals, child molesters, rapists, murderers, all the rest – terrorists who came into the country – we did not take care of our borders. Sovereign borders are biblical and good and right and they’re just. It’s not because we hate the people on the outside; it’s because we love the people on the inside. We should love our neighbor as ourself, as individuals, but [the] civil authority and the government HAS TO maintain the law. And that is biblical and it’s right and it’s just.”