Give to Him that Asks You Matthew 5:42

Matthew shared how Jesus told His disciples if their “righteousness” did not “exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees” they would, “in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus then shared about “murder, adultery and swearing”, and He told His disciples, “Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.” Jesus continued, “But let your communication be, Yes, yes; No, no: for whatsoever is more than these comes of evil.” Jesus went on to say, “You have heard that it has been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you, That you resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue you at the law, and take away your coat, let him have your cloak also. And whosoever shall compel you to go a mile, go with him twain”, and in chapter five and verse forty-two of his book, Matthew shared how Jesus told His disciples to “give to him that asks you” where we read:

Give to him that asks you, and from him that would borrow of you turn not you away.

The verse reads, “Give to him that asks you, ...” Matthew began with the word, “give” which means “grant, bestow, supply and furnish” “to him” which means “to the person whether male or female” “that asks you” or “who begs, calls for, craves, desires and requires of the disciples”. Jesus told His disciples to “supply and furnish” things when people “desire” them.

The verse goes on to say, “... and from him that would borrow of you turn not you away.” Matthew continues with the words, “and from him that would” or “and from the person whether male or female who desires and wants to” “borrow“ or “take a loan” “of you” which means “from the disciples”, “turn not you away” or “do not be removed from, tempt to defect and desert the person who would borrow”. Jesus told His disciples to “lend” to people who desired to “take a loan” from them.

When we meditate upon Matthew's words in this verse, we may be plastered to our chairs when reading these words. Jesus told His disciples to “lend” to people who wanted to “borrow” from them, and they were not to “depart from or avoid them”. God owns everything, and He has given everything we have to us. In other words, God “lends” to us, and when we follow what Jesus declared, we are being like God. God knows this is not natural for us, and this is why it is so important to have a relationship with His Son Jesus. All who are wise will follow His ways and allow His to teach us to “lend”.

Next time Jesus refers to, “loving your neighbor” and “hating your enemy”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.