Jesus said the poor would always be present because poverty is a continuing reality of this present age that human efforts cannot eliminate and that will remain until the Kingdom comes.
In Matthew 26:11, Jesus contrasts the poor, whom the disciples would always have with them, with Himself, whom they would not always have. Les Feldick's teaching shows this playing out in history: the Jerusalem believers who pooled all their resources in expectation of the Kingdom went broke when the Kingdom did not come, and Paul had to take up offerings for them. Poverty, Les explains, is a present-age condition that will only disappear when the Kingdom arrives.
Matthew 26:11 — Jesus directly tells His disciples they will always have the poor with them, while He will not always be with them — the very statement in question.
Jesus' words are recorded in Matthew 26:11, Mark 14:7, and John 12:8. In Matthew, He says plainly: "For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always" (Matthew 26:11). The statement is a direct contrast between two things: the disciples would have the poor with them continually, but they would not have Jesus with them much longer. Mark's record adds a second element: "For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always" (Mark 14:7). The Scripture itself makes clear that the saying is not an excuse to neglect the poor — there would always be opportunity to help them. John records the same saying: "For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always" (John 12:8).
Les Feldick treats the early church at Jerusalem as the practical demonstration of Jesus' words. In Acts 2 and Acts 3, the believers sold their lands, houses, and possessions, putting all their money into a common treasury. They did this eagerly because they were convinced the Kingdom was just over the horizon — and in the Kingdom, Les points out, "there would be no poverty, there would be no poor, there would be no need for personal wealth" (Clip 7). But Israel did not respond, the Kingdom did not come in, and the treasury ran dry. The believers were left poor and destitute (Clips 1, 3, 6). That is why Paul was always taking up collections among his Gentile converts for the poor saints in Jerusalem — the same collection he was "forward to do" (Clips 1, 6, 7). Les also draws the lesson forward to the present age. Human systems of handout and redistribution always run out — America's entitlement programs are proof, he says. And abject third-world poverty, such as he witnessed in Haiti, has no hope of being overcome even by the UN. Poverty persists, Les teaches, because the Kingdom that will end it has not yet come.
Les points to Acts 2 and Acts 3, where the believers had all things common. They sold lands and houses and put everything into a common kitty, expecting the Kingdom to arrive at any moment. When Israel did not respond and the Kingdom did not come in, the kitty ran dry and those believers were left poor — even destitute. God graciously used Paul's Gentile collections to care for them for the rest of their lives.
Les teaches that you cannot keep handing money out until it runs out. That is exactly what happened to the Jerusalem believers' common treasury, which ran dry. He applies the same principle to America's entitlement programs, which he says are breaking the nation. He likewise describes the abject poverty of the third world — which he witnessed in Haiti — as having no hope of ever coming out of it, in spite of anything the UN or anyone else can do.
Les says the believers in Acts sold everything because they thought the Kingdom was just over the horizon, and in the Kingdom there would be no poverty, no poor, and no need for personal wealth. The elimination of poverty is a Kingdom promise, not something human systems can accomplish in the present age. Until the King comes, the poor remain.
The verse itself draws a contrast: "For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always" (Matthew 26:11). The poor would be an ongoing, ever-present reality for the disciples, while Jesus' physical presence with them was about to end. Mark's account adds that whenever they wished, they could do good to the poor — so the saying assumes continued opportunity for compassion, not a dismissal of the needy.
Why Did the Disciples Not Know Jesus Would Die?
Prophecy had dictated that they would work hand in glove to reject the king. And so we have it as we come then into the Gospel account. All right, come back to Matthew 26 once again. Verse 5 again, "...so they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people." Now, we'll be pointing it out, if not in this half hour, in one of the next ones.
The Jerusalem Believers' Treasury Ran Dry
Les explains that when Israel did not respond and the Kingdom did not come in, the common treasury of the Jerusalem believers ran dry, leaving them poor and dependent on the offerings Paul collected from Gentile congregations.
Why Peter Didn't Preach the Gospel in Acts 3
Now had He gone back immediately as Mary and Martha had wanted, Lazarus wouldn't have died and we wouldn't have had that account. But you see, everything is done for a purpose, to teach us something even today in the 1990's. And so here again, Jesus had purposely bypassed this lame man because it says it was from His mother's womb and He's already 40 years old.
Common Kit Cannot Sustain Handouts
Les shows that the believers' common treasury in Acts 2 and Acts 3 could not sustain them, and he compares it to modern entitlement programs, saying you cannot keep handing out money until you run out.
The Antichrist's 7-Year Treaty & Israel's Great Escape
So Jesus is referring to people who were probably quite well to do, who were no longer in the mainstream work force, but they were now enjoying a life of relative ease on their patio. Now He says to that remnant of Jews who are going to be in this exodus out of Jerusalem, don't you bother to stop and take your clothes out of the closet. Well now just be sensible, just be logical.
Abject Poverty in the Third World
Les describes the abject poverty of the third world — which he witnessed in Haiti — as having no hope of ever coming out of it in spite of anything the UN or anyone else can do.
Why So Many Poor in Jerusalem
Les explains why there were so many poor at Jerusalem: the believers had sold all their property and cashed everything in, and when the kitty ran dry they were left destitute.
No Poverty When the Kingdom Comes
Les teaches that the Jerusalem believers sold everything because they expected the Kingdom, where there would be no poverty and no poor, and he notes that Paul was eager to remember the poor through his collections.
Matthew 26:11: For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.
Jesus' direct statement that the poor would remain with His disciples always, contrasted with His own soon-ending presence.
Mark 14:7: For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.
Adds that the disciples would always have opportunity to do good to the poor, showing the saying did not dismiss compassion for them.
John 12:8: For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.
John's record of the same saying reinforces the permanence of poverty alongside the temporary presence of Jesus.
Acts 2:44-45: And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
The practice Les describes when the Jerusalem believers put everything into a common treasury.
Galatians 2:10: Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.
Paul's eagerness to remember the poor, which Les ties to the collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem.
No. Mark 14:7 adds that the disciples would always have the poor with them and could do them good whenever they wished. Les Feldick shows the early believers did help the poor, and Paul was continually taking up collections among the Gentiles for the poor believers in Jerusalem.
They sold their property and placed everything into a common treasury, expecting the Kingdom to come quickly. When Israel did not respond and the Kingdom was postponed, the treasury ran dry and they were left destitute.
Les teaches that there will be no poverty when the Kingdom comes — the believers in Acts expected exactly that, and "there would be no poverty, there would be no poor." Until then, the poor remain a constant present-age reality.
Les says no. The Jerusalem believers' common fund ran dry, and America's entitlement programs are breaking the economy. He describes the abject poverty of Haiti and the third world as having no hope of coming out of it in spite of anything the UN can do.
Watch the Teaching: Why Did the Disciples Not Know Jesus Would Die?