Post by PG4Him on Dec 20, 2018 11:35:12 GMT -5
Last night in Bible study we discussed Jesus’ command to give alms privately. Part of this conversation focused on the collection boxes set up in the temple and surrounding synagogues. The religious leaders, mostly Pharisees, had created a system to get as much money as possible into the temple. They went so far as to legally require charitable donations — meant for a widow in your own family — to be laundered channeled through the temple’s process.
For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. — Mark 7:10-13
This also appears in Matthew. The Pharisees used twisted logic that any sort of charity was a spiritual service to God (Corban) and therefore under the jurisdiction of the temple. Thus if a man wanted to give money to his own parents, he had to make a donation to the temple in their honor, and somehow the benefit of this money would reach them eventually if they really needed it. This was a ploy to increase the temple’s revenue.
So in the time that Jesus walked among them, these people had no choice but to give alms in public. They were expected to walk into the temple in front of a crowd and deposit their donations in a box. This is how we ended up with the story of the widow’s mite. Jesus and His disciples were sitting in the temple watching exactly how much money people gave. The whole thing was a public spectacle, set up that way by the temple leaders to encourage morerevenue charity by offering public attention.
This is why Jesus attacked it in His first major sermon. It’s also one of the reasons the Pharisees turned against Him. This teaching was a direct contradiction to common religious practice at the time.
In our churches today, many spiritual activities are portrayed as strictly a public, collective event. Worship, for example. Many Christians go all week without woshipping at home because they think worship only happens in a concert. Many Christians lay hands on the sick only during church services because they think that’s what service is for. The truth is, pretty much every activity we can do in the church is available in our private homes — and it’s usually more effective when we do it at home!
May this edify someone’s walk in the Lord.
For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. — Mark 7:10-13
This also appears in Matthew. The Pharisees used twisted logic that any sort of charity was a spiritual service to God (Corban) and therefore under the jurisdiction of the temple. Thus if a man wanted to give money to his own parents, he had to make a donation to the temple in their honor, and somehow the benefit of this money would reach them eventually if they really needed it. This was a ploy to increase the temple’s revenue.
So in the time that Jesus walked among them, these people had no choice but to give alms in public. They were expected to walk into the temple in front of a crowd and deposit their donations in a box. This is how we ended up with the story of the widow’s mite. Jesus and His disciples were sitting in the temple watching exactly how much money people gave. The whole thing was a public spectacle, set up that way by the temple leaders to encourage more
This is why Jesus attacked it in His first major sermon. It’s also one of the reasons the Pharisees turned against Him. This teaching was a direct contradiction to common religious practice at the time.
In our churches today, many spiritual activities are portrayed as strictly a public, collective event. Worship, for example. Many Christians go all week without woshipping at home because they think worship only happens in a concert. Many Christians lay hands on the sick only during church services because they think that’s what service is for. The truth is, pretty much every activity we can do in the church is available in our private homes — and it’s usually more effective when we do it at home!
May this edify someone’s walk in the Lord.