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The Donation
April 27, 2019

This past week concluding yesterday, First-Century Apostolic Christians like me observed the Days of Unleavened Bread. Connected to the Christian Passover, during the last few days of the life of Jesus is the story of a valuable donation he received and a response given from one of his disciples. I'll admit, this writing is inspired in part by the recent trajedy of the fire damage to Notre Dame in Paris, the immediate and very generous outpouring of donations to rebuild it, and negative feedback given by some in the Paris community reagrding the direction of donations to the rebuilding instead of helping the needy.

John 12:1-8
Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.

John clearly shows in this passage that Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would betray Jesus, made the negative comment about the generous donation. John also pointed out that Judas was a thief and did not care about the poor. I want to be very clear-in no way am I saying those in Paris providing the negative feedback on the generous donations to rebuild Notre Dame are thieves. I also want to be very clear that in no way do I believe anything other than these protestors genuinely care for the poor people for whom they are advocating. The timing of the burning of Notre Dame, and the negative feedback are what made me think of this passage in the Bible. Among those who are concerned for the poor in this modern era are people who will cite verses from the Bible. Some will look to the writing of James. James uses the words faith and works, and uses examples people can understand to explain his point. Because an example of helping another person is used to explain the connection between faith and works, many incorrectly assume the works expected of a Christian are solely to help another person. James shows that if you encounter a person needing food or clothing and only wish them pleasantries, you have done nothing to help that person's immediate needs, and this is given as an example to show the connection between faith and works; but taking care of those in need, are not the works James is talking about. James goes on to give examples from the Old Testament to show what he was talking about. When Abraham was willing to offer Isaac as a sacrifce at the command of God, Abraham's works was obedience. God commanded and Abraham obeyed God. Looking at the original passage in Genesis there can be debate on the level of awareness that Isaac had regarding the pending sacrifice; I think it would take a stretch to show how the pending sacrifice would have given Abraham the opportunity to take care of Isaac's immediate needs. Rehab was justified by her works because she took affirmative action to help the Israelites because she saw a miracle of God in what the the Israelites were doing. In essence what James is saying is that without obedience to God, without affirming the Miracles of God through positive action, that faith is dead. James correctly shows demons have faith, they believe in God, but they do not obey God, and the only actions they take are negative actions.

James 2:14-26
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

There are also some who will focus so much on obedience, they overlook a passage from Matthew, one of the final teachings given by Jesus before the final Passover of his ministry. Jesus clearly shows in Matthew 25 there is a need to take care of those in need as a requirement for salvation. In this passage, the people before Jesus were all people who obeyed and who took affirmative action in the face of a miracle of God. Only those who helped people in need were found worthy of salvation. To make clear, the righteous of these verses not only helped people in need, they also obeyed.

Matthew 25:31-46
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

To summarize, eternal life is given to those who both 1) obey God, and 2) help people in need. Those who only obey God will not be granted eternal life. Those who only help people in need will not be granted eternal life. In James 1:27, James summarizes this by simply writing, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

All verses are from the King James Version.
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