The Poor

Some may misunderstand Jesus’ words in John 12:8 to say that no matter what we do, we will never solve the problem of the poor, because they will always be around. However, when paralleled with the teachings of Jesus and the events to come in His life, we can see that Jesus was simply saying that their work is just beginning. He will be here for a short while longer, but the poor will remain. Consequently their work will not be finished when Jesus is gone.

John 12:4-8 paints us the picture of a woman, who out of the great respect, love and compassion for Jesus, anoints his head and feet with a very costly perfume. She pours the perfume on him and uses her hands and hair to spread it around. Judas is livid and complains about what he perceives to be a foolish decision on her part. He claims the money could have been sold, and given to the poor. The amount of perfume is equivalent to a year’s wages, which is about 300 denarii, or to put it in other terms, it would be approximately worth $10,000. His desire or apparent concern for the poor is only surface deep, because he was the keeper of the moneybag, he frequently borrowed from it for himself. His knowledge of the worth of the perfume explains his outburst and response to her actions.

Jesus scolds Judas and tells him to leave her alone, noting that he will be here only a short time, but that the poor will always be with them. This thought mirrors the scripture in Deuteronomy 15 where Moses speaks to Israel concerning how to treat the poor. He says, “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.” (NIV) The directives Moses gives Israel reflect the heart of God and his compassion for the poor. Exodus 23:11 instructs farmers to go over their fields once during harvest to collect the grain, and to leave some of the harvest there for the poor to come glean from it. Jesus is doing the same thing here, reminding them that the poor will always be in the land. There will always be ample opportunity to care for the poor. Mary’s actions at this particular moment are being done as and act of love and service to the Messiah. Although the depth of her actions may not be fully known to her, Christ knew what was about to transpire concerning his life, thereby making her sacrifice and service to him all the more sweet.

So what kind of application can we take from this scripture. Considering all that God has to say about taking care of the poor, and what Christ has said here in this passage; we can safely say that one of our responsibilities, as Christians is to care for, and show compassion for the poor. This only reflects what God has done for us as He sent Christ to earth for the forgiveness of our sins. We were poor and destitute in our sin, but through the compassion and love God has for us, we are rich.








References
Baker's evangelical dictionary of biblical theology. (2009). Dictionaries. Retrieved
February 27, 2009, from http://www.biblestudytools.net/Dictionaries/
BakersEvangelicalDictionary/bed.cgi

Biblegateway. (2009). The year for canceling debts. Retrieved February 27, 2009, from
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%2015;&version=31

Naves topical bible. (2009). John 13. Retrieved February 27, 2009, from
http://www.biblestudytools.net/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?passage=joh+13:4-14

New testament greek. (2009). Lexicon. Retrieved February 27, 2009, from
http://www.biblestudytools.net/Lexicons/NewTestamentGreek/grk.cgi?search=poor&version=kjv&type=eng&submit=Find