The Fifth Sunday after Trinity was June 30, 2024.
Readings for Year B in 2024 can be found here.
My exegesis on the Gospel, Mark 5:21-43, about our Lord’s healing of Jairus’s daughter and the haemorrhaging woman, can be found here.
The Epistle is as follows (emphases mine):
2 Corinthians 8:7-15
8:7 Now as you excel in everything–in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you–so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.
8:8 I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others.
8:9 For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.
8:10 And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something–
8:11 now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means.
8:12 For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has–not according to what one does not have.
8:13 I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between
8:14 your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance.
8:15 As it is written, “The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.”
Commentary comes from Matthew Henry and John MacArthur.
Yesterday’s post discussed verses 7 through 10, which also include a timeline of the four letters that Paul wrote to the Corinthians.
Today’s post concludes the exegesis, covering verses 11 through 15.
Paul urges the Corinthians to finish raising funds for the church in Jerusalem so that their initial eagerness to give (in the previous year) may be matched by completing it according to their means (verse 11).
John MacArthur reminds us of Paul’s initial instruction for this charitable giving:
… in 1 Corinthians 16, he said, “On the first day of every week, let every one of you put aside and save as he may prosper.” That’s all. No amount, no percent. You just put aside according to what you have. Always voluntary. Give whatever you want. It is not obligatory. It is not to be done grudgingly because you’ve been commanded to do a certain amount.
MacArthur then looks at the Pauline characteristics for charitable giving thus far:
So, the first principle, then, in carrying out stewardship with integrity according to God’s plan is to urge people to give voluntarily for their own blessing out of the desire of their own heart, plain and simple. And whenever somebody gets you into a situation where you are being manipulated, where you are being somehow intimidated into giving, where you are being commanded as to amounts and percentages and all of that, that lacks the character of biblical stewardship.
Principle number two, stewardship with integrity calls for faithfulness to complete the project.
Matthew Henry says:
… good beginnings are amiable; but we shall lose the benefit unless there be perseverance, and we bring forth fruit to perfection.
MacArthur says the same thing:
All the good initial intentions mean very little if they don’t complete the collection.
MacArthur surmises why the Corinthians stopped their collection for the church in Jerusalem:
Well, somebody might say natural apathy, just – they just put it on the back shelf. Just got disinterested in it. Somebody might say they were slackened off by distractions. Other issues arose, other matters concerned them. And having been Christians now for a little while, maybe they lost a little of that first love. And they wanted to put some money back into some things that sort of made life more comfortable. And that was what they would have otherwise given to the kingdom.
They were increasingly being distanced from initial impulses … And there’s certainly truth in that, but most likely, while those sort of natural tendencies are reality and must be faced, it is far more likely that they had stopped their process because they had been influenced by the false apostles’ attack on Paul. Because one of the things that they said about Paul was that he was in the ministry for the money. They said, “You cannot trust the man. He is a deceiver.”
In fact, he refers to their accusations in chapter 4, verse 2, as “walking in craftiness and adulterating the Word of God.” In other words, he was a deceiver, and a conman, and a crook. Back in chapter 2, verse 17, he says, “He is not a peddler of the Word of God, a conman, a huckster, a charlatan, a fraud.” That’s what that word kapēlos means. It referred to the guy in the marketplace who ran the shell game and took your money.
Paul is now eager for the Corinthians to complete the giving because Titus came back with a positive report about them:
Titus has told them the truth about Paul and the relationship has been restored and the confidence is back, it’s time now to finish the project. “Now is the time to finish the collection. You do it by giving regularly every single week, putting it aside, so that when I come, it’ll all be there.”
Paul is careful not to get them to give beyond their means, so he repeats those words and adds that, if the eagerness to give is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have (verse 12).
Henry links the sentiment in this verse to today’s Alternative Psalm, Psalm 30, which is considered to be about David’s thanksgiving to the Lord after a serious illness following his building a house of cedar in 2 Samuel 7:
… let us note here that this scripture will by no means justify those who think good meanings are enough, or that good purposes, and the profession of a willing mind, are sufficient to save them. It is accepted, indeed, where there is a performance as far as we are able, and when Providence hinders the performance, as in David’s case concerning building a house for the Lord, 2 Sam 7.
MacArthur discusses the importance of finishing charitable giving projects:
I can’t tell you how many people I have worked with in my life who could start strong and finish weak, who could have a great beginning and a lousy ending. It’s not easy to keep things all the way through to the finish; it’s a matter of discipline and devotion and dedication. It’s a matter of depth of commitment. I thank the Lord, in our church, that through the years, you dear people, and many others before you that have since moved on to some other places, some of them even to glory, have continued from the start to the finish. And that’s why God has so abundantly blessed our church.
Sometimes people get weary, sometimes they get disillusioned, sometimes they get distracted by other things, but nothing – listen – nothing debilitates the systematic giving of people, nothing takes the heart out of going all the way from the start to the finish as a loss of confidence in leadership.
When people lose confidence in leadership, they have a very difficult time with their giving. You can just see it because it shows up on the offerings. Whether leadership has failed or not, if they perceive leadership has, it affects their giving. And that’s, no doubt, what happened in Corinth.
MacArthur continues his list of Pauline attributes of charitable giving:
Stewardship with integrity, then, is voluntary, from the heart, and faithful to the finish, sees the project all the way to the end, completes the commitment of the heart, sees that it’s accomplished. If – the point is this, if you believe that it was purpose of God, that it was the will of God, and you showed that at the beginning, it is still the will of God at the end, and you ought to show the same kind of commitment. See it to the finish.
Thirdly, stewardship with integrity calls for amounts that are proportionate to what one has. It calls for amounts that are proportionate to what one has. Look at the end of verse 11, the last three words. He says, “I want you to complete it by your ability.” Literally out of what you have or according to your means. Or you want to borrow the language of 1 Corinthians 16:2, “as God has prospered you.” Very simple. Giving is proportionate.
We saw that back in verse 3, “I testify the Macedonians gave according to their ability and beyond their ability.” And again, “They gave of their own accord.” That is they gave voluntarily. And they gave proportionately …
Simply put, God never asks more than your present resources permit. Even the Macedonians, who gave according to their ability and beyond their ability, could only give what they had. And what that verse means is God isn’t asking you to give beyond your ability, which is another way of saying they gave more than you ever could have imagined people in their condition giving. God is not asking you to impoverish yourself. The Macedonians did that. They had an unusual grace from God to do that.
But God is not asking you to give beyond your ability. You may choose to do that. You may choose to stricture your life in some way because you’re heart is so given over to the purposes that have been brought before you: the growth of the kingdom and the church. You may choose to do that. God is just saying, “All I ask is that you give according to what you have.”
The Macedonians, as I said, though they gave an unusually large amount for people so poor could still only give what they had. It may have come down to them having to eat two meals a day or rice or whatever else there was of a staple character – bread. God is not asking that we reduce our life to that. He honors the Macedonians for that kind of sacrifice, but God asks you to give out of what you have, not according to what you don’t have. God is not unreasonable. He asks no fixed amount, no percent. He doesn’t ask you to impoverish yourself. He doesn’t say you need to give your last red cent to me, just give what you’re able to give.
MacArthur explains why Paul mentions ‘eagerness’ in that verse:
Look at verse 12, “For if the readiness is present” – the word readiness means an eager disposition or a willing mind – willingness, eagerness – “if the willingness is present, it is acceptable to God according to what a man has, not according to what he doesn’t have.” God’s not asking you to give what you don’t have. That’s why there aren’t any amounts. That’s why there aren’t any percents.
God is just saying, “Whatever you have is the resource out of which you give. Don’t go into debt, don’t spend what you don’t have, don’t pledge what you don’t have.” That’s why I don’t like credit card donations. That’s very popular today. Churches even do that. And some people are giving money that isn’t even theirs. God doesn’t expect that. What God is concerned about is the readiness, the willingness. See what it says in verse 12? “If the readiness is present, it’s acceptable.” All God is really after is the heart attitude. That’s it.
Paul is intent on fairness in the process; he does not want relief for others and pressure on the Corinthians, but rather a fair balance between (verse 13) the congregation’s present abundance and their — Jerusalem’s — need, in order for that fair balance (verse 14) to happen.
Henry gives us this analysis:
The force of the arguing seems to be this:—Providence gives to some more of the good things of this world, and to some less, and that with this design, that those who have a greater abundance may supply those who are in want, that there may be room for charity. And further, considering the mutability of human affairs, and how soon there may be an alteration, so that those who now have an abundance may stand in need of being supplied themselves in their wants, this should induce them to be charitable while they are able. It is the will of God that, by our mutually supplying one another, there should be some sort of equality; not an absolute equality indeed, or such a levelling as would destroy property, for in such a case there could be no exercise of charity. But as in works of charity there should be an equitable proportion observed, that the burden should not lie too heavy on some, while others are wholly eased, so all should think themselves concerned to supply those who are in want.
MacArthur relates these verses to what the false teachers were saying about Paul to the Corinthians:
And one of them is likely to start this sort of gossip going. “Well, Paul is constantly asking us for money for those poor people over there, because remember, folks, he’s basically Jewish, and he has this preferential attitude toward the Jerusalem church. Not only is he Jewish, but he was in on the very beginnings of that situation over there. He persecuted the Jews over there. He killed the Jews over there. He’s not only Jewish and has a natural propensity toward Jews, but he’s got a lot of guilt feelings because he breathed out threatenings and slaughter on the church over there.
“He was a persecutor of the Jerusalem church; he was a killer of the Jerusalem church, and he feels a lot of guilt. And so, he wants to do anything he can to elevate their economic situation. And they’re a persecuted church; they’re a pilgrim church; they’re a deprived church, and they’re his people, his church.
“So, he’s a little out of balance there. And what he really wants to do is raise their comfort level at our expense. He wants to take our resources and give them to those people so they can become more comfortable. He really – he really is seeking to help his friends at our expense. And why should we become burdened financially so that somebody else can be at ease?”
Now with that, go to verse 13. Here’s Paul’s answer, “For this is not for the ease of others” – boy, he anticipates objections very well, doesn’t he? It’s kind of a trademark of his. Somebody is going to say, “He’s putting a huge financial burden on us, making us make these sacrifices so somebody else doesn’t have to sacrifice.
Well, Paul anticipates well that potential criticism. And he says, “The purpose of the collection is not to make life easy for anybody. It is not to make life easy for those Jews. It is not to impoverish the Corinthians to enrich the Jews. This is not to call for an exchange of places, too make the rich poor and the poor rich.
“Paul perhaps,” they said, “thought we don’t have any financial problems. Well, he doesn’t know. Things have changed since he was here. He doesn’t understand us. He’s just got these special friends over there.” Not so. “It is not for the ease of others” – follow verse 13 – “and it’s not for your affliction, get that. I’m not trying to hurt you. I’m not trying to make you suffer; I’m not trying to make life easy for them. The issue is but by way of equality.”
Just as Henry does, MacArthur is careful to explain what equality means, something highly pertinent to us today in socio-political discussions:
Now, as soon as I say the word equality, all kinds of red flags go up. That word is so loaded in our culture that I’m not sure I can unload it sufficiently for you to understand it. So, if I might be given some license in the translation here, I would prefer to substitute the word “balance.” Balance. That’s really what he’s asking here. Or even “equilibrium,” if you like, because that is the word that he uses. That is the word. It’s the word for balance – isotēs. You know the science of isostasy; that’s the study of the balance of the earth.
Paul says, “You know, there are highs and lows in life, just like on the earth there are high mountains and deep seas, and God, in designing the earth, balanced the earth so that when it rotated, it wouldn’t rotate like an oblong ball, or like something out of balance kind of when it rolls it rolls in a co*ckeyed response to its imbalance. The earth is perfectly balanced: the height of the mountain, the depths of the sea, the weight of the water, the weight of the land, all of that makes the earth perfect so that it rotates exactly the way God designed it to rotate, in perfect balance.” That’s the term Paul uses here.
The issue here is to sort of find some balance on the highs and the low sides. You’ve got people who have more than they need and people who have less than they need, and it is a function in the body of Christ to make sure that there is some equality there, some balance.
You know, that’s a big deal in our own country today. We get carried away with the thing to the point where we want to – we want to reallocate funds and redistribute funds from the rich to the poor in our society, but originally that was all built on the Christian principle that you take care of the people who have need, and the people who have more than they need are the great contributors to meeting the people’s needs who must be met. I mean that was a Christian principle that has gone awry, and it has turned out really to be a system that does nothing but produce indigent people. That’s never what it was intended to be originally. But that’s the vestiges of a Christian principle. Well, in the church it is still alive and well and functioning as it ought to function.
And Paul is saying, “As part of the body of Christ, you are looking at people with a need, and you are in a position to meet it, that becomes your spiritual responsibility as you express the love of Christ” …
Paul says, “Look, I’m not trying to – I’m not trying to redistribute money here. When I talk about equality,” he’s saying, “I’m not talking about equality like a liberal politician would; I’m not talking about equality like a hom*osexual advocate would; I’m not talking about equality as a woman’s rights person might. I’m not talking about equality like a Communist would, or a socialist – a socialistic economist would; I’m talking about equality in a Christian sense. This is not absolute economic egalitarianism like Karl Marx. What I’m saying is we just need to bring some balance here. And you that have more than you need, provide for those that have less than they need. And that is the – that’s the beautiful reality of life in the family of God. It’s not to make life hard on you, and it’s not to make life easy on them. It’s just to bring some balance. Some balance …
… we’re not saying you just dole out money. That’s what’s happened in our culture. We have created a mass of people who are just on the public welfare roll. They have no intention of working. “If you don’t work,” Paul said, “you don’t eat. We’re not trying to create laziness; we’re not trying to create a generation of takers who don’t know how to give.” Paul says, “We’re simply trying to meet the needs of people who have made every effort, but the environment they’re in will not allow them to succeed in meeting their basic needs. And the body brings balance to that.”
This is a disclaimer, by the way, against favoritism. It’s a disclaimer against communism. We’re not talking about, as I said, pure, absolute, economic egalitarianism here; we’re just talking about sharing …
MacArthur also discusses what Henry calls the ‘mutability of human affairs’, meaning that those giving today could be in want themselves tomorrow:
“At this time,” he says, “you Corinthians have the abundance that meets their want, in order that their abundance may become a supply for your want, that there may be equality.” Do you know what he’s saying? He’s saying, “Things change, folks. Things change. Riches have a way of flying. The fortunes of life change. The tables could be turned, and the time may come when persecution breaks out in Corinth, and Christians are being slaughtered in Corinth by the hostile Roman government. And all of a sudden, you have desperate need, and where will you turn? You will turn to the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem, and they will hear of your plight, and you having supplied their lack, their hearts will be ready to supply your lack. That’s how it is in life, that there may be balance.”
Paul ends by referring to God’s provision of manna to the Israelites in the wilderness as Exodus 16 describes, saying that the one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little (verse 15).
Henry reminds us of that account:
This is illustrated by the instance of gathering and distributing manna in the wilderness, concerning which (as we may read, Exod 16.) it was the duty of every family, and all in the family, to gather what they could, which, when it was gathered, was put into some common receptacle for each family, whence the master of the family distributed to every one as he had occasion, to some more than they were able, through age and infirmity, to gather up; to others less than they gathered, because they did not need so much: and thus he that had gathered much (more than he had occasion for) had nothing over, when a communication was made to him that had gathered little, who by this method had no lack.
MacArthur has more:
… he illustrates it in verse 15, “As it is written, ‘He who gathered much didn’t have too much, and he who gathered little had no lack.’” That’s a wonderful statement. He just says, “It works out this way, you that have much don’t have too much anymore, because you gave to the one who didn’t have enough.” It’s just a balance.
But the interesting thing about verse 15 is the little statement, “As it is written,” because it’s a direct quote from the Old Testament. In fact, let’s look at what he’s referring to, back to Exodus 16. Do you remember when the children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness, and of course needed to have provision? God brought them water from the rock and brought them manna from heaven to feed them. Well, this is about that.
Exodus 16, verse 14. There was a layer of dew in the morning. They got up one morning, and there was a layer of dew all around the camp of Israel, out in the desert, the wilderness. And so, when they came out, verse 14, “the layer of dew evaporated” – it doesn’t take long when the sun comes out in that part of the world; it evaporates the dew. And it says, “Behold, on the surface of the desert” – or the wilderness – “there was a fine flake-like thing” – that’s an interesting translation – “fine as the frost on the ground.” A fine flake-like thing was there. “And when the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it?’”
You know why? There had never been anything like it. Never been anything like it. It didn’t – are you ready for this? – it didn’t come from a plant; it didn’t come from an animal; it came from God. It was God who made it. The closest thing would be angel food cake or something like that I suppose with a slight variation.
“And they said, ‘What is it?’ For they didn’t know what it was. And Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.’”
Now, folks, I like bread, and earthly bread is plenty good. But can you imagine what heavenly bread would be like? “This is what the Lord has commanded, ‘Gather of it every man as much as he should eat; you should take an omer apiece according to the number of persons each of you has in his tent.’”
In other words, you go out there, and you gather an omer, which was a measurement, a large amount, plenty to supply a full day’s food for someone, for each person in the tent. So, they did. “They went out” – in verse 17 – “and some gathered a lot and some gathered little.” Why? Well, because that’s just the way – that’s just natural. Young, strong men would gather than old, weak ladies. Adults would gather more than kids. So, when they got all done – I mean it wasn’t that everybody was going to have the same amount. And also, some of them were hedging against the future, wondering whether there might not be any more of this stuff, and they got to make the opportunity last as long as possible.
When it all came in, verse 18, “When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered as much as he should eat.” You know how it worked out? Some people gathered too little, some people gathered too much, but when it was all measured out, there was enough for everyone. That’s the principle. And that’s how it is in the body of Christ. Some have more, some have less, but in the end, we make sure that everybody has enough to eat.
“And Moses said to them, ‘Let no man leave any of it until morning.’” Eat it all. Now, if you’re wandering in the desert, you get – you get a little fearful about the future. And the only hope you’ve got for food is to wake up some morning and find some stuff you’ve never seen and don’t know what it is on the ground. And you’re going to, in your mind, say, “You know, if I only eat half this deal, I’ll have some for tomorrow in case it doesn’t show up again,” which would be a direct act of distrust toward whom? Toward God. But some of them did that.
Verse 20, “They didn’t listen to Moses; some left part of it until morning” – and not only did that leave them hungry for this day, but they had nothing for tomorrow anyway because – “it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry.”
So they learned their lesson. “They gathered it morning by morning, every man as much as he should eat; but when the sun grew hot, it would melt.” They would have to gather it, eat it, and it was – when the gathering was done, and the sun came out, the rest melted away. I don’t know what this stuff was. It’s interesting, isn’t it? You can eat it, but it melts away into nothing.
So, they had to go out and gather it. They only had a certain period of time to gather it, very early in the morning. They couldn’t go out and get it all day long. And they got enough. And in the hurry scurry to gather, there were some who would get more, some who would get less. They’d measure it out. Everybody had enough, and it went like that day by day. And that’s the principle he’s referring to. In fact, it’s that very passage he’s referring to. And now you can turn back to 2 Corinthians … “He who gathered much didn’t have too much, and he who gathered little had no lack.”
This brings us to MacArthur’s fifth and final Pauline characteristic of charitable giving, which is leadership. In this case, Paul was the Corinthians’ leader, even in absentia:
Let’s go to a fifth point, and we’ll end with this one. This is very important. A fifth point, “Where you have stewardship with integrity, you not only have a voluntary giving; you not only have completed giving, finishing the job; you not only have giving according to your ability; you not only have the corporate meeting of needs and the sharing of the common things in life and ministry, but fifthly, stewardship with integrity calls for pastoral leadership or spiritual leadership.xe
I always ask that question when I hear about a financial operation. There’s a church somewhere that needs money, there’s a ministry that needs money, there’s a person’s missionary work that needs money, there’s this project, that project endlessly. I want to ask the question, “Who is behind this?” Because I want to give my money to people who are godly leaders, to pastors and elders and shepherds and overseers – those who have been given to the church for the oversight of the church. What is the accountability of this ministry to the church? What is the accountability of this ministry to elders, to godly men, to men who have sound theology, to men who understand the Scripture, to men who walk in the Spirit, who walk with Christ? That’s the issue.
Listen, strong leaders – strong, dynamic, forceful, entrepreneurial, clever guys with a lot of ingenuity and creativity, powerful communicators and motivators and mobilizers can line people up by the thousands to fill their coffers. But the question is not what is the power of this man, but what is the collective leadership that is in spiritual oversight? What are they like? That’s why it’s so important to give in the church and the church you trust.
With that, I shall also end this exegesis.
May all reading this enjoy a blessed week.
