Helping the poor is one of the most useful slogans to use in political campaigns to secure popularity and gain ascendancy to political power. After all, who would fault those who wish to help the poor and do something to alleviate their misery!
Politicians also know once social inequality becomes severely widespread, their enemies could use such issue to bring them down from power. The poor in fact becomes pawns to be used by those who intend to benefit from their plight.
Helping the poor is not the sole concern and manipulation for politicians. Even religious practitioners will capitalize on such theme to further their interest. One such case has to do with the Lord Jesus Christ receiving a very expensive gift of anointment before He went to the cross. It wasn’t a pleasant incident.
Matthew 26:6: Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,
Matthew 26:7: There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.
Matthew 26:8: But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?
Matthew 26:9: For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.
What this woman did clearly upset the disciples. Upset is actually an understatement. Indignation was the word used to describe how those disciples felt. Mark provided the cost of the ointment used. Murmuring among the disciples was recorded.
Mark 14:3: And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.
Mark 14:4: And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?
Mark 14:5: For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
These disciples had been travelling with the Lord all over Israel for over three years helping the poor in many ways healing and feeding them without cost. So helping the poor was the norm and expected of them.
However, is helping the poor the reason why the Lord came into this world? They all recognized the Lord Jesus as their Messiah and their King. The Lord’s mission was not solely just to help the poor but for a much greater mission where even the disciples expected Him to restore the Kingdom to Israel.
Even before that happening, some of them were already jostling for position of eminence and power not too long ago when the mother of two of the disciples approached the Lord to secure her sons future in the coming kingdom.
Matthew 20:20: Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
Matthew 20:21: And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.
Matthew 20:24: And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.
Of course such request was met with indignation from the other ten disciples, the same feelings they felt about the anointing of the Lord by this woman who seemingly according to their opinion was a waste of resources.
How humiliating for the Lord to receive such treatment from His close disciples! How could they so hardheartedly equate the Lord Jesus Christ with the masses of the poor! Were they blind? No doubt, spiritually speaking.
There is certainly no lack of politicking among the disciples. They were even audacious enough to ask the Lord who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven some time back.
Matthew 18:1: At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
Their ambition for ascendancy in the coming kingdom is clearly exhibited during the Lord’s ministry on earth. So when this incident concerning the woman who anointed the Lord with costly ointment, it was another convenient moment for them to rant and score points.
It was truly unfortunate they became so familiar with the Lord being with Him all the while ministering to great and small reducing the Lord to be among their equal.
Just before the incident, the Lord reminded them He would be betrayed and crucified.
Matthew 26:1: And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples,
Matthew 26:2: Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.
Sad to say, the disciples had been reminded countless times but apparently such bad news didn’t sink in and fell on deaf ears. All they could imagine before them was the coming kingdom and their glorious future.
Helping the poor may seem to them the way to achieve this end. They had the people with them and the religious authorities stood helpless in the face of the Lord’s impeccable ministry in which they had no answer. Continue reading Politicizing the Need to Help the Poor