Roman Soldier Makes a Man Carry His Packby CBPepper
5:42Matthew 5:42
Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
Give to the one who asks for help and do not turn away the one who would borrow, meeting requests for favors and deeds of mercy toward those in need with a generous and open hand. This does not mean giving without thought to everyone who asks for charity, but opening the heart to a poor brother to supply what is sufficient for his need as a gift expected back from no one, never sending away hungry one who asks for food while taking care not to encourage one able to work to live in dependence on others. Spoken in the Sermon on the Mount in plain language all can understand, it sets forth one of the far-reaching spiritual claims of God's holy law, which stands as the standard of righteousness and can only be kept when its spirit is in the heart, for the state of the heart governs life and character. It belongs to the call not to meet evil with hatred, revenge or resentment, but to endure patiently and show a kindness and benevolence superior to the selfish spirit of the world, as Christ did when He bore insult and persecution without retaliation. Its words are to be read, believed, dwelt upon and acted upon until written on the soul, so that grace controls the will, love moves the heart to suffer with those who suffer and reach out a helping hand, and the divine likeness is revealed in good works that glorify the Father.
Sermon Setting and Law
The saying belongs to the Sermon on the Mount, spoken especially for the disciples yet in the hearing of the multitude. That sermon was given in plain, simple language that the poor and unlearned can understand, as an authoritative guide for faith and practice.
It stands within Christ's definition of the law and revelation of its far-reaching claims. That teaching corrected the rabbis who had presented God's law as a cold, rigid code of commands and traditions, and it opposed the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees whose doctrines and practices had pictured God as stern and without compassion, mercy, or love. The law so explained remains the holy standard of righteousness as long as heaven and earth remain.
The saying teaches one of the far-reaching, spiritual principles of God's law. Keeping the law requires having the spirit of the law in the heart, because the state of the heart regulates life and character. Teaching new converts the claims of the law is lost labor unless this heart principle is impressed upon them.
It belongs to the law given on the mount that reaches into every part of life, condemns evil, and demands perfect obedience. It is part of the pure gospel spoken on the mount as the explanation of God's holy law and the holy standard of character. That standard requires loving God with the whole heart and loving one's neighbor as God requires. Love to neighbor is shown in using only right and holy methods in business, never mingling human wisdom with the divine to confuse minds and never unjustly acquiring means at another's expense. God's children must be perfect in their humble sphere as the Father is perfect in His exalted sphere in order to be fit for companionship with sinless beings.
Meaning of Generous Giving
The verse commands a generous, open-handed response to the one who asks for help and forbids turning away the one who would borrow, applying to requests for favors and deeds of mercy toward people in need. It directs resources to care for people in need rather than to spend them on display, in connection with the health of both body and soul. It belongs to the instruction not to resist evil with hatred, revenge, retaliation or resentment, but to meet even oppression with patient endurance, kindness, and a spirit unlike the selfishness of the world.
It was spoken with sadness to Jews whose sins had brought bondage to Rome, while Roman soldiers were forcing Jewish peasants to carry burdens up a steep bank and the crowd burned with indignation and longing to crush their oppressors, calling for benevolence even amid oppression instead of violent resistance. The benevolence required is superior to that of the worldling, as lived by Christ who never retaliated upon His enemies under insult, contumely and persecution. Anger at injustice may be righteous when it responds to dishonor to God or oppression of the innocent, but anger indulged at a perceived provocation opens the heart to evil, so bitterness, animosity and resentment must be removed to live in harmony with heaven.
The verse does not command indiscriminate giving to everyone who asks for charity, but commands an open hand and soft heart toward a poor brother, giving and lending what is sufficient for his need as a gift rather than as a loan to be repaid, expecting nothing again. One who comes asking for food is not to be sent away hungry, since poverty may result from misfortune. Giving is to be thoughtful and is not to encourage someone able to earn a living to depend on others.
When solicited for favors, Christian courtesy is to be exercised toward all within one's influence, with deeds of mercy not forgotten. Such giving shows a benevolence superior to that of the worldling, represents the spirit that rules in heaven, and rejects the narrow, selfish spirit of the world.
Christlike Character and Practice
Christ's sayings in Matthew 5 are to be read, believed, studied, dwelt upon often and acted upon, and written upon the tablets of the soul. Doing so develops Christlike character and inwardly establishes divine principles and virtues so that they are constantly brought into the life. In this way God's will is done, the doctrine is known to be of God, the standard is held high without spot or wrinkle, and Christ who is altogether lovely is represented in words and attitude and actions. His followers must learn and obey His way rather than prefer their own, for that teaching is meant to shape Christlike character and foster love and fellowship among believers. Conduct contrary to it damages unity and witness, so gradual backsliding and existing evils are to be seen and corrected and words that tend to separate friends are to be broken up. This includes faultfinding and accusing others, which injure the fellowship of believers.
The command to give to the one who asks and not to turn away the one who would borrow calls for revealing the likeness of the divine Lord. It requires a heart filled with the grace of Christ and controlled by His will, moved by His love to suffer with those who suffer, to rejoice with those who rejoice, to feel deep tenderness for every soul in weakness, sorrow or distress, and to reach forth a helping hand to those in need of relief. This reflects Christ whose heart was ever touched with pity at the sight of woe and whose life on earth is a perfect reflection of the divine law. Kept in this way, character stays under the molding influence of the Spirit of God through faith that works by love and purifies the soul. Then light shines before men in good works that glorify the Father, and salt does not lose its savor.
The verse lays down a principle of duty in association with one another, requiring giving to him that asks and openness to him that would borrow. It calls for conciliation as circumstances demand, deference to the position of others, and willingness to meet their wishes and gratify their tastes. It rebukes love prescribed to certain limits and requires overflowing love in a much broader channel, letting the love of Jesus in soft, melting rays break up the icy coldness that ought never to exist in any Christian heart. Failure in this giving spirit leaves others wounded, thrown on Satan's battleground, and cherishing feelings that react upon the one who withholds. It teaches giving to those who ask and not turning away those who seek to borrow as care for people in need rather than spending resources on display, in connection with promoting health of both body and soul.
Give to the one who asks for help and do not turn away the one who would borrow, meeting requests for favors and deeds of mercy toward those in need with a generous and open hand. This does not mean giving without thought to everyone who asks for charity, but opening the heart to a poor brother to supply what is sufficient for his need as a gift expected back from no one, never sending away hungry one who asks for food while taking care not to encourage one able to work to live in dependence on others. Spoken in the Sermon on the Mount in plain language all can understand, it sets forth one of the far-reaching spiritual claims of God's holy law, which stands as the standard of righteousness and can only be kept when its spirit is in the heart, for the state of the heart governs life and character. It belongs to the call not to meet evil with hatred, revenge or resentment, but to endure patiently and show a kindness and benevolence superior to the selfish spirit of the world, as Christ did when He bore insult and persecution without retaliation. Its words are to be read, believed, dwelt upon and acted upon until written on the soul, so that grace controls the will, love moves the heart to suffer with those who suffer and reach out a helping hand, and the divine likeness is revealed in good works that glorify the Father.
Sermon Setting and Law
The saying belongs to the Sermon on the Mount, spoken especially for the disciples yet in the hearing of the multitude. That sermon was given in plain, simple language that the poor and unlearned can understand, as an authoritative guide for faith and practice.
It stands within Christ's definition of the law and revelation of its far-reaching claims. That teaching corrected the rabbis who had presented God's law as a cold, rigid code of commands and traditions, and it opposed the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees whose doctrines and practices had pictured God as stern and without compassion, mercy, or love. The law so explained remains the holy standard of righteousness as long as heaven and earth remain.
The saying teaches one of the far-reaching, spiritual principles of God's law. Keeping the law requires having the spirit of the law in the heart, because the state of the heart regulates life and character. Teaching new converts the claims of the law is lost labor unless this heart principle is impressed upon them.
It belongs to the law given on the mount that reaches into every part of life, condemns evil, and demands perfect obedience. It is part of the pure gospel spoken on the mount as the explanation of God's holy law and the holy standard of character. That standard requires loving God with the whole heart and loving one's neighbor as God requires. Love to neighbor is shown in using only right and holy methods in business, never mingling human wisdom with the divine to confuse minds and never unjustly acquiring means at another's expense. God's children must be perfect in their humble sphere as the Father is perfect in His exalted sphere in order to be fit for companionship with sinless beings.
Meaning of Generous Giving
The verse commands a generous, open-handed response to the one who asks for help and forbids turning away the one who would borrow, applying to requests for favors and deeds of mercy toward people in need. It directs resources to care for people in need rather than to spend them on display, in connection with the health of both body and soul. It belongs to the instruction not to resist evil with hatred, revenge, retaliation or resentment, but to meet even oppression with patient endurance, kindness, and a spirit unlike the selfishness of the world.
It was spoken with sadness to Jews whose sins had brought bondage to Rome, while Roman soldiers were forcing Jewish peasants to carry burdens up a steep bank and the crowd burned with indignation and longing to crush their oppressors, calling for benevolence even amid oppression instead of violent resistance. The benevolence required is superior to that of the worldling, as lived by Christ who never retaliated upon His enemies under insult, contumely and persecution. Anger at injustice may be righteous when it responds to dishonor to God or oppression of the innocent, but anger indulged at a perceived provocation opens the heart to evil, so bitterness, animosity and resentment must be removed to live in harmony with heaven.
The verse does not command indiscriminate giving to everyone who asks for charity, but commands an open hand and soft heart toward a poor brother, giving and lending what is sufficient for his need as a gift rather than as a loan to be repaid, expecting nothing again. One who comes asking for food is not to be sent away hungry, since poverty may result from misfortune. Giving is to be thoughtful and is not to encourage someone able to earn a living to depend on others.
When solicited for favors, Christian courtesy is to be exercised toward all within one's influence, with deeds of mercy not forgotten. Such giving shows a benevolence superior to that of the worldling, represents the spirit that rules in heaven, and rejects the narrow, selfish spirit of the world.
Christlike Character and Practice
Christ's sayings in Matthew 5 are to be read, believed, studied, dwelt upon often and acted upon, and written upon the tablets of the soul. Doing so develops Christlike character and inwardly establishes divine principles and virtues so that they are constantly brought into the life. In this way God's will is done, the doctrine is known to be of God, the standard is held high without spot or wrinkle, and Christ who is altogether lovely is represented in words and attitude and actions. His followers must learn and obey His way rather than prefer their own, for that teaching is meant to shape Christlike character and foster love and fellowship among believers. Conduct contrary to it damages unity and witness, so gradual backsliding and existing evils are to be seen and corrected and words that tend to separate friends are to be broken up. This includes faultfinding and accusing others, which injure the fellowship of believers.
The command to give to the one who asks and not to turn away the one who would borrow calls for revealing the likeness of the divine Lord. It requires a heart filled with the grace of Christ and controlled by His will, moved by His love to suffer with those who suffer, to rejoice with those who rejoice, to feel deep tenderness for every soul in weakness, sorrow or distress, and to reach forth a helping hand to those in need of relief. This reflects Christ whose heart was ever touched with pity at the sight of woe and whose life on earth is a perfect reflection of the divine law. Kept in this way, character stays under the molding influence of the Spirit of God through faith that works by love and purifies the soul. Then light shines before men in good works that glorify the Father, and salt does not lose its savor.
The verse lays down a principle of duty in association with one another, requiring giving to him that asks and openness to him that would borrow. It calls for conciliation as circumstances demand, deference to the position of others, and willingness to meet their wishes and gratify their tastes. It rebukes love prescribed to certain limits and requires overflowing love in a much broader channel, letting the love of Jesus in soft, melting rays break up the icy coldness that ought never to exist in any Christian heart. Failure in this giving spirit leaves others wounded, thrown on Satan's battleground, and cherishing feelings that react upon the one who withholds. It teaches giving to those who ask and not turning away those who seek to borrow as care for people in need rather than spending resources on display, in connection with promoting health of both body and soul.