when Jesus marginalized the poor

In the book of Mark, there is a scene in which a sinful woman (as a side note, this is probably NOT a prostitute but a Jewish woman who did not keep the symbolic law), pours over a year’s worth of wages over Jesus’ head:

Mar 14:3 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.
Mar 14:4 But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted?
Mar 14:5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply.

The apostles rally in disgust. They respond: “What about the poor?”. But Jesus was not interested in “social justice” or “public welfare”, Jesus responds by marginalizing the poor:

Mar 14:6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me.
Mar 14:7 For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always.

The “poor will always be with you” is not a statement that “we always need to remember the poor and look out of them”. This is instead a statement by Jesus marginalizing the poor. It is the equivalent of a wife saying to her husband: “you can always watch TV, but let’s go to the concert tonight.” The TV is made less important by comparison to something that is fleeting. Jesus is saying “forget about the poor for a moment and focus on me.” You won’t find that on any Christian leftist meme.

Jesus meme

About christopher fisher

The blog is meant for educational/entertainment purposes. All material can be used and reproduced in any length for any purpose as long as I am cited as the source.
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