Here we take a closer look at the words of Jesus when he said that the poor would always be with us in Matthew 26:11. We will see that Jesus was not showing a callous disregard for those who lacked financial and physical provision and he certainly didn't ignore the many parts of Scripture that call for the poor to be cared for. We will see that his words come from the book of Deuteronomy and take a look at what that means for our understanding of this passage. We will also learn a handy tip for studying the Bible!
In Matthew 26:11, Jesus defended the choice of a woman to anoint him with a very expensive oil, even though the cost of the oil could have done much to help the poor. The words he chose were, "The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me."
This verse has been really misapplied and it's caused many believers to think that any sort of anti-poverty initiatives are just a waste of time, because Jesus said there would always be poor people, so there's just no fixing that. Many people use that as their reason for not giving more or not paying their employees better, or for not advocating for government and workplace policies that would help alleviate poverty. I mean, it can't be fixed...Jesus said so, right?
But viewing the Messiah's statement this way means it doesn't fit with what the rest of what the Bible says.
Blessed is he who is generous to the poor. -Proverbs 14:21
Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but who is generous to the needy honors him. -Proverbs 14:31
Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, he himself said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." -Acts 20:35
From this handful of verses alone, it would make absolutely no sense that the Messiah would suddenly go against these Biblical tenets, and say to ignore the poor.
So why did Jesus make this statement?
He is referencing a Bible verse! It's not so much that he's making a blanket statement about the poor, and he's certainly not rolling his eyes to say, 'there will always be poor people, so who cares?' By saying "the poor will always be with you," he's agreeing with the disciples, that yes, the poor should be taken care of.
When he spoke he was referencing this verse from Deuteronomy.
"There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to open wide your hand to your brother, to the poor and the needy." -Deuteronomy 15:11
In his culture the disciples and many of the people he was around would have been very familiar with Scripture. Several times Jesus brings up a phrase from the Scripture but does not complete it. Not because he's cherry picking to make a point, but because those around him would have immediately understood what he was talking about.
This is similar to phrases we hear today such as, "We the people." Most of us don't need that phrase to be completed to know that is a reference to the US Declaration of Independence, and have at least some idea of the historic and symbolic significance of that.
When his audience heard him briefly reference the Bible it immediately brought to mind the entire passage of that verse and what it stood for, as well as the cultural and personal customs they had around this. Jesus validated their work in giving.
So rather than disregarding the needs of the poor, Jesus is actually reminding us that we should be helping them! In fact, when you look at the rest of that verse, it says "Open your hand wide to the poor." I think part of the point is that I am called to be generous, even if those around me are not or if I think someone should be spending their money differently.
The Messiah believed in caring for the poor.
This is a great Bible study tool in general. When you see a quote from elsewhere in Scripture, take a moment and flip to that verse and see the rest of what it says because the authors of the Bible knew!
Related posts:
Misconceptions about the Bible
How John the Baptist Prepared the Way for Jesus
Fifty Ways to Love Your Neighbor
