Does Jesus Care about Necessities, Loved Ones and Salvation?

1. In regard to the poor.

1) Luke 14:12-14 “Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.”

2) We need to remember Acts 20:35: “It is more blessed to give . . . .”

2. In regard to the hungry. Mark 8:1-9.

3. In regard to citizens of the kingdom and their needs. Read Matthew 6:25-34.

4. Yes, Jesus cares about our life’s necessities.

1. We know he cared about godly parents and their well being.

1) We know that he cared about his own mother and her well being.

2) John 19:25-27 ” Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”

3) Mark 7:9-12 “And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;”

2. We know he cared about children.

1) Matthew 19:13-15 “Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.”

2) Titus 2:4 commands parents to love their children.

3. We know he cared for those who had lost loved ones.

1) Jairus daughter – Mark 5:35-43

2) Death of Lazarus – Read John 11:1-44

1. Yes Jesus wants us to have life’s necessities, but they do not take first priority in our life.

1) Matthew 6:33

2) John 11:26,27 “Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.”

2. Yes, Jesus wants the poor to be cared for, but he wants them to have the gospel as well.

1) Matthew 11:5 “The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”

2) Luke 4:18,19 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

3. Yes, Jesus cares about our loved one’s but not at the expense of our own souls.

1) Matthew 10:27 “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”

2) Luke 14:26 “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”

4. More than anything else, this is what Jesus’ desires for us.

1) We can know that because He gave His life so that we could be saved. Romans 5:8

2) So this must come before anything else in our life—family, friends, work, recreation, etc.

3) This doesn’t mean we don’t care about them or that Jesus’ didn’t care about them.

4) It simply means that there are priorities that must not be compromised.

5) Even our own life must be sacrificed if it would mean loss of our eternal salvation ( Matthew 10:28).