The Poor in the Land (Deuteronomy 15)

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If you ask many Christians what the Bible says about the poor, there’s a good chance they will mention this text: "Jesus said, 'You always have the poor with you'" (Mark 14:7). 

Unfortunately, this verse is often misinterpreted. People assume Jesus is saying it doesn’t really matter if we serve the poor or not, for there will always be plenty of them among us.

This is definitely NOT what Jesus meant. The Bible is filled with admonitions regarding our responsibility for the poor, both personally and corporately. 

However, many American Christians are oblivious to their God-given mandate to serve the poor. They fail to realize that Jesus' words quoted above are taken from Deuteronomy 15:11, which says, “For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’”

Clearly, the presence of the poor among us is not meant to excuse us from serving them. In fact, the opposite is true. After all, consider the fifteenth chapter of Deuteronomy, from which Jesus was quoting. It begins by requiring all debts to be forgiven every seven years (1-6). It then challenges the people not to harden their hearts against the poor (7-11). 

In addition, in every seventh year, all Hebrew servants were to be granted their freedom, and generously provided for (11-18). The reason for all this social concern? They must never forget that they had been slaves in Egypt, and were redeemed as an act of God’s grace (15).

And that’s just one chapter. We could go on in Deuteronomy to take a look at laws governing gleaning, outlawing usury, and requiring the return of lands to their original owners. Even stipulations regarding divorce were meant to protect women from oppression. Clearly, God wanted his people to live in a way that affirmed the dignity and value of every human being.

What are we to make of this today? Does the Bible promote a particular political agenda? No, I don’t think so. There is room for a wide variety of political persuasions on this subject. 

However, while followers of Jesus may not always agree about the best methods of serving the poor, they should always agree about its importance, both within and without their borders (Acts 11:27ff; Lu 10:25-37). And they should insist that everyone, the sojourner, the fatherless and the widow, be treated with dignity and respect (Dt. 24:17-22, e.g.). There can be no other conclusion from an honest reading of Scripture.

Near the end of his ministry, Jesus told a famous story about sheep and goats. The sheep, he said, were those who gave food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, hospitality to the stranger, clothing to the naked, succor to the sick, and encouragement to the incarcerated. The goats were those who didn’t. 

The sheep were welcomed into the kingdom; the goats were excluded. Why? Because, whether knowingly or not, when they served the poor, the suffering, the stranger, and the sick, they were serving Jesus himself. Jesus said it this way: “As you did it to the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40).

Not long after Jesus told this story (and just before the events of Holy Week which we currently celebrate), a woman sacrificially gave of her resources to anoint Jesus. Others were critical, saying that her gift of love should have been offered to the poor instead. But Jesus welcomed her lavish act of love. The poor would always be among us, he said, and we could (and should) “do good for them. But you will not always have me.” As Jesus predicted, he died a few days later, and this woman’s incredible act of love was never forgotten.

When we read this story, we may feel a bit jealous that this woman was able to bless Jesus in such a personal way. What a privilege for her to physically touch Jesus! To express her love for him in such a tangible way! If only we could do the same!

And then we remember: Of course we can. When we serve the poor, we are serving Jesus. When we visit the sick and imprisoned, we are visiting Jesus. When we welcome the stranger, we are welcoming Jesus. When we feed the hungry, we are feeding Jesus. As we do it for the least of Jesus’ brothers, we do it for Jesus himself.

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