Saturday, August 29, 2020

The writings of Luke the physician starting with his version of the gospel - Luke 21:1-4 comments: a poor widow's offering



Luke 21:1 ¶  And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. 2  And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. 3  And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: 4  For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.

The Saviour here makes a distinct difference between those generous men of wealth who give freely to religious impulse, giving which in no way threatens their day-to-day survival and a widow, perhaps one of those mentioned in the last passage fleeced by the religious elite, who gave all she had to support the religious institutions of her nation.

Moses had commanded, and you should read this passage and the context;

Exodus 30:13  This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD. 14  Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD. 15  The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.

King David collected for the future temple;

1Chronicles 29:9  Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.

Again, in the days of King Joash;

2Chronicles 24:6  And the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said unto him, Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of Moses the servant of the LORD, and of the congregation of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness? 7  For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD did they bestow upon Baalim. 8  And at the king’s commandment they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of the house of the LORD. 9  And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in to the LORD the collection that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness. 10  And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end.

This is giving to build, maintain, and support a very physical structure, the center of Jewish religion. By contrast Christian giving was to help other Christians, particularly church bodies that were suffering.

1Corinthians 16:1 ¶  Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.

But, regardless of the reason for giving, God has blessed our generosity to the furtherance of the gospel and care for the saints and even all men in general so that your generosity to those in need whatever their spiritual state is mentioned in the following.

2Corinthians 9:1 ¶  For as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you: 2  For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many. 3  Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be ready: 4  Lest haply if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you
unprepared, we (that we say not, ye) should be ashamed in this same confident boasting.
5  Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness.

    6 ¶  But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 7  Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 8  And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: 9  (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. 10  Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) 11  Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. 12  For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; 13  Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men; 14  And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you. 15  Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

If you think that Christians are only justified in giving to the faithful in need please note that early Christian writers like Eusebius wrote of Christian benevolence to the unsaved and even a pagan emperor like Julian the Apostate noted that this was one reason for the advancement of Christianity in the Roman Empire.

As an example a fourth-century plague in the city of Caesarea caused a sick and weakened population to flee. Only the Christians stayed behind to minister to the dead in burial and to the dying, distributing bread to the starving. Julian wrote to a pagan priest and cited how the Christians extended charity to the poor and helped the suffering suggesting that if there was to be a revival of paganism, which he desired, the pagan priests of the various gods must do the same.

In this passage, penury is poverty and the poor widow who gave her two mites, a miniscule amount of money, gave all she had and was honored by Christ. However, His point is in the contrast between the rich men and the widow’s giving, not in a command for suffering people to give all they have that would go to their own sustenance.

The doctrine of tithing the tithe, a word not mentioned in the letters of Paul to the Christian churches, can be an unnecessary burden to the poor in a church body. God has not called you to let your children go hungry or without basic medical care and it is presumption on God to say that you will give all of the money you would have paid for your rent and food to your church and just trust God to provide. That being said, we all have experienced or we all know of times of great need when God has provided abundantly and I can honestly say that no matter what financial state I have been in God has never let me go hungry or homeless. It is a balance produced by a sound mind and strong faith. God honors a cheerful giving heart, notice the cheerful and not begrudging, acting in faith but does not ask you to neglect your duties as a provider for your family willingly. Do not let someone use this passage to suggest to you that you sign over your paycheck to the church and then have a bad testimony to your landlord or your family while you act in presumptive faith, the kind of faith that gives you an excuse not to do what God has called you to do while pretending to do what He has not called you to do.

1Timothy 5:8  But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

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