Loving Jesus Most

Our Daily Bread Podcast | Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread Ministries

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.6 • 955 Ratings

🗓️ 17 July 2025

⏱️ 4 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The members asked why their church was buying a steeple. Was this the best use of God’s resources? What about feeding the poor? The pastor replied that the funds came from donors and needed to be spent as they wished. “Besides,” he quoted Jesus, “the poor you will always have with you” (Mark 14:7).

The pastor quickly apologized for his flippant, out of context remark, which led me to wonder, What was Jesus’ context? Six days before His death, a woman anointed Jesus’ with expensive perfume. The disciples were disgusted. Why wasn’t this perfume sold to help the poor? Jesus replied by quoting Deuteronomy 15:11, “You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me” (John 12:8).

Jesus often cited Deuteronomy, so He knew what was written a few sentences earlier: “There need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving to you . . . , he will richly bless you, if only you fully obey the Lord your God” (vv. 4–5). Perhaps this was another reason for Jesus’ rebuke. Poor people existed only because Israel hadn’t obeyed God’s instructions. Now the poor were being used to distract from Jesus—the true Israelite who would fully obey to the end.

We need not choose between Jesus and the poor. We love people best by loving Him most and loving Him most inspires us to love others best.

Transcript

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0:00.0	There need be no poor people among you.
0:03.2	Deuteronomy 15, verse 4.
0:07.8	Welcome to this daily encouragement from our daily bread.
0:12.0	Loving Jesus most was written and read by Mike Whitmer.
0:25.3	Deuteronomy chapter 15 verses 1 through 11 At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.
0:30.8	This is how it is to be done.
0:33.5	Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite.
0:38.3	They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people.
0:42.3	You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your fellow Israelite owes you.
0:49.3	However, there need be no poor people among you,
0:53.3	for in the land the Lord your God is giving
0:56.0	you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you.
1:00.8	If only you fully obey the Lord your God, and are careful to follow all these commands
1:05.7	I am giving you today.
1:08.0	For the Lord your God will bless you, as He has promised, and you will lend to many nations,
1:14.1	but will borrow from none.
1:16.0	You will rule over many nations, but none will rule over you.
1:22.0	If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward them. Rather, be open-handed
1:31.2	and freely lend them whatever they need. Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart.
1:39.8	Then because of this, the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.
1:47.1	There will always be poor people in the land.
1:49.9	Therefore, I command you to be open-handed toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.
	...

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