Jesus said, "the poor you'll always have with you" meaning those who don't have any money.
But those whom Christ refers to when He said, "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God", I am convinced He was not referring to the poor without money but the poor in spirit.
The reason why I say this is because Christ didn't have any money, and when it came time to pay His taxes, He still had none, but told Peter to go on a fishing trip and the first fish you catch there will be a gold coin.
Even when it came to time for the last supper there was no money that exchange hands to rent the banquet hall, it seems to be a mysterious thing.
Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised"
Everything that Christ states here is all an inward work that only He could do. Jesus said to the Jews that they were in captivity only to hear them say, "we have not been in bondage to no man", so Christ was referring to the bondage that they had to sin and that He was going to free them from that slavery and fear of being under the law and what the law only produces when the flesh tries to perform it.
In this verse Christ speaks about being anointed to preach the gospel to the poor. Is the gospel not for the rich?
This is why I am not convinced that He was referring to the poor who have no money, because Zacchaeus was a wealthy man yet salvation came to his house. Matthew was another rich man, he was tax collector whom Christ called to be one of His desciples.
When He said, "woe to you rich", was he referring to the material possessions that he possessed?
I do not believe so, I know that He was referring to those who stood in the way of the kingdom of God and wouldn't allow those who were passing by to enter in. They fed themselves of what the field produced but they wouldn't allow anyone else access to it.
Christ is saying that they would be mourning while those who have desired and sighed to enter into it, will be satisfied, while they would thrusted out.
A perfect example of this is the Rich man and Lazarus Luke 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
Notice that Lazarus was laid at the rich mans gate, the gate was entering of the Kingdom of God, the Rich man was in the kingdom, but cared nothing for the affairs of his own people, who needed norishment of the word of God. The Rich man fed only himself and no one else. He was like dead sea, water flows into it but nothing flows out.
Lazarus was just content to receive the crumbs that fell from the masters table while the children ate. That healing bread which is the word of God had power even in the crumbs, yet that Rich man wouldn't' even let him have that.
Even the dogs came and tormented him by licking his sores. If you remember in Revelation 22:15 "For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Lazarus was without the kingdom.
Lazarus was being vexed by everything that was in the world, as the soul of righteous Lot was being vexed by the filthy lives of the wicked in his day.
The Rich man went to hell because he was nothing like our Saviour as He said, "depart from me you workers of iniquity, I never knew you". I never knew you means that my character was never formed in you, I only know myself, when I see you I don't see a relection of myself, therefore, I never knew you, I don't know who you are. The rich man was full of himself, and had not one ounce of Christ in him.
How many ministers today block the way into the kingdom of God?
Too many to count, they feed off the flock, they cause them to starve to death, while they feed on the word and receive and drink, but thy will not share this word to others. I remember my Dad went to the Pentecostal minister of the church he was attending at the time, back in the 60's, and he would ask, "Pastor why don't you preach this, it's the word?". "Oh brother, if I preached that I'd lose my congregation".
I asked another minister a couple of years ago, and asked a similiar question after the sermon was given, I said, "Pastor, why don't you preach your entire message, why do you stop about half way?" "If I don't stop at 20 minutes I'd lose them".
So the rest of the word was left untouched, he fed himself, while those who are eager to hear, are left without.
That is why it says, "My people perish for a lack of knowledge". Then he goes on to say, "Woe unto you shepherds who scattered the flock".
Karl
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