Paul collected offerings for the poor saints in Jerusalem because the Jerusalem believers had given everything into a common fund that ran dry, and the apostles made remembering the poor a requirement for his ministry to the Gentiles.
The early Jewish believers in Jerusalem sold their property and put the money into a common fund, expecting the Kingdom to come soon. When Israel rejected the Kingdom, the fund ran out and they were left destitute. Les Feldick teaches that God provided for these believers through offerings that Paul gathered from his Gentile converts, who were themselves poor.
Galatians 2:10 — This verse records the Jerusalem apostles' one request: that Paul remember the poor, which is the direct scriptural reason for his offering collections.
Acts 2:44-45 — This describes the early believers having all things common and selling their possessions, which Les Feldick identifies as the origin of the poverty in Jerusalem.
Galatians 2:9-10 records that James, Peter, and John gave Paul and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that Paul would go to the Gentiles while they continued to the circumcision. The only thing they asked was "that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do." That request is the scriptural point of origin for Paul's ongoing care for the poor saints at Jerusalem. Earlier, Acts 2:44-45 describes the Jerusalem believers as having "all things common" and selling their "possessions and goods" to distribute to those in need. Later, Romans 15:26 mentions the contribution that Macedonia and Achaia made for "the poor saints which are at Jerusalem." Together these verses show both the reason for the offering and the specific group it served.
Les Feldick explains that the offering Paul collected is tied directly to the Jerusalem believers' earlier decision to liquidate everything. Because they were looking for the Old Testament Kingdom, they gladly sold their property and placed the money at the apostles' feet; the more the apostles preached the Kingdom, the faster the King could come. When Israel rejected the Kingdom, however, the common fund could not sustain itself. It ran dry, and the believers were left destitute. Les also notes that some of the poor saints were strangers who had come to Jerusalem for the feast days, gave everything they had, and could not even pay ship fare home. Rather than abandoning them, God laid upon the hearts of Paul's Gentile converts—who were themselves poor—to bring offerings back to Jerusalem. This is why Paul's ministry repeatedly involved collections for the poor saints.
Les Feldick teaches that the early Jewish believers in Jerusalem sold their property and put the money into a common fund so everyone could live on it. They did this gladly because the Old Testament program taught that after Israel rejected the Messiah, wrath would come and then the King. They expected the Kingdom to come soon, so they were not worried about keeping their property. But the kingdom did not come in, their common kitty ran dry, and they were left destitute.
According to Les Feldick, the communal fund was not an endless source. Because new believers were not adding to it fast enough and many saints were spending it, the money eventually ran out. Some of the poor saints had come to Jerusalem for Passover or Pentecost, gave what they had, and could not return home. They then lived off the kitty until it was empty.
Paul records that James, Peter, and John gave him and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed to Paul and the gospel of the circumcision to Peter. The request attached to that agreement was that the poor be remembered, and Paul says he was forward to do so. Les Feldick emphasizes this agreement as part of the context for Paul's Gentile ministry.
Paul's converts in regions like Macedonia and Achaia were intensely poor, yet they gave so that Paul could take the offering to the poor saints in Jerusalem. Les Feldick points out that true children of God have a different outlook: instead of waiting for help, these Gentile believers sent offerings back to the homeland. God used these gifts to take care of believers who had no other means.
Les Feldick notes that Paul gave orders to the churches of Galatia and Corinth to take the collection on the first day of the week, the resurrection day, rather than on the seventh-day Sabbath. This is part of the practical pattern Paul set for the offerings to the poor saints at Jerusalem.
The Jerusalem Agreement
Les Feldick explains that the Jerusalem pillars recognized Paul's distinct gospel to the Gentiles and gave him and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship.
Why Jerusalem Had So Many Poor
Les says the Jerusalem believers sold all their property and put the money at the apostles' feet because they expected the Kingdom, but the kitty ran dry, leaving them destitute.
Gentile Believers Giving to Jewish Poor
Les shows that Paul's poverty-stricken Greek converts still contributed to the poor saints at Jerusalem, demonstrating their changed outlook.
Provision for the Poor Saints
Some poor saints had come for feast days, spent everything, and could not get home; God provided through Paul's converts and the first-day offerings.
Poverty-Stricken Gentile Givers
Les notes that the mountainous regions of Macedonia and Achaia were intensely poor, yet those believers gave offerings for Jerusalem.
The Utopia That Did Not Come
Had Israel accepted the Kingdom they would not have needed houses or lands; because they rejected it, the common fund ran out and Gentile believers were prompted to give.
The Kitty Ran Empty
Les explains that this Jewish believing community lived out of a common kitty, but the kitty ran out; Paul took collections to cover the need.
Selling Lands and Houses
Les uses the analogy of entitlement programs to show what happened when the believers sold everything and then lived off a common fund until it ran dry.
Galatians 2:10: Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.
This is the Jerusalem apostles' one requirement for Paul and Barnabas, directly explaining why Paul collected offerings.
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.
This describes the early Jerusalem believers' common fund, which Les Feldick says later ran dry.
Romans 15:26: For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.
This shows that Paul's Gentile converts were making a contribution specifically for the poor saints at Jerusalem.
According to Les Feldick, they had sold their lands and houses and put all the money into a common fund. Because Israel rejected the Kingdom, the fund ran out and they became destitute.
Paul's Gentile converts gave the offerings. Even though the believers in places like Macedonia and Achaia were themselves poor, they contributed so Paul could take the offering to the poor Jewish believers in Jerusalem.
Yes. Galatians 2:10 says Paul was forward to remember the poor, and Les Feldick shows that Paul regularly took collections among his churches for the poor saints at Jerusalem.
Les Feldick points out that Paul instructed the churches of Galatia and Corinth to take up the collection on the first day of the week, the resurrection day, rather than on the seventh-day Sabbath.
Watch the Teaching: Why Paul's Gospel to Gentiles Is Different From Peter's