Chapter # 6 Paragraph # 5 Study # 27
May 4, 2008
Lincolnton, NC

• I. Jesus' Teaching on "Giving".
  • A. Is not "corruptible".
    • 1. The modern "prosperity gospel" clearly "corrupts" both Jesus and His message by crassly appealing to the covetousness/idolatry (Colossians 3:5) core of every fallen man, but it cannot do that on the basis of the verse before us for one basic reason: Jesus promises a huge "harvest" on the basis of what is "sown". This means at least this: if one "sows" covetousness, the return on the idolatry will be disastrous.
    • 2. In Jesus' "Truth", the compassionate core value of the Kingdom of God focuses upon "how to help others" and Jesus is promising that the ability to do so will "explode" in proportion to the actual practice.
  • B. Is not given in terms of "money".
    • 1. It would be a significant contradiction for Jesus to pronounce "woe" upon the wealthy and then turn right around and attempt to get His disciples to seek wealth by giving.
    • 2. None of the exuberant terms (good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over) are "monetary" words.
      • a. The phrase "good measure" has several illuminating contexts.
        • 1) Matthew 7:2 uses it in reference to the standard of judgment that a person uses.
        • 2) Matthew 23:32 uses it in reference to the level of hatred men have for the Truth.
        • 3) In Mark 4:24 Jesus used it to warn His disciples that what they learned of the Truth would be determined by whether they used the Truth they already had.
        • 4) John 3:34 uses it in reference to God's giving of His Spirit to Jesus as a "not by measure" (limited) issue.
        • 5) Romans 12:3 uses it to refer to the "measure of faith" that God gives to people as the basis for their activities for His Kingdom.
        • 6) 2 Corinthians 10:13 uses it to refer to God's enablement to "reach even unto you"; i.e., God's intervention to enable Paul to get as far as Corinth in his labors.
        • 7) Ephesians 4:7 uses it to address the differences in the nature and extent of "grace" that people receive.
        • 8) Ephesians 4:13 uses it to indicate the extent to which the Church is to come in its likeness to Christ.
        • 9) Ephesians 4:16 uses it to address the differences in the functions of the parts of the body in terms of what they make possible.
        • 10) Revelation 21:17 uses it to refer to the length of a man's arm.
        • 11) NONE of the texts, in their contexts, focus upon "monetary" issues.
      • b. The word "pressed down" is only used in this text in the entire New Testament and it has the meaning of "tightly packed" -- not a typical term for "monetary increase".
      • c. The word "shaken together" is used 14 times in the New Testament and, with only one or two exceptions, has a pronounced negative connotation of destruction. The idea is of the normal organization being disrupted by shaking: it probably has a background in the attempts to get as much seed in a bag as possible by shaking the bag.
      • d. The word "running over" is only found here in the New Testament and probably means "to go beyond capacity".
      • e. The word "bosom" refers to the "hollow" spot between one's arms where a loosefitting garment had some space to carry things. It is directly above the heart and, for that cause, implies that the issue is a matter of the heart and the King's compassion. It is never used in the New Testament of a woman: when a person is in view, it is always a "man".
  • C. Is potently direct: seeds sown come back in large measure.
  • D. Has, contextually, everything to do with helping the helpless.