You always have the poor with you

John 11:55-12:19 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves. ⁵⁶ So they were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?” ⁵⁷ Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him.

12 Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the tablewith Him. ³ Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. ⁴ But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, ⁵ “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” ⁶ Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. ⁷ Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial. ⁸ For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”

⁹ The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead. ¹⁰ But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; ¹¹ because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.

¹² On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” ¹⁴ Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, ¹⁵ “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” ¹⁶ These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him. ¹⁷ So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him. ¹⁸ For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign. ¹⁹ So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”

In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus says:  “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”  In today’s text it says:   Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the tablewith Him. Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said,  “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial. For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.” For some people, their ministry and their passion is to love and serve people. Many times people are drawn to ministry to a very specific group of people. It may be the poor and homeless, or perhaps those who addicted or in prison. The list of people who need the love of God demonstrated to them goes on and on. These are all good, worthwhile and important ministries and causes. But we all need to properly prioritize our passion. First and foremost, before we love and serve others, we need to love the Lord God with all our heart, soul and mind. Loving God is the foundation from which we love, serve and minister to others. As Jesus says, there will always be the poor and the needy in the world.

Jesus says the second commandment is that, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’   No other person or group of people is to be equal to or greater than God. He is our first and foremost priority in love and ministry. In Psalm 37:4 the psalmist says:  Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.  As we love God with all of our heart, soul and mind; as we delight in Him, we come to know His great love for us. Our heart becomes aligned with His. We then, based on the love of God; aligned with His heart, can love others as we ourself are loved and as we love ourself.  Some people get this wrong. They love and serve others in an attempt to earn the love of God. They love and serve others but they do not love themselves. They try, through their ministry and their works to make up for their shortcomings and sin. Often they are drawn to a particular group of people because they have shared their experience, the hurt and the need, even the shame of those people. It is vital though that we love others from the foundation of God’s love. If we love and serve people because we share their hurt and need, we are ministering out of our own hurt and often from a place of unforgiveness for self. When we instead, minister, love and serve from the foundation of God’s love, we minister to them in the redemption and restoration we ourselves have experienced in and from God.  

In the text it says:  On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”  It is important both to those we love and minister to and to ourselves that we recognize that it is Jesus who is their Savior. He alone is Lord and King. We need to love and serve from the foundation of God’s love so that it is God and Christ that they see and love. Their will always be people who are poor and needy. None of us, or even all of us together cannot eliminate the suffering and the need of the world. Only Jesus, through His love demonstrated on the cross, can give people all that they need. We perhaps can meet some of the physical needs of some for the time that they are here, but Jesus alone can save them. He can give them eternal life and the love of God forever.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; as I look around and see all of the hurting and needy people, may I not become overwhelmed by their need, but rather may I be part of overwhelming them with Your love. May I recognize that every hour of every day, loving, serving and ministering to them is not enough. It cannot compare to that moment in time and eternity, when on the cross You said, Father forgive them, and then, It is finished. I love You Lord, with all of my heart, soul and mind. Help me to love others as I am loved.  Amen.