Jesus Would Give to the Poor

JESUS WOULD GIVE TO THE POOR

by Bill Blue

Jesus taught believers have a responsibility to give to the hungry, poor and needy (Matt. 25:31-46). David wrote, “Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble” (Psalm 41:1). Consider also what Proverbs has to say:

• “[H]appy is he who is gracious to the poor … he who is gracious to the needy honors Him [God]” (Prov. 14:21, 31).
• “He who mocks the poor taunts his Maker” (Prov. 17:5).
• “One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, And He will repay him for his good deed” (Prov. 19:17).
• “He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor Will also cry himself and not be answered” (Prov. 21:13).
• “He who is generous will be blessed, For he gives some of his food to the poor” (Prov. 22:9).
• “He who gives to the poor will never want, But he who shuts his eyes will have many curses” (Prov. 28:27).

Jesus felt compassion for the hungry (Matt. 15:32; Mark 8:2-3). On multiple occasions, Jesus fed them himself (Matt. 15:32-38; John 6:1-14) even though He had no home on this earth of His own (Matt. 8:20; Luke 9:58). In 1 Corinthians, Paul points out that unless we too are motivated by love for the ones receiving our gifts, then our obedience to God’s command has profited us nothing spiritually. “[T]hough I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing” (1 Cor. 13:3).

If our guiding principle is to consider “what would Jesus do,” then we too will feed the poor and be less concerned about our material prosperity. In the story of the “Rich Young Ruler” (Matt. 19:16-26; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-27), Jesus provided this additional instruction to a man who had faithfully kept God’s commandments, "If you wish to be complete [or perfect], go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me" (Matt. 19:21). The lesson here isn’t that we must give all we have to the poor, but rather to emphasize how Christians should think first of others and less of material possessions (Matt. 6:19-24, 22:36-40).

The opportunities for following Jesus’ teachings to give to the poor are endless. As Jesus said, “For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good” (Mark 14:7).

Jesus’ concern for the poor is a proof that He is the Christ. When John the Baptist was imprisoned, he sent a question to Jesus, asking if He was the Expected One. Part of Jesus’ answer to John was, “the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Matt. 11:2-5; Luke 7:22; see also Luke 4:18). Of course, this verse demonstrates that Jesus’ concern for the poor is not limited to their physical well being, but their spiritual well being as well. When evangelizing, do we consider the poor, or do we cherry-pick those whom we believe are “good prospects” for the church? James warned against this form of discrimination when he wrote “have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? … [I]f you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors” (James 2:4, 9).

The benevolent responsibility of individual Christians is broader than the church’s authority to spend congregational funds. Paul said that an individual Christian’s responsibility to “do good,” is not limited to other Christians. “[L]et us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Gal. 6:10). However, the New Testament pattern for using congregational funds is limited to examples of churches giving to other Christians. For example, in Acts 11:27-30 Christians in Antioch collected a “contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea.” Consider also how James instruct individuals that, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress,” without reference to whether they were believers (James 1:27), but churches took care of only Christian widows (1 Tim. 5:16; Acts 6:1). The New Testament pattern for using congregational funds is limited to benefiting the poor, needy, or wanting Christians (2 Cor. 8:4, 9:1, 9:12; Rom. 15:26, Phil. 4:16, etc.). Thus, the Scriptures indicate that a congregation’s authority and responsibility for benevolent activity is not as broad as the responsibility given to individual Christians.

Spiritually speaking, we should recognize that we are all poor, and rely upon God’s help for our spiritual sustenance (Matt. 5:3).

Jesus’ teachings on giving are commandments by which we will be judged. “Everlasting punishment” is reserved for the unmerciful and uncompassionate who fail to feed the hungry and clothe the needy, but eternal life is promised to those who follow Jesus’ teachings on, and examples of, compassionate giving (Matt. 25:31-46; see also James 2:13).

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Jesus Would Visit the Sick

JESUS WOULD VISIT THE SICK

by Bill Blue

Would you like to please God, follow Jesus’ example, edify your brethren, and grow your church numerically and spiritually at the same time without doing anything difficult? Visit the sick among your friends, family, and brethren.

The Gospels are filled with accounts of Jesus healing the sick (Matt. 4:23-24, 8:14-17, 9:35; Mark 1:30-34, 6:5; Luke 4:38-40; John 4:46-53, 5:2-9, 11:1-45). Jesus’ ability to heal became well known (Matt. 14:35-36; Mark 6:54-56; Luke 7:2-10). We understand that the purpose behind miraculous healings was to confirm that Jesus spoke and did things by God’s authority (John 3:2, 5:36, 10:25; Heb. 2:2-4; see also Mark 16:20), and also help us “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31, see also John 2:23, 11:1-45), but Jesus also healed the sick because, “He was moved with compassion for them [the sick]” (Matt. 14:14, see also Matt. 9:36).

Jesus gave His Apostles the ability “to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease” (Matt. 10:1, 8; see also Mark 3:14-15, 6:12-13; Luke 9:1-2, 9:6, 10:9). The book of Acts records several instances when the Apostles healed the sick (Acts 5:14-16, 9:36-41, 19:11-12, 28:8).

Jesus expects everyone to visit the sick. He instructed the Apostles to teach Christians “to observe (or “obey” according to the NIV and NRSV) all things that I have commanded you [the Apostles]” (Matt. 28:20), and taught that “everlasting punishment” is reserved for the unmerciful and uncompassionate who, among other things, fail to visit the sick (Matt. 25:31-46). Thus, all Christians, and not just the preachers, should follow Jesus’ example and visit the sick.

The writers of the New Testament likewise instructed the churches to visit the sick (James 5:14-15).

Jesus did not visit only the physically sick, but also the spiritually sick (Matt. 9:11-13; Mark 2:16-17; Luke 5:30-32). The Apostles and inspired authors of the New Testament also referred to the spiritually weak as sick (1 Cor. 11:29-30).

Visiting the sick is a way of expressing our love and concern for one another; thus, fulfilling another command of Jesus (John 13:34-35; see also Heb. 10:24). Visiting the sick also encourages and strengthens the brethren, and the relationships among the brethren, much in the same way that faithful attendance at worship services encourages the members assembled (Heb. 10:25). Visiting the sick will help grow the church (Cf. Eph. 4:11-16). I have known people who have left congregations to worship elsewhere because the brethren were “unfriendly,” or the preacher did not visit (or stay night and day with) the sick. (I have often wondered, did that person or other brethren visit the sick, or did that church believe that visiting was solely the responsibility of its preacher?)

We should not limit our concern to those who love us. David sang about the concern he had for his adversaries when they were ill (Psalm 35:12-13). Of course, showing compassion on someone other than friends, family, or brethren may encourage that person to consider becoming a member of your spiritual family.

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Jesus Would Not Want Us to Glory in Religious Titles

JESUS WOULD NOT WANT US TO GLORY IN RELIGIOUS TITLES
by Jeff Himmel

From my earliest days of preaching the gospel, I’ve met people now and then who insist on calling me “Reverend” Himmel. That always makes me uncomfortable — no, queasy would be more accurate — because Jesus tells us not to do that very thing.

My dictionary says “reverend” is an adjective that means “worthy of profound awe and respect.” Now, there may be some folks who respect me, but I’m quite sure I do not deserve anyone’s “profound awe.”

Of course, people who call me “Reverend” do it because they think that’s what you’re supposed to call a preacher. But who decided that? In older translations of the Bible the word “reverend” appears only once — as a description of God Himself: “Holy and reverend is his name” (Psalm 111:9). Newer translations render the word “awesome” or “fearful.” Such a majestic description of the power of God sounds ridiculous when tacked onto the names of men. What else but human pride could create such a mismatch?

Jesus spoke in strong terms against the kind of attitude that delights in religious titles. He denounced those who gloried in being called “Rabbi,” “Father,” and “Teacher” (Matthew 23:6-10). The words themselves were not wrong, but using them as titles of honor most definitely was. (Aren’t the terms “Doctor” and “Professor” used in a very similar fashion by preachers today?) Jesus pointed His disciples instead to humility: “But the greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted” (Matthew 23:11-12).

Sometimes, scriptural terms such as “elder,” “bishop,” or “pastor” are abused in the same way. In the New Testament these words are used to describe the men responsible for leading and overseeing a local church (see Acts 20:17,28; 1 Peter 5:1-3; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). They are spiritual job descriptions, not titles of rank.

Even a common Christian term like “brother” becomes a title of sorts if we apply it only to certain people, such as evangelists or elders. All true Christians are brothers in Christ, servants of God and of each other (Matthew 23:8 ). Why should I be called “Brother Jeff” and some other member of God’s family just be called “Tom?”

We are called to follow the Son of God, “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant” (Philippians 2:6,7). The wearing of high-sounding religious titles is the very opposite of that servant spirit that Jesus demonstrated for us.

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