[PE463]
SELL THAT THOU HAST AND GIVE TO THE POOR

We expect to take our text tonight from the Gospel of Matthew, the 19th chapter and the 21st verse, but in order that we may have the connection in mind let us read from the 16th to the 22nd verses: "And behold one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God; but if thou wilt enter into life keep the commandments. He saith unto Him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honor thy father and thy mother, and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. The young man saith unto Him, All these things have I kept from my youth up; what lack I yet? Jesus saith unto him. If you wilt be perfect go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven; and come thou and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." Our text is the 21st verse, "Go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor."

You will find these same words in other places in the Gospels, although sometimes they are slightly different. In Luke 18:22 it says, "Sell all thou hast and distribute to the poor." In Luke 12:33 it says, "Sell all thou hast and give alms." I presume it would be hard to find anybody who knows even a little of the Bible but is aware of the fact that such a statement is in the Bible.

Many imagine that Jesus only used these words once, when talking to the rich young man, but we find that Jesus used this thought at other times, for instance in Luke 12:33, and again when He gave the parable of the man who found treasure hid in a field, and went and sold all that he had and bought that field. But while we find a number of Christian people know there is such a statement in the Bible, how hard it would be to find anybody who has literally sold all that he had and [PE464] given it to the poor. Not only would it be hard to find anybody who has done this, but how unwise it would be; how foolish anyone would seem who would do a thing like that.

If one sold out everything and distributed the proceeds among the poverty-stricken, it would not do much good. It might help temporarily, but they would soon spend it all, and be as poor as ever, and by that time you would be poor, and someone would have to help you.

The trouble is, as with other statements made by the Lord, there seems to be a common mistake of taking the Redeemer's words too literally; to skim over the surface and take the superficial thought. This is not the proper method. The Savior said we should dig for the truth "as for hid treasure." We find it so in nature. The most important things are not what you see upon the surface. When we look at the water-melon the most important thing is not upon the surface; when we look at the walnut and the chestnut the most important part is not upon the surface; when we look at the banana the most important thing is not upon the surface. In the human body the most essential parts are not upon the surface. The heart, the lungs, and the most important organs, are hidden. Our treasures of a material kind must be dug for-they must be mined, to get them. So Jesus would express this thought. The real lesson of His words is not to be expected on the surface. You must dig for it as for hid treasure.

How many really ridiculous ideas have been attached to the words of Jesus because of the superficial sense given them! We will take an illustration of that. Our Roman-Catholic friends take the passage where Jesus instituted the last supper in the upper room, and call attention to the words of Jesus where He said, "This is my body which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of me...This is my blood shed for you; this do in remembrance of me." They think He meant this literally-that the bread actually turned into His body, and that the wine became His blood. They claim to this day that when the priest says some mystical words over the bread and wine it is changed into the literal body and blood of Christ. Surely that could not be the thought of Jesus. Jesus did not mean that He had one body of flesh, and another of bread, for when He said this He had not been crucified. When He said, "This is my blood shed for the remission of sin," the spear had not yet been thrust into His side. What He meant was, "This represents my body; this wine represents my blood."

Sometimes people say, "Why did not the Lord say, "This bread represents my body; this wine represents my blood?" Because He knew you and I would have enough sense to understand it without His saying that. As today, a man will pick up a photograph and say, "This is [PE465] my wife." Does he mean that his wife is a piece of card-board? Why does he not say, "This represents my wife?" He knows you have brains, and if you use them that will be enough. So with the dear Redeemer, He did not talk to us as if we were sticks of wood, but He talked as if we were beings to whom God has given intelligence, and reasoning faculties. He knew if we used our reason we would know that bread was not, surely, His body, neither wine His blood. He expected we would understand that bread represented His body; that wine represented His blood. In this way we partake of the broken body and shed blood of the Redeemer.

So with the text we have chosen. There are many passages in which, if we take them superficially, we will miss the real thought. Our text is one of these. Jesus did not mean, "Take all you have and sell it, and distribute the money you obtain amongst those who are in need." That was not His thought. We know, because if he did that he would have to disregard and break many admonitions of Scripture. For instance, one scripture says, "Owe no man anything." But if we sell all we have and give to the poor we will have to owe many people-the butcher, the baker, the grocer, the landlord, and all of the rest. How can I meet my obligations in life if I sell everything off and give to the poor? Again the Bible says, "He that provides not for his own and especially those of his own house, hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." If we sell all we have and give to the poor, how can we provide for our own family. If the carpenter applied this literally it would mean that he must sell all of his tools, and he could not take another job. If the farmer were to sell all, it would include his farm implements, and he could not carry on his farm operations to provide for his own. If the housewife were to sell all it would take in the cooking utensils, and she surely could not do what is necessary for her own. How ridiculous to think Jesus meant literally to sell all we have and give to the poor. That could not have been the thought.

Not only that, but the Lord Jesus did not seem to take that view when talking with the Apostle John. We remember when Jesus was crucified, at the foot of the cross where Mary the mother of Jesus, and John the Apostle. Jesus, looking down, asked John to provide for His mother, now that He was about to leave her. The account says that from that day John took Jesus' mother to his home. Jesus did not berate him for having a home. He did not say, "John, you are an unworthy disciple. You say you love me, but if you loved me you would do as I tell you. I told you to sell all you had and give it to the poor. You have a house that you did not sell. John, you are an unfaithful disciple. But now, since you have the house you may as well make good use of it. Give my mother [PE466] a home. If you decide to do better, sell the home and give the money to the poor, and turn my mother into the street." This would impress upon our minds that Jesus did not mean what many have thought He meant. There must be some hidden significance; some better meaning, in the words which He uttered on this occasion of our text.

There is no question but this rich young man to whom Jesus addressed the words upon this occasion, took them literally. He merely saw the superficial sense of the language used, and he went away sorrowing, because he had great possessions. If that young man had been in the right condition of heart he would have said, "Master, this is strange advice you have given me. You tell me to sell everything and give to the poor, and that does not look to be a wise course. But, Master, I wish to do God's will. It would seem strange to me if that would be God's will, but if it is His will I will do it if it can be made clear to me." We believe Jesus would have said, "Your heart is in a good condition. I will tell you how to sell all you have and give to the poor."

Before we get through tonight we will show that later on in life Jesus did explain to this young man the meaning of His words. We hope to show you that shortly before Jesus was crucified He came in contact with this young man, and explained enough to show what He really meant by the words of our text.

Let us take the first part of the text, "Sell that thou hast." Did Jesus mean to sell everything to some man? Oh no! No man on earth could buy all we have. There are men who could buy our house and lot. A second-hand furniture dealer might buy our furniture. A junk dealer might buy all of the old clothing, rags, etc., that we have to dispose of. There are employers who will buy ten hours of our time each day. But we have what no soul could buy at any price.

However, there is one being who stands ready to buy all we have, and that is our Lord, and Father. He is not willing to take less than our all. With Him it must be all or nothing. That is why He says, you remember, "My son, give me thine heart." When the Lord asks you to give your heart it includes all. As we say in sentimental language, some young lady has given her heart to some young man. That means that she has given herself to become his wife. When we give our heart we give all, because the heart controls all. When we give our heart we give our eyes and our ears, our hands and our feet, our minds, our strength, our tongue, our money, our position, and all we have. That is the thing, friends, that makes the Christian-and coming to the place where we give everything we have to the Lord.

We find, in the days of old, God did not ask that much of the Jews. [PE467] They were not prepared to give the Lord all they had. He knew it would be too great a step for them to take. He asked them only for a part-a tenth, or a tithe of what they possessed. He asked the Jews to give one-seventh of their time; one day in seven. He asked them to give Him the firstling of the flock, and the first-fruits of their land. That was all God asked of the Jews. If one gave that much he was an Israelite with whom God would be well pleased. But we find God asks more of the Christian.

God does not ask the Christian to give Him one day in seven, but seven days in seven. God does not ask the Christian to give Him one-tenth of his possessions, but ten-tenths. Many who call themselves Christians are willing only to give this smaller portion. Many Christians speak boastfully of how they give one-tenth to the Lord. The Seventh Day Adventists give a tenth to the Lord; also the Mormons. There are individuals here and there who set this standard for themselves. If they give a tenth that does not make them a Christian. It would only make them a Jew. Not that they come under the covenant God made with the Jews, but in the sense that they are giving what the law requires Jews to give. Not only do many of them only give one-tenth but they do not give that tenth very heartily.

It reminds me of a place I visited at the beginning of the year, where a sect exists which believes in giving a tenth to the Lord. When they say they give it to the Lord they mean they are giving it to the church. A brother told me, "These people are conscientious. If they have ten cows they sell one and give the money to the church. If they have ten horses they give one to the Lord. If they have ten acres of wheat they give one acre to the Lord. If they have ten acres of corn they give one to the Lord always." "But," the brother said, "it seems strange that while they always give the Lord a tenth, I notice the Lord always gets the poorest tenth. If they have ten cows they always figure out that the poorest one is the cow the Lord should have. They never give Him the one that gives plenty of milk; they give Him the dry one. If they have ten horses, and one of them has something the matter with him, they give that one to the Lord. If they have ten acres of corn they give one to the Lord, but if a cyclone passes over the field and destroys one portion, they are sure to give the Lord His portion from that part of the field that was injured by the storm. The Lord gets the poorest tenth." That is not the spirit the Lord is looking for; it is not the spirit of the Christian. The Lord is looking for the spirit that is willing to give Him all we have of strength, time, means, influence and everything.

When we talk of giving all to the Lord it does not mean to throw it away. Many think if they give it to the Lord they must waste it. They [PE468] think if they give their hands to the Lord they must cut them off. What use would they be if cut off? In fact they would not be hands at all. They are only hands as long as they are sticking to the ends of the wrists. If we cut them off they are not hands. The Lord wants them on. When we give our tongue to the Lord we are not to tear it out, but we are to let it stay and use it as He directs.

I think this is well illustrated by an incident which happened in the Middle West. A man was preaching on the street corner with quite a crowd around him. After a time he came to take up a collection. He said they should give their money to the Lord; that the Lord needed the money. One man stepped over to the preacher with a silver dollar in his hand, and said, "Do you think that God needs this dollar?" The preacher said, "Yes sir." The man said, "If I thought God needed that dollar I would give it to Him." The preacher said, "He does; you had better give it to Him." He replied, "Very well; I will give it to Him." The preacher held out his hand to take it. The man continued, "I said I would give it to the Lord not to you. Perhaps I may see Him before you do."

When we give money to the Lord it means to use it as the Lord wants us to use it. The Lord will want you to use some of your money as you would have used it anyhow. If you did not give to the Lord you would have to use some for food and clothing and rent, etc. Do you think He would want you to neglect that? Certainly not. There will be some things He will want you to do with that money that you would not have done had you not given it to Him. It will be the same with everything else.

If you give your tongue to the Lord you need not tear it out. You give it to Him. Probably He will want you to say some things with your tongue that you would have said anyhow. Other things He will want you to say that you would not have used your tongue to say. He will want us to refrain from saying some things that we would have said when the tongue belonged to us. It is as if we made out a deed and signed all away to the Lord.

When we give all to the Lord it need not make us eccentric. He wants us to act rationally. I often think of a case in the Middle Ages of a man by the name of Simon. This man was very religious. In the town where he lived was a large column, sixty feet high; there was a large square space at the top of the column. He told the people one day that he was anxious to live as near to God as he could, and that he had decided that on top of that column would be sixty feet nearer God than on earth, so he would climb up there and live the remainder of his life. He climbed to the top and lived there for thirty years. People thought he was such a holy man. They made pilgrimages from all parts of Europe to see this holy man. That is not the way to get near to God. [PE469]

Not long ago I was in Cripple Creek, which is ten thousand feet above sea level. If that man, sixty feet up in the air, was living near God, how near to Him must those people be who live in Cripple Creek? But if, when in Cripple Creek, one counted the saloons he would doubt whether the people were living so very near to God. The man living in the deepest valley on earth, and trying to please God, is living nearer to Him, than one living on the highest mountain on earth who is doing his own will.

It looks as though we still have all the things we formerly had. We still have our hands; we still have our feet; we still have our eyes; we still have our ears and our tongue; we still have our money; we still possess our abilities-a home, possibly, and in the estimation of the world there is no difference between our ownership now and before. But in God's sight, and in yours, there is a difference. It is all His.

These are His hands, and these are His feet. So now we say, "What do you want me to do with these hands and feet? Where do you want these feet to take me? Lord, these are your ears. What do you want these ears to listen to? This money is yours. How do you want me to spend this money? My time is yours. How do you want me to spend my time-these hours, and days, and weeks, and months?" The Lord will not answer audibly. You will not hear the Lord telling you to do this or that. You will have to reason it out. The way you reason will show how much you meant what you said. You may very easily, if you prefer, deceive yourself into thinking the Lord wants you to do things that He does not want you to do. But if your heart is right your thinking will be overruled of the Lord.

The Lord will not want all of us to do the same things. He will not want you to do as He will wish me to do. On Monday morning I must leave St. Paul, while the Lord may want you to stay. God's will in your case may not be His will in mine.

Someone may say, "That is not in harmony with the text. You have told us to give all to the Lord, while the text talks of selling all." What is the difference between giving and selling? There is this difference; when we sell something to another we are paid; we are compensated; we are remunerated; we get something in return. If we sell our all to the Lord what do we get in return? We reply, we are going to get glory, honor and immortality-joint-heirship with Christ Jesus, with all that this implies. You say, "that is strange; I never thought that we had to buy that. I thought Jesus bought it for us. I did not think we had to buy it." There are different view-points. From one view-point the Lord gives it to us. From another view-point Jesus bought it for us by His great sacrifice, and in the third place we buy all that we give up here [PE470] that we may walk in the footsteps of the Lord. We do not like to talk of buying it, because we give so little and get so much. I often illustrate it like this:

Suppose you were talking to some very rich man, like John D. Rockefeller. Suppose he owned a wonderful mansion worth a million dollars or more. Suppose Mr. Rockefeller would say to you, "How would you like to buy that million-dollar mansion of mine?" You say, "Mr. Rockefeller, you have a very fine place, but I cannot buy it." He says, "How much will you give? "You reply, "Mr. Rockefeller, I cannot buy your place; I am poor." He says, "Well how much will you give?" You reply, "I tell you Mr. Rockefeller, I am so poor that I cannot buy your million-dollar place." He continues, "But how much money have you got?" "I tell you I am poor, Mr. Rockefeller." "But how much money have you?" I want to know; please tell me." "Mr. Rockefeller, if you insist I will tell you. I have only one nickel, five cents." He says, "If you will give me that nickel, five cents, which is all you have, I will give you my million dollar place, free and clear of all indebtedness." You say, "Oh you are surely joking; you do not mean to give me that million-dollar place for only five cents!" He says, "I know that place is worth a great deal more than five cents, but if you give me all you have I will give my place to you." You say, "I never met a man like you, Mr. Rockefeller-to offer a million-dollar place for five cents. It is wonderful. But Mr. Rockefeller, do you want all of the five cents? Mr. Rockefeller, I will give you three cents for your place." He says, "No, I will not give it to you unless you give it all." "Mr. Rockefeller, I will make it four cents; I must keep one cent for myself." "No, if you give me all of the five cents I will give it to you, but if not you cannot have it." Would not that be foolish? That is just the position of many Christians. They know that God asks for their all. They know that their all is nothing compared with what they will get in the kingdom, yet many are trying to beat God down to see if they cannot get it a little cheaper.

Going back to the illustration, suppose you give the five cents to Mr. Rockefeller, how do you suppose you would talk about it? Suppose you meet a friend and say, "How do you do; glad to see you. Come around and see me. I am living in that fine million-dollar home of Rockefeller's. I bought it the other day with my own money?" No, I think you would say, "I am living in Mr. Rockefeller's place; Mr. Rockefeller gave it to me." My friends says, "But I heard you bought it." You would answer, "Oh yes, that is Mr. Rockefeller's way of telling it, out of his bigness of heart. What do you think I paid for it? I gave him a nickel and he gave it to me."

That is the way with us as Christians. When we get to Heaven do you think we will say to the angels when we meet them, "Here I have [PE471] glory, honor, and immortality; I bought it all myself?" Will we say so? No; we will say, "It is wonderful; the Lord gave it to me." The angels will say, "Didn't you buy it?" Then we will reply, "Yes, the Lord says so in His Word, but if you saw the little heap of trash I gave you would not think I bought it."

From one view-point the Lord gives it all to us; from another the sacrifice of Jesus purchased it for us; and, from still another, we buy it with our all. But it is like getting something for nothing. We are getting everything in return for so little. If we seek to hold on to the honors, or influence, or pleasures, or desirable things of this world we run the risk of losing something worth more than the wealth of a million worlds could buy.

I am so glad God has made this agreement with us, that if we are willing to surrender our life, with all we have to Him to do His will, our inheritance will be such a wonderful one, such a glorious one, such an unfathomable one; that He will make us heirs of God, and joint heirs with our Lord Jesus Christ. Of course we realize, dear friends, that the Lord is testing us. He is trying us to see whether we will stick to our agreement; whether we will go back on our word; whether we will say we are sorry that we agreed to this; whether we will say, "I wish I had only promised to give the Lord a part of what I have." He wants to see us in the attitude that would say, "I am glad that I made this consecration; and am going to stick to it to the end." If we do so the glorious inheritance will be ours in the resurrection.

Then let us think of the blessings we get while we are waiting. I like the Scripture which says, "He that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal." The thought seems to be that we get wages here, and we get the real thing later on. The wages received are fully equivalent for the service rendered. The Lord has been paying our wages right along. If we were to get nothing beyond we have received more than our service was worth. Then, after paying us by the knowledge of His Plan, in the commission we have with Him, the fellowship we have with His people, and the peace and joy that He has put into our hearts, the greatest thing coming is the exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Now we see that every really consecrated child of God has sold all he has.

Now we come to the next step. "Sell all that thou hast and give to the poor." What does it mean? Who are the poor? Some people say, "These are the ones who do not have money to pay the next month's rent, and do not know where to get it. They are the people who do not know where to get enough to eat tomorrow." Such, dear friends, are only a part of the poor. "The poor" means the whole human race. There is that poor man Rockefeller. He is not poor in the sense that he has [PE472] not enough to provide for himself the necessities of life that can be procured with money, but he is poor in other ways. Think of the poor health he has; think of the trouble his money is to him. "Poor Mr. Rockefeller." Think of poor Andrew Carnegie. There is that poor man J.P. Morgan, -not the one who is now living, but the one who died. No one is poorer than the dead. The fact is the whole world is poor, but not all are poor in just the same way. Some are poor mentally, some are poor morally, some are poor physically. Some are poor in one sense, and others are poor in another, but all are poor.

We read in Revelation of some who say, "I am rich, and increased with goods and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked." I had this impressed upon my mind last year. I was traveling in a railroad train, and in the same coach was an insane man who was being taken to an insane asylum. Like most insane men, his talk was of a rambling sort. He knew he was insane, and that he was going to an asylum. There was a man with him who had charge of him. This man had been drinking and was intoxicated. The insane man made one sane statement, and he laughed heartily when he made it. He said, "Isn't this a peculiar combination? I am insane and this man is taking me to the asylum, but he is drunk and I must look after him so he does not get hurt." There was a poor insane man, looking after a poor drunken man, and a poor drunken man looking after a poor insane man. Some are so poor physically that they have to go to a hospital, and some are so poor mentally that they have to go to an asylum, while others are so poor financially that they have to go to the poor house. Some of those who are financially poor are able to look after those who are mentally poor. Wherever you look there is poverty. It is a poor world. Financial poverty is not the worst kind by any means.

While the whole world is poor, there is one class that is an exception. It is those who are following in the footsteps of Jesus. They are really rich. The Lord says of them, "I know thy poverty, but thou art rich." They are rich in faith; they are rich in Christ. They are rich because they have their treasure laid up in Heaven, where thieves cannot break through and steal, and neither moth nor rust doth corrupt.

During the past 1900 years God has been giving to the rich, He has not been giving to the poor. If a man is so poor that he does not have faith God cannot give him much. One may give him money, but that is not much. You may give him some of the honors of the world, but what are they? The things that are of real account God is only giving to the rich. That is why He says, "To him that hath shall be given." That is, to the one who has, God has given during the past 1900 years. [PE473] This age is to end and it will be followed by another that will be different.

During the Gospel Age God has given to the rich, but during the Millennial Age He will give to the poor. He will give the poor dead people life. "All who are in their graves will hear the voice of the Son of man and come forth." He will give the poor blind people sight. "The eyes of the blind shall be opened." He will give the poor deaf people hearing. "The ears of the deaf shall be unstopped." He will give the poor, lame people the use of their limbs. "The lame man shall leap as an hart." Those who are not lame cannot leap as an hart now, but then the lame man will be brought up to that condition. The race will be delivered from all that they have inherited from their ancestors that has been unfavorable to them. They will no longer say, "The fathers have eaten the sour grape and the children's teeth are set on edge."

God will give the poor people who have been bound down under sin an opportunity to obtain deliverance. How wonderful that this Gospel Age was to give to the rich, but that during the Millennial Age God will give to the poor. Those who sell all they have, in the sense that we are taking up tonight, will be with Jesus and help to give to the poor in the next age; to give the dead people life, the sick people health, the defective ones perfection on the human plane. Therefore we are told in the 49th chapter of Isaiah how those who are associated with Jesus will say to the prisoners, "Come forth." They will help the Master to give the poor people knowledge, to give the poor blind people sight, to give the poor deaf people hearing, to give the poor lame people the use of their limbs. They will assist the Master in giving the world of mankind the love that will knit and draw their hearts closer together.

We begin to see that is what the world needs. They need to be drawn closer to the Lord, and closer to one another in love. They need that more than they need money. Speaking along this line brings to mind an incident that happened in Detroit which emphasizes the point we are making. We were delivering a discourse there, using as our subject, "Some Surprises in the Resurrection." When we finished a lady came up and said, "I was much disappointed in your talk." I was wondering what was the cause of her disappointment. She continued, "I have met with a sad loss. When I saw you were going to talk on 'Surprises in the Resurrection' I thought possibly you would have some comfort to offer me, but I am going away as comfortless, as disconsolate, as when I came." I said, "I am very sorry. Perhaps if you give me an idea of the circumstances I may be able to offer some comfort. Do you mind telling me of your experience?" She said, "Some time ago I met with a very sad loss. I lost a very affectionate pet dog, and I have never been able to get a bit of comfort since he died. When I learned that you were. [PE474] going to talk of 'Surprises in the Resurrection,' I thought perhaps one of the surprises you would talk about would be that the dogs would have a resurrection, and I would have my Fido back. O, if I could get him back, how happy I would be! But you closed your discourse with never a word about the dogs coming back."

I said, "The trouble is here: The human race do not have a proper love for and interest in one another. Sin has come in, and it has alienated the human race from one another. Men and women have had so many disappointments with respect to fellow human beings that a great many people today seem to feel that their affection has been reciprocated more by cats, and dogs, and horses, than by fellow human beings. This has driven them away from fellow men and drawn them to the animal creation. When they come back in the resurrection if humans will have the same feelings in their hearts, they would need the cats and dogs in order to be happy, but it will not be that way then.

When the resurrection brings the dead back they will be drawn to one another. Man will develop the honesty, and sincerity, and affection that is now lacking, and in consequence the human race will be drawn to one another in a way that we see little manifestation of today. The people then will not want their cats and dogs to come back, because they will feel an interest in fellow human beings, and they will not take the same kind of interest in the animal creation that they do today." I believe this helps us to see how poor the world is. It is not poor in money. When some poor family has lost a loved one you cannot pour in money to heal the wound, but they want the loved one brought back. When a man has lost a limb in an accident he does not want money to buy an artificial limb. He wants a new limb.

Suppose one sold out all he had and it brought $50,000, how much would that sum do for poor J. D. Rockefeller? He has more than that himself. How much would that do for poor Andrew Carnegie. If money would make him a Christian he would have been one long ago. What would $50,000 do for poor J.P. Morgan? It might buy a few flowers to lay on his tomb. If we sell all we have in that sense, we will be failing to give the poor effectively.

Giving is not effective unless by our giving to the poor they do not remain poor any longer. When Christ and the church get through giving the poor world will be poor no longer. All in Heaven will be rich, and all on earth will be rich also. Those who will not become rich will be destroyed. All of the people will be rich who are permitted to live forever. They will not be rich from the standpoint of dollars and cents, but they will be rich from the standpoint of real, enduring value.

We find that Jesus, later on, explained this to the rich young man. [PE475] Possibly some of you will remember a suggestion from Brother Russell in the Watch Tower quite a number of years ago to the effect that this rich young man was probably the same Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha. There is no scripture that says this young man was Lazarus, but there are so many parallels that indicate it. For instance, Lazarus was a young man, and rich. We know that he was rich because of the kind of tomb he was buried in. Only the rich could be buried in such a tomb as this. You remember they had to remove the stone from the opening. You remember also that Mary anointed the Master with an expensive ointment. No one but the rich could have anything like that. They had a home where they could entertain the Master, and make Him comfortable in the last days of His life. I think there is good reason for believing that the rich young man and Lazarus were the same. Again, this rich young man was a Pharisee. We know this because of his statement about keeping all things written in the law, from his youth up. That was the claim of the Pharisees. We will find in a little while that Lazarus was a Pharisee. In one of the Gospels it says, "Jesus, beholding the young man, loved him." Were member that Mary and Martha sent word saying, "He whom thou lovest is sick." All these parallels would justify the thought that the rich young man was really Lazarus.

In Matthew 26 we read of a certain event, also mentioned in the other three Gospels, close to the end of the Redeemer's life. A supper was made in the house of one named Simon, and Jesus and His disciples were invited. In one Gospel it says the supper was in the home of Simon; in another it says the supper was at the home of Simon, the Pharisee; in another it says it says, "at the home of Simon, the leper;" in another, "at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus." Simon was probably their father. It says that Lazarus was there, see John 12:2, as some time before this Jesus had raised him from the dead. The Scriptures tells us that while Jesus sat at meat there came a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it upon Him as He sat at meat. Two of the Gospels say that the ointment was poured upon His head, and two say that it was poured upon His feet. We believe both things were done. They reclined at table in those days. Those who sat at one side of Jesus noticed more particularly when it was poured upon His head, while those who sat at His other side noticed more particularly when the ointment was poured upon His feet. It is supposed that she poured some upon His head, some was sprinkled upon His garments, and the remainder was poured upon His feet; and she wiped His feet with the hairs of her head. We are told that this woman was Mary.

When we turn to the account in the 7th chapter of Luke we find [PE476] this woman referred to as a sinner, a woman of questionable character. When Simon saw the proceeding he said, "If this man knew what a sinner this woman is he would not have allowed her to do this." Some will say, "Surely he would not talk that way of his own daughter." Yes, it was his own daughter. Simon was a very strict man, like most Pharisees. This daughter was not inclined to be like her father wanted her to be. Whether she was as bad as the account makes it appear, or whether he talked that way because she did not keep the Sabbath as strictly as he wanted her to, and he considered her a sinner for that reason, we know she was his daughter because he would not have allowed her to be in his home otherwise. If she had been a strange woman, of bad character, he would not have allowed her to be there; he would have put her out. She was his daughter.

The point we want is this: while the ointment was being poured upon Jesus some of the disciples murmured, and more particularly Judas. They said, "For what purpose is this waste; why was not this ointment sold, and the proceeds given to the poor?" Jesus had said to the rich young man, "Sell what thou hast and give to the poor." I imagine Lazarus, saying, "That is what Jesus told me some time ago. When I asked Him what to do that I might have eternal life He said, Go and sell what thou hast and give to the poor. Probably Jesus thought, "Now is my chance to make this clear to Lazarus; when I told him back there to sell all he had and give it to the poor I meant something that did not appear on the surface. He went away sorrowful because he had so much wealth. Now I will explain it somewhat." We only have a few words in the account, but perhaps Jesus gave a more lengthy explanation. Jesus said, "Let her alone; she hath wrought a good work upon me. The poor ye have always with you, but me you have not always." This was as much as to say, "You are to give to the poor after you have given to me."

But when Jesus died, do we still have a chance to give to Him? Yes. But Jesus is not here. No, but His representatives are, and when we serve His followers we are serving Jesus. That is why Jesus said to Saul, "Saul, Saul! why persecutest thou me?" How could Saul persecute Jesus when He was not on earth? Saul was persecuting the followers of Jesus-the members of His body. When he was persecuting them he was persecuting Jesus.

If you and I are pouring out our hearts in sympathy, and love, and service upon the followers of Jesus we are pouring that much out upon Jesus. He counts it this way. This woman pouring the ointment upon Jesus beautifully pictures the church. When she poured the ointment upon the head it pictures the loving service rendered to Jesus Himself by His followers. As the ointment was sprinkled over His garments it. [PE477] pictured how during the Age some of the members of the church helped to sprinkle the fragrance of love and sympathy upon the followers of Jesus. And when she poured what remained upon His feet it suggested the time where the feet members of the body come in. We understand the feet members of the body are to have their share of this fragrance, and as it is poured upon them it is to prepare them for the completion of their course, to be joined with the Lord beyond the veil in the glory of His kingdom.

When the last member of the body has passed beyond we will not be able to pour out the alabaster boxes upon the church any more. They will not need it. They will have been glorified. Then will come our chance to give to the poor. Then the poor will be there. What a glorious opportunity it will be. The dead poor will come back. Rockefeller will be there, Carnegie will be there, Morgan will be there, George Washington will be there, Napoleon will be there. All of these will be there to receive at the hands of this glorified class. It means, dear friends, that there will be a further blessing bestowed upon the whole world of mankind. Not one will fail to receive their share in this blessing.

We remember the proclamation of the angels, "Behold we bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people." You remember the Lord also spoke of His joy. How did the Lord speak of His joy? His joy will be that of bestowing the blessings upon the people. What did Jesus say to His followers-"Enter into the joy of the people?" Oh no! "Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." "I pray that they may have my joy fulfilled in them." What joy it will be to assist our Redeemer in His great work.