Jesus was encouraging charity

JESUS WAS ENCOURAGINGCHARITY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Acts 20:35 In everything, I showed you that by this
kind of hard work we must help the weak,
remembering the words of the Lord Jesus Himself: 'It
is more blessed to give than to receive.'"
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Paul At Miletus: The GreaterBlessedness
Acts 20:35
W. Clarkson
We may wellbe thankful that this one word of the Lord Jesus, unrecordedin
the "fourfold biography," has been preserved to us. It may be said to be
Divine indeed. It gives the heavenly aspectof human life. It is the exactand
perfect contraventionof that which is low, worldly, evil. It breathes the air of
the upper kingdom. It puts into language the very spirit of Jesus Christ. It is
the life of the Saviorin a sentence. To receive is quite on a low level. Any one
and anything can do that; and the further we go down in the scale, the more
we find recipiency common and supreme. The selfish man, the spoiled child,
the ravenous animal, - these are remarkable for receiving. And although it
may be said that there are truths which only the educatedand inspired mind

can receive, that there are inducements which only noble souls canreceive, yet
the actof receiving is one which is common to lower natures, and is one which
ordinarily requires only the humbler, if not indeed the baser, faculties. To give
is on the higher level; for -
I. IT IS ESSENTIALLY DIVINE. Godlives to bless his universe. His Name is
Love; in other words, that which is his distinguishing characteristic,
underlying, interpenetrating, crowning all others, is his disposition to bless,
his Divine habit of giving. He then most truly expresses his own nature,
reveals his essentialspirit, when he is giving light, love, truth, joy, life, unto his
children. When we give forth of ourselves to others, we are living the life
which is intrinsically Divine.
II. IT IS CHRIST-LIKE. He "wentabout doing good." He lived to enlighten,
to comfort, to bestow, to redeem. It was little indeed that he received;it was
simply everything that he gave to mankind.
III. IT IS ANGELIC. "Are they not all ministering spirits?"
IV. IT IS HEROIC. By living to expend ourselves forothers, we take our
stand with the best and noblest of our race. As the world grows wiserit has a
diminishing regard for those "great" men who signalized their careerby
splendid surroundings, or by brilliant exploits, or by displays of muscular or
intellectual strength; it is learning to reserve its admiration and its honor for
those who generouslyspent their faculties and their possessionsonbehalf of
others. These are our heroes and our heroines now; and they will be so more
and more. If we would take our place - though it be a humble one - with the
best and worthiestof our kind, we must be giving rather than receiving.
V. IT IS HUMAN, in the higher sense ofthe word. It may be human, as sin
has unmade man, to be coveting, grasping, enjoying. But it is human, as God

first wade man, and as Jesus Christis renewing him, to think of others, to
care for others, to strive and suffer for others, to give freely and self-denyingly
to those who are in need.
VI. IT IS ELEVATING. To be constantly receiving is to be in danger of
becoming selfish, of making our own poor self the central object of regard, of
depending on continually fresh supplies for satisfaction;in a word, of moral
and spiritual degeneracy. Butto be giving - to be spending time, thought,
sympathy, strength, money, on behalf of others, - is to be sowing in the soil of
our souls the seeds of all that is sweetestand noblest; is to be building up in
ourselves a characterwhich our Divine Lord will delight to look upon. To
receive is to be superficially and momentarily happy; to give is to be inwardly
and abidingly blessed. It is far more blessedto give than to receive.
VII. ITS RECOMPENSE IS IN THE ETERNALFUTURE. (See Matthew
25:31-46.)- C.

Biblical Illustrator
Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, It is more blessedto
give than to receive.
Acts 20:35
The blessednessofdoing good
G. W. Brooke, D. D.
I. THAT THESE WORDS REPRESENTTHE CHARACTER OF OUR
LORD. He was devotedto all the offices ofhumanity and goodnature. The
two generalhabits which filled the whole intenseness of His soul were
unaffected piety towards God and charity to mankind. He had not any one
affectionin the blessedframe of His mind but what was Divinely exercisedin
constantacts of beneficence;for He scarce so much as everindulged Himself
in any one innocent pleasure of human life, but the going about continually to
do good. And here observe that our Lord chose notthe charity of almsgiving
for His province, how blesseda part soeverthat be, for gold and silver He had
none; neither had He the like obligations with us to lay a good foundation
againstthe time to come. This part, therefore, He left for those principally
whom He intended to honour with the sacredtrust of being the immediate
stewards ofHis providence; to whose commiserationand care He should
commit the indigent creatures of His family. This part of liberality, I say, our
Lord exercisednot; but His Divine compassionwas intent upon a charity
much more exalted than this — the relieving the souls of men, and providing
for their eternalwelfare.
II. THAT THEY EXPRESS THE GENIUS OF HIS RELIGION, the natural
tendency whereofis to smoothand soften our harsh and unrelenting tempers,
that thereby we might be perfectly disposedand furnished unto every good
work.
III. THAT THEY DECLARE TO US WHEREIN THE PECULIAR
BLESSEDNESS OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE DOTH CONSIST,whichis best

promoted by giving and by doing good. Forcharity is not a solitary virtue, a
single blessing, but the happy conspirationof all those tender passions from
whence humanity, that is, the most perfect state of human nature, takes its
name. Nay, all that we know of God, whereby He is in Himself the blessedfor
evermore, and to us, the greatobjectof our love and adoration, is, that He is
absolutely perfectin all the infinite varieties of goodness, whereinthe several
infirmities and wants and sins of all His creatures take their sanctuaryand
their refuge. Reflect, I beseechyou, on all the various scenes oflife which
employ the sons of men. What part can we act upon this greattheatre so
delightful, so honourable, and so nearly allied to God, as that of a patron and
friend of mankind! But how blessedit is to give! how much of the life of God
there is in it!
(G. W. Brooke, D. D.)
Charity blessed
Z. Isham, D. D.
I. I AM TO EXPLAIN THE GROUNDS UPON WHICH WE ARE
OBLIGED TO WORKS OF CHARITY.
1. The principles of natural justice; and —
2. The light of revelation.
II. IN WHAT MEASURE OUR CHARITY IS DEMANDED BYGOD.
1. That we are bound to give in proportion to the necessitiesofthe poor. And
as their numbers and wants increase, we are to be more liberal; as they lessen,

by being seton work, or provided for otherwise, we are under no obligation of
scattering unnecessaryrelief.
2. That every man is obliged to give in proportion to his own affluence and
statedincome; and betweenGod and his own conscienceto allot such a part of
it for charity as may answerthe generalprecepts concerning it.
III. LET US NOW CONSIDER UPON WHAT OBJECTS OUR CHARITY IS
MOST USEFULLY EMPLOYED.
1. Such as suffer for the truth of the gospel, either againstinfidelity, or against
idolatry and gross corruptions. And in them most properly Christ Himself is
relieved.
2. In distinguishing objects of mercy let us regardthose especiallythat are
recommended to it by their own worth, or by that of their progenitors.
3. Such objects are well qualified for our compassionas fall into distress or
decayby a sudden calamity overtaking them, or by the immediate hand of
God; and not by idleness or vice, where the relief of a scourge is generallythe
fittest.
4. Such objects are very fit for our charity as will improve what is given them,
and lay it as the foundation of their future livelihood.

5. From these who are bred up for the service of their country let us proceed
to those who by serving it are maimed, and disabled from getting their own
bread; and these certainly are worthy objects of public charity.
6. Wheneverwe are disposedfor acts of mercy, they that have the most
pressing wants to speak for them are always fittest for our present choice;for
charity looks not barely at the man, but at his necessities.Andnow upon
review, I shall briefly annex five rules concerning the management of our
alms.
1. Charity which prevents men from being oppressedwith poverty is better
than that which only supports them under it.
2. Charity which aims at the public service is better than that which is only for
private relief.
3. Charity which is disposedof into a perpetual fund is better than that which
is immediately melted and consumed.
4. Charity applied to the making of men virtuous is better than that which
only refresheth the body.
5. Charity expended for correcting the idle, and forcing them to work, is
better than that which gives them a present ease.

IV. And what need I say more FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENTOF ALL
THESE CHARITIES than to repeatthe words of our Lord Jesus, "It is more
blessedto give than to receive"?
1. It is the advantage ofworks of charity that they are usually attended here
with temporal and spiritual mercies. "If thou satisfy the afflicted soul the
Lord shall guide thee continually, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be
like a wateredgarden" (Isaiah58:10, 11).
2. The blessedness ofcharity is yet much greaterin that it secures anendless
inheritance in the next world (1 Timothy 6:18, 19). And is not this abundant
conviction that "it is more blessedto give than to receive"?Andto confirm us
in this persuasion, I shall strengthen what has been said with two
considerations.
1. That God will strictly inquire hereafterwhat the rich have done with all
that plenty which He bestowedupon them. And therefore it behoves them to
be well prepared for their answerto Him.
2. Let it be consideredthat the only way to make riches a blessing is to employ
and manage them as God hath appointed.
(Z. Isham, D. D.)
Receiving and giving
D. Thomas, D. D.
These words suggestthree things in relation to Christ.

1. The unrecorded portions of His words.
2. The unworldly characterof His teaching.
3. The unselfish characterofHis life. The text suggests —
I. THAT RECEIVING AND COMMUNICATING ARE THE TWO GRAND
FUNCTIONS OF LIFE.
1. Man has acquisitive tendencies and powers. His desire for getting is ever
active and ineradicable.
2. Man has the impartive tendencies and powers. His socialand religious
instincts urge him to give what he has attained.
II. THAT THE EIGHT DISCHARGE OF BOTH THESE FUNCTIONSIS
BLESSEDNESS.This is implied by the word "more." To receive in a right
spirit, and for right ends, is a truly blessedthing.
1. Receiving as the reward of effort is blessedness.It is natural to feel
happiness when the result laboured for has been reached.
2. Receiving as a consciousnessoffresh power is blessedness. A conscious
augmentation of our powers and resources is joy.

3. Receiving with religious gratitude is blessedness. Gratitude is joy; it is the
inspiration of Heaven's anthems.
III. THAT THE BLESSEDNESS OF THE RIGHT DISCHARGE OF THE
COMMUNICATING FUNCTIONIS THE GREATER. "Itis more blessed,"
etc., because —
1. It is more spiritualising. Every generous, disinterestedacttends to detach
the soulfrom the material and temporary, and to ally it with the spiritual and
eternal. The man who is constantly gaining and not giving, becomes more and
more the slave of selfishness, materialism, and time.
2. It is more socialising. In giving you awakenin the socialsphere sympathy,
gratitude, and admiration. The loving man awakens love, and happiness has
been defined as loving and being loved.
3. It is more God-assimilating. Godgives, but cannotreceive. He gives all, and
only gives. The nearer we approach to God the more blessedwe are. Cicero
says that "men resemble the gods in nothing so much as in doing goodto their
fellow creatures."
(D. Thomas, D. D.)
It is more blessedto give than to receive
J. O. Dykes, D. D.
The few "words of the Lord Jesus" here preservedfor us by St. Paul, are his
crystallisationof a truth which is as deep as the nature of God, which

penetrates his whole creation, and on which certainly Jesus'ownlife turned.
It forms a keyto the whole disclosure of the Divine characterwhich lies open
to us in the mission of the Son. Yet it needs no more than a very moderate
knowledge ofhuman societyto discoverthat mankind at large act on an
opposite rule. That eachshould take all he can getand mind Number One, are
the commonplaces ofworldly wisdom. Gladly to take, but to give with
reluctance, is, as we say, human nature. At the same time there are certain
deeper facts of life which prove this Divine maxim not to be at variance with
true human nature, but only with the present unnatural state of human
character. In order to see this it is needful to attend to —
I. WHAT THESE "WORDS" DO, OR RATHER DO NOT MEAN.
1. They do not mean that it is an unblessed thing to receive. God has made us
all dependent upon His own giving, and also dependent mutually upon one
another. We must receive before we can give; and whenever we begin to give
someone must receive. The relation is blessedon both its sides. Service,
therefore, like mercy, is twice blessed;"it blessethhim that gives and him that
takes";but of two blessednesses, saithJesus, the higher is that of giving. Now,
does not the human heart respond to this comparative estimate? Nearlyall
men will agree that the domestic relations form the happiest part of life. But
this family blessedness turns far more on what we give than on what we get.
The infant, for example, which receives everything and gives back nothing,
has a blessednessinfinitely feebler than that of its nursing mother. They do
not mean that giving is more pleasant. Very often it is quite otherwise.
Perhaps all giving means temporary loss and suffering. It is eminently so, at
least, with the noblest sorts of giving, e.g., a mother's devotion to her child; yet
her giving is more blessedthan its receiving because it expressesnobler
affections, trains her to nobler habits. I ask again, does not the world echo this
thought of Christ's? In the articulations of societyeachone has something to
give, and he must give it. But we count that man noble who gives to the
generalgoodthe largestamount of costliestservice.

III. THE CONDITIONS ON WHICH GIVING BRINGS BLESSEDNESS.
These conditions may be summed up in one brief law — That the act of giving
is only blessedwhen it is moral; and always blessedin proportion to its moral
pureness and nobleness.
1. There is an unconscious giving. This mutual ministry of help pervades
creation. Earth gives of her strength to feed her inhabitants, and of her hidden
treasures to enrich them. The beasts lend to man their skill and muscle, and
bequeath to him their very bodies when they die. But it is needless to add that
all this unconscious and involuntary exchange of benefits in dead or in brute
nature, brings no blessedness. A child knows that there is no real worth, nor
blessedness, in any giving which is not the intentional actof a conscious agent,
which is not, in short, moral. When the human workeris contentto work like
an animal in the mere struggle for existence, his work may be ever so precious
a gift to society, but he is no longerblessedin his giving, and —
2. There is reluctant giving. We make presents because theyare expected;we
entertain our friends that they may entertain us; we pay compliments for
politeness'sake;we subscribe to charities under the constraint of opinion; we
lend to our neighbour wishing he had not askedus. Now, to whatever extent
the wish retracts what the hand bestows, to that extent giving brings no
blessedness, becauseit is immoral in motive. It brings rather cursedness,both
because it is to that extent false, wearing a show of charity which is not
genuine, and because it argues a division of the man againsthimself.
3. There is a giving which is not simply defective through the weaknessof
charity, but at bottom utterly base through the want of it. It is a mean thing to
oblige a man with a slight accommodationin the hope of extorting or coaxing
from him a greaterreturn; to pay court to a greatman, not from loyalty, but
for the paltry vanity of being noticed, or the ignoble desire to profit by him; to
use one's influence for an importunate suitor, only to get rid of his

importunity; to give handsome sums to public charity that one's name may
appear well in the advertisements. We must be simpler in our giving if we
would be blessedin it. Evil is never so cursed as when it walks in the stolen
white garb of good, nor selfishness everso unblest as when it mimics charity.
III. RISING ABOVE HUMAN GIVING, LET US GAZE UPON THE
DIVINE — the ideal after which men are to be remade in Christ. God has this
solitary preeminence in blessedness,that He gives everything and receives
nothing. On this account, as on every other, His is the noblestlife, because He
is forever imparting of His own to all, and gets in return only what He first
has given. It utterly baffles imagination to conceive whatstreams of reflected
gladness must pour back upon the heart of the Infinite Lover from even one
small sectionof the world which He has made so happy. The sunshine and the
field s delight us sometimes for a little; they delight God always;and when we,
with our love and tenderness, sweeteneachother's life, that adds more
sweetness to the life of God. The rarest joy granted to man below is the joy of
leading a brother into the light and love of our common Father;but He, our
Father, has the luxury of leading all of us into light, of teaching every child He
has to know at leasta little of the truth and to love the gooda little. God has
tasteda still deeper blessedness. WhenGod made all things good, or when He
makes His fair world glad, He gives only as rich men give stray coins away,
feeling no loss. But can God feelloss? or touch the mysterious blessedness
which underlies the pain of sacrifice?Forus sinful men and for our salvation,
God has — so to speak — drawn upon the resources ofHis moral nature, and
expended not His thoughts, or strength, or pity only, but Himself. He left
nothing ungiven when the Songave Himself for us. Jesus'life was one of
giving. BecauseHe receivedso little from His fellow men and gave them so
much, His life reveals God. Just here there was realisedthe supreme
blessednessofthe Divine nature; for here the Divine characterrealisedin act
its supreme nobleness. Downthrough the mysterious anguish of giving
Himself awayin utter loss, and pain, and death, the Divine heart pierced to a
blessednessthan which nothing can be more blessed, the blessedness ofdaring
to die for the saving of the lost.

(J. O. Dykes, D. D.)
More blessedto give than to receive
ClericalLibrary.
An Irish schoolmasterwho, whilst poor himself, had given gratuitous
instruction to certain poor children, when increasedin worldly goods beganto
complain of the service, and said to his wife he could not afford to give it any
longerfor nothing, who replied, "Oh, James, don't saythe like o' that —
don't; a poor scholarnever came into the house that I didn't feelas if he
brought fresh air from heavenwith him — I never miss the bit I give them —
my heart warms to the soft, homely sound of their bare feet on the floor, and
the door almostopens of itself to let them in."
(ClericalLibrary.)
Wherefore is it more blessedto give than to receive
K. Gerok.
? — Because —
I. IT DELIVERS US FROM OURSELVES;from —
1. The bonds of selfishness.
2. The cares of superfluity.
3. The burden of dependence.

II. IT UNITES US TO THE BRETHREN.
1. By their friendly attachment.
2. Their active gratitude.
3. Their blessedintercession.
III. IT BRINGS US NEARER TO OUR GOD. We are permitted to be —
1. Similar to the image of the All-Good.
2. Sharers in the delight of the All-Loving.
3. Expectants of the reward of an Eternal Rewarder.
(K. Gerok.)
To give more blessedthan to receive
DeanHowson.

1. After this there was nothing more to be said; from such words there is no
appeal. But the elders had heard them before, and were askedto "remember"
what had become a proverb among them.
2. The saying is unequivocally in the style and manner of our Lord. It is
another beatitude. As there were many things that Jesus did which could not
be written, so with many things that He said.
3. Meanwhile this saying, like a flower from the early gospeltime, floating
down the streamof Church life, has been caught by an apostle's hand, and
because so caughtis as fresh and fragrant as at the first. It comes to us, not
increasedin value, for it is already priceless, but recommendedand enforced
by the greatapostle. The manner of quoting it is unmistakably St. Paul's.
"The Lord Jesus" is a designationhe frequently uses, full both of reverence
and tenderness.
4. The proverb has many sides, and touches human and Christian life at every
point. It is true in reference to —
I. THE PRODUCTIONOF HAPPINESS. We are blessedin doing good, even
if we gainno reward. I knew a man of immense wealth, but his mind was
always uneasy, his face always anxious. He was not without conscientious
feelings in regard to his property; but he could not make up his mind to give
largely. And then death came when his wealth ceasedto be of use: but it might
have been of use here, and then there would have been a reactionupon
himself. Another I knew, far less wealthy; but his life was laid out in diffusing
happiness, and there was a perpetual smile upon his face.
II. THE FORMATION OF CHARACTER. The highest qualities of heart and
life canbe acquired only through active exercise. A man is not really unselfish
unless he acts unselfishly. By giving we obtain the power of giving. No natural

objectis more full of characters thana river; but it is by reasonof its motion
that it becomes beautiful and beneficent. The tree by putting forth its leaves in
confident profusion this yeargrows firmer and larger for next year. The
harvest suggestsdeeperanalogies. The dying of the seedcorn is set before us
as the law of self-sacrifice;and how grandly Paul teaches this analogyfrom
Psalm112. (2 Corinthians 9:8, etc.).
III. THE EXERTION OF INFLUENCE. If we desire to be greatand godlike
by exercising a powerfor good, it must be by the diffusive power of our
religion. Our Lord says, "Ye are the salt of the earth," etc., immediately after
the beatitudes whose spirit is carried into these sayings also.
IV. THE SUSTENTATION OF CHURCHWORK. True Church prosperity is
securedby the perpetual habit of giving, and not simply our money, but our
service, sympathy, time, etc. For the Church is a cooperative societyin and for
which eachmember is appointed to give out that which he has to give, and to
find and create happiness in so giving. Many think they canbe quite good
Christians while they are mere recipients; but it is a greatmistake. No one can
be holy or happy without giving.
V. THE VIGOUR OF MISSIONARYENTERPRISE. Christianity is in its
very conceptionan aggressive andconverting religion. If not this, it is nothing.
Who ever gave so much to the world as Paul, and receivedso little from it?
And who has been more truly blessed?
VI. THE STANDARD AND ENCOURAGEMENTOF THE MINISTERIAL
OFFICE. This office consists in perpetual giving, and hence must be
preeminently blessed. This is a danger lestit should degenerate into the
discharge of certainfunctions. But let there be a sincere self-consecrationfor

Christ's sake, andwith all his anxieties no position is so really happy as that of
a Christian minister. It is his very trade to do all the goodhe can.
(DeanHowson.)
The comparative blessednessofgiving and receiving
DeanVaughan.
1. We might easilyimagine occasions onwhich these words may have dropped
from Christ's lips. They may have checkedthe entreaties of His disciples that
He would for once think more of Himself and less of others. They may have
answeredsome kind and friendly remonstrance when He turned aside from
an untasted meal to attend to the sorrows and sicknesses whichever thronged
the doors within which He rested. They may have explained on any occasion
the secretofHis perpetual self-sacrifice.
2. Were they not indeed the keyto His whole life? Was not this the secretof
His humiliation? And when He had thus humbled Himself, did not the same
principle originate every actand prompt every motion?
3. How bright a light does this one expressionthrow upon the whole character
of Jesus, Suppose that He had been personally known to later generations but
by this one brief sentence? Shouldwe not all have framed to ourselves
instinctively some conceptionof that characterwhich thus expresseditself, of
that life which this principle must have moulded? What an intuition must He
have possessed, who thus spake, into the real secretof greatness, the true
dignity of man, and the essentialcharacteristic ofGod! More blessedto give
than to receive? More blessed, asksthe selfish old man, to have an empty
cofferthan a full one? More blessed, asks the young man of pleasure, to admit
another than myself to the desired scene ofgaiety? More blessed, asks the
man of business, the statesman, or, the student, to stand aside and let others
pass me than to reap the fruit of my own skill or perseverance?Nay, let me

hear that, however painful, the loss must be submitted to; that it is a condition
of the kingdom, and I can understand you: but saynot that there is any
blessednessin such a life of mortification. Such is ever the true feeling of a
fallen and unrenewed nature: there was an inspiration in the words before us;
and till He who spake also inspires, we shall hear them still as exaggeratedor
unmeaning words. And yet if "more blessed" means in other words, more
Divine, more Godlike, is not the saying at once proved true? God, who
possesses allthings, cannotreceive:God, who upholds all things, is ever
giving. To receive is to be a creature:to give is to be so far a "partakerof the
Divine nature." We will illustrate the saying in two particulars.
I. TAKE THE COMMONEST AND MOST OBVIOUS OF ALL
APPLICATIONS — MONEY.
1. It has many uses;purchases many pleasures;has many powers. With
limitations, it can even buy knowledge, rank, subservience.If it cannot buy
love, it canbuy some substitutes. The rich man is better off than the poor
man. Nothappier, necessarily, nor better: but better off; speaking of this life
only. Now canwe possibly sayof money, these being its advantages,that "it is
more blessedto give than to receive"? Few menseemto find it so. What an
eagerness is there to getmoney! What a pleasure in finding it multiply! What
a desire to die rich! At lastit becomes a passion, a business, an appetite, a
disease. It is too late, perhaps, then to gain an audience for this Divine saying.
2. But let us try it betimes. Is there nothing in human nature which responds
to it? I canfancy a man of average virtue saying, My chief pleasure in money
is in paying it away. I rejoice to feelthat I owe no man anything; to think that
that man, who has served me, is the better for me. Yes, I enjoy paying awayat
leastas much as receiving. This is a poor and faint image of the glorious
principle of the text: but it is well to show that Christianity is not all
transcendental, but that it seizes upon something which is in all of us till we

are utterly hardened, and raises it into a region where approval at leastand
admiration may follow it.
3. But I do not believe that hearts will ever be changedinto the love of giving,
save by the entrance of the Spirit of Christ. When the world is seenas it is,
and heavenas it is; when we perceive that we "are not our own, but bought
with a price"; when once the example of Christ, who left heaven for us, and
the faith of Christ, who opened heavento us, are felt by us as realmotives;
then we shall be "changedinto the same image from glory to glory";we shall
value the wealthof this world chiefly for its power of relieving distress and
spreading the gospel;we shall find that the Saviour's saying is verified.
II. I PASS FROM THE BASEST TO THE HIGHEST OF POSSESSIONS;
FROM MONEYTO LOVE.
1. There are those amongstus whose nature is athirst for love. Life is a
wilderness to them without it. If there were but one person who loved them
they feel that they should be happy. And it comes not. Or they have love, but it
is not the love which they desire.
2. We cannot but think that our Saviour has a word for these, and that the
text speaks to them, and says, Little as you may think it, it is more blessed, in
this respect, to give than to receive. Christ came unto His own, and His own
receivedHim not. It is more blessed, becauseit is more Christlike, to love than
to be loved. To love, and therefore to do good;to love, and therefore to be
willing to "spend and be spent, though the more abundantly I love, the less I
be loved." This is what Christ did: and the disciple is not greaterthan his
Lord.

3. One thing you can say even now, if you be His; that you would not exchange
the lot of the unloved for the lot of the unloving. You would not part with the
powerto love; even for the sake ofbeing free from its disappointments, free
from its aching voids or its rough repulses.
4. Purify and refine your affection, more and more, by every argument and
every motive of the gospel;washout of it all, earthly stains, burn out of it all
human corruptions: and then cherishit, give it, yea, lavish it. Give as your
Saviour gave, without a bargain, and without an expectation, and without a
repining, and without one backwardlook, and in the end you shall be able to
echo His words.
(DeanVaughan.)
The blessednessofgiving more than receiving
Abp. Tillotson.
To be governedby this principle is an argument —
I. OF A MORE HAPPY SPIRIT AND TEMPER. Because —
1. It is the nearestresemblance ofthe Divine nature, which is perfectly happy.
2. It is a grateful acknowledgmentof our obligations to God, and all that we
can render to Him for His benefits.
3. It is an argument of greatwisdom and consideration;for the reflection
upon any goodthat we have done is a felicity much beyond that of the greatest
fortune of this world; whereas the spirit contrary to this, is always uneasyto

itself; but were our nature rectified and brought back to its primitive frame
and temper, we should take no such pleasure in anything as in acts of
kindness, which are so suitable and agreeable to our nature that they are
peculiarly calledhumanity.
II. OF A MORE HAPPY STATE AND CONDITION.
1. To receive from ethers plainly shows that we are in want. But to be able to
benefit others is a condition of freedom and superiority, and the happiness
which we conferupon others we in some sort enjoy, in being conscious to
ourselves that we are the authors of it. And could we but once come to this
excellenttemper we need not envy the wealthand splendour of the most
prosperous.
2. To depend upon another, and to receive from him, is the necessary
imperfection of creatures;but to conferbenefits is to resemble God. Aristotle
could say, that by narrowness and selfishness,by envy and ill-will, men
degenerate into beasts, andbecome wolves and tigers to one another; but by
goodness andkindness, by mutual compassionand helpfulness, men become
gods to one another.
3. The angels are, as it were, perfectlytransformed into the image of the
Divine goodness, andtherefore the work which, with so much cheerfulness
and vigour, they employ themselves in, is to be ministering spirits, to bring
men to goodness,and to encourage, andassist, and comfort them in well-
doing. And our blessedLord, when He was upon earth, did in nothing show
Himself more like the Son of God than in going about doing good.

III. OF A GREAT REWARD. There is no grace which hath in Scripture the
encouragementofmore and greaterpromises than this.
1. Of happiness in general(Proverbs 14:21; Matthew 5:7; Luke 6:38; Job
25:19).
2. Of happiness in this life (Psalm 37:3; Proverbs 28:27; Psalm41:1-3).
3. Of happiness in death (Proverbs 14:32;Isaiah 57:1).
4. Of happiness in the world to come (Luke 14:13, 14;Luke 16:9; 1 Timothy
6:17-19).
(Abp. Tillotson.)
The blessednessofgiving
W. Niven, B. D.
I. It is blessedto give because GOD HIMSELF IS THE BOUNTIFUL GIVER.
He is the Author and Giver of all goodthings, and it is blessedbe permitted in
any measure to reflectHis image and to be followers ofHim. If it be the design
of true religion to restore the moral image of God to the soul, it must indeed
be blessedto act habitually in a spirit which is so harmonious with the Divine
mind and will. If, then, we would prove ourselves to be the children of God,
we must cultivate this grace, and give freely as God hath prospered us. We
must give liberally of our substance for the service of God, for the
advancementof true religionin the world, and for the relief of the poor and
needy. Nay, more, we must do so not grudgingly or of necessity, nor because

our circumstances orsocialpositionrender it respectable to do so, but from
purer and holier motives, because we would be followers of God as dear
children, do as our Father in heaven does, and accomplishHis will during the
little day that we are on the earth.
II. It is also blessedto give because GOD HAS COMMANDED US TO DO
SO, and blessedare they who do His commandments. He who deals so
bountifully with us, and loads us with His benefits, has commanded us to
acknowledge Him in the mercies which He bestows. In Old Testamenttimes
His people were forbidden to appear before Him empty. They were to honour
Him by setting apart of their substance for His service and glory (Exodus
22:29;Exodus 23:19). Nor were they to forget the poor and needy
(Deuteronomy 15:11). In studying the history of the JewishChurch nothing is
more striking than the large proportion of their temporal blessings which they
were required to consecrateto the service of God and to the relief of the poor.
In the best days of their history their tithes and offerings, their thank
offerings and free-will offerings, were on a scale of truly splendid
munificence; nor were they losers thereby, for they found in their happy
experience that the blessing of the Lord maketh rich, and that He addeth no
sorrow with it. The whole spirit of the New Testamentconfirms and
strengthens these commands. Hear what the great Teachersaith, "Freelyye
have received, freely give";"Give, and it shall be given unto you"; "Sellthat
ye have and give alms: provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure
in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approachethneither moth
corrupteth." Hear some of the many exhortations of His inspired apostles —
"Charge them who are rich in this world, that they be ready to give and glad
to distribute"; "To do goodand to distribute forgetnot, for with such
sacrifices Godis well pleased";"Upon the first day of the week let every one
of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him"; "Whoso hath this
world's good, and seethhis brother have need, and shutteth up his
compassions fromhim, how dwelleth the love of God in him?"
III. Giving is, moreover, A DIVINELY APPOINTED WAY OF
ACKNOWLEDGING GOD'S MERCIES, andhence it is blessed. Whenfilled

with gratitude and love, the Psalmistasked, "Whatshall I render to the Lord
for all His benefits?" Feeling that he had nothing to bestow, he replies, "I will
take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my
vows unto the Lord now, in the presence of all His people." We have indeed
nothing to render that we have not received, yet is He pleasedto acceptour
offerings as tokens of our gratitude and praise; nay, He has appointed them to
be made in this spirit and acceptedforthis end. We are not as Israel were,
waiting for the rising of the Sun of Righteousness, but are rejoicing in the
brightness of His rays. We have to thank God not merely for salvation
promised, but for salvationfully accomplishedand freely offered to us all.
What boundless gratitude and what large acknowledgments do these
unspeakable mercies callfor at our hands! If His ancientpeople offered so
willingly unto Him that it was needful to restrain them from further offerings,
shall we come before Him empty?
IV. Finally, it must be blessed to give, because GREAT AND PRECIOUS
PROMISES ARE MADE TO THOSE WHO DO SO. We are told that "the
Lord loveth the cheerful giver"; and many are the promises which He has
given to those who give with a willing heart and a liberal hand — promises of
a rich return for all that they have truly lent unto the Lord. Are we exhorted
to "honour the Lord with our substance, and with the first-fruits of all our
increase"?There is a greatand precious promise connectedwith so doing:
"So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shallburst out with
new wine." Are we told to castour bread upon the waters? We are assured
that we shall find it after many days. Are we chargedto give a portion to
sevenand also to eight? The reasongiven for it is that we know not what evil
may be upon the earth, and we do know that the faithful Promiserhas said,
"Blessedis the man that considereththe poor: the Lord will deliver him in
time of trouble." Did the Lord reprove the Jewishpeople because in a time of
coldness and declensionthey had robbed Him in tithes and in offerings? Hear
the gracious words ofpromise by which He soughtto recall them to the path
of duty (Malachi3:10). No man ever regrettedhaving been a cheerful giver,
and many have been enriched thereby. We have often seeninstances ofthis —
of men who have conscientiouslyhonoured Godwith their substance from

their early days, and who have found by experience that godliness hath the
promise of the life that now is as well as of that which is to come. There are
doubtless exceptionalcases.There is much discipline needed in the schoolof
Christ, and hence we see goodmen overtakenby adversity and placed in the
furnace of affliction. These are appointed trials, but the promise standeth
sure: "Them that honour Me I will honour"; and he who, from love to Christ,
has given to the leastof His disciples a cup of coldwater only, shall in no wise
lose his reward. And what heart can conceive, whattongue can express, the
joy of the cheerful givers in that day when the Lord Jesus shall come againin
the glory of the Fatherand all the holy angels with Him, and when He shall
say to them, "I was an hungered, and ye gave Me meat," etc.!
(W. Niven, B. D.)
The blessednessofself-giving
J. R. Gow.
"It is more blessedto give than to receive." Two principles of action are here
contrasted. Egoismmakes selfthe centre for inflowing streams. Altruism
makes selfa centre, but chiefly for distribution. And Jesus declaresthat action
according to the latter principle offers to any moral being the more
satisfactoryresults. We might argue this truth from the outcome of action to
the contrary. The miser in his dreary counting-room, the self-lovertorn with
jealousy, the victim of overweening ambition, the spoiledchild of luxury
yielding to vice and perishing of ennui, the degradedrecipients of misdirected
charity, business rivals cutting eachother's throats in obedience to an iron law
of competition, employers and employed fighting for what they call their
rights, and the State estopped from its high destiny by parties intent only on
the spoils of office, are not to be calledblessedeven by poetic license ofspeech.
Only as intelligence and morality prevail over brute instincts do men discern
common interests and seek the common well-being. If humanity ascends into
the Divine, it must be along this pathway of self-giving. If' God has ever

drawn near to man, He has moved along the heavenly portion of the same
blessedway. Was not creationitself a first step in "the royal way of the
Cross," as a Kempis names it? Has not the whole course of revelationbeen a
continued giving as men could understand and themselves impart what they
were themselves receiving? Note three significantincidents in the ministry of
Jesus. In the wilderness incarnate self-seeking promised, "I will give Thee the
kingdoms of the world and the glory of them if Thou wilt fall down and
worship me." Incarnate self-giving replied, "Getthee hence, Satan." And
angels ministered to the Victor. By the lake side His own people were ready to
bestow on Him a crown; but the strong Son of Man again held Himself only to
giving, fortifying Himself in this purpose by a night alone with His Fatherin
the mountain solitude. Soonanother mountain saw Him transfigured. The
Altar that bore the offering for the sins of the world was glorifiedto dazzling
whiteness by its self-offeredburden. After some such fashion it is possible to
argue the superiority of the rule of self-giving. But in the practical stir of daily
business and pleasure it seems little more than a vision of the beautiful, a
dream of the land that is very far off. Paul was a bolder, loftier spirit. Both in
theory and in practice he acceptedthe Master's opinion.
I. PAUL'S THEOLOGYWAS BUILT ABOUT THIS PRINCIPLE OF SELF-
GIVING. The gospelas he conceivedit was a story "of the grace of God."
Every man looks at the mission of Jesus from the standpoint of his own
personalexperience. The vision on the road to Damascus is the clue to Paul's
doctrine. That he, the violent persecutorof the followers of Jesus, should have
been made to see in Jesus the perfect revelationof God's love to men, was an
unmerited favour for which he could find no parallel. God's treatment of him,
the chief of sinners, gave him a universal message.He might apply to the
disciples'relation to God through Jesus all the legalformularies of Jewish
councils and Roman courts. He might find in the ritual of Israelthe type of
Jesus'mediatorship. He might speak of the death of Jesus on the Cross after
the fashionof the priests who delighted in the details of their bloody sacrifices.
But all such speciallanguage was intended simply to describe the self-giving of
God to His needy and sinful creatures. Symbols and comparisons of every
kind were seizedupon to conveythis idea. He could even rise to the audacity
of declaring that the EphesianChurch was part of "the Church of God,

purchased with His own blood," yet the boldestimagery was inadequate to
describe his vision of "the exceeding riches of God's grace in kindness toward
us in Christ Jesus." To this same "wordof His grace" he turns as the last
resortafter all his care and reminiscence and exhortation. God might sanctify
the Church by imparting new knowledge, by providential interference, by
spiritual contact. But mainly he must work by the story of grace.
II. Side by side with this self-giving of Godto man Paul maintains THAT
THIS SAME PRINCIPLE MUST ABSOLUTELY PREVAIL IN THE
CHURCH. Great urgency characteriseshis repetition of this exhortation to
the elders. "Takeheedto all the flock," he says. "The Holy Spirit hath made
you overseers, to feed the Church." "Watchye." "Help the weak."
"Rememberthe words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, It is more
blessedto give than to receive." Whatbut a thorough-going adoption of the
principle of self-giving could answerto such a charge? Doubtless those poor
elders of the Church felt their hearts sink againwithin them, if indeed they at
all comprehended the meaning of his earnestwords. The pressure of self-
seeking invades the body of Christ and paralyses many of its best intentions.
Shall we not say, then, that the Church exists for the manifestationof the
spirit of Jesus, to be the corporate incarnation of the life of God? "This is
obviously God's method. When He would bring about an elevationof the
world He never effects His purpose by a pull at once at the whole dead level of
humanity. He has always setto work by giving specialgifts to a few electsouls,
and through their means leavening the whole of humanity by degrees."The
localChurch is to be the constantexpressionof the mind of God for the
world's redemption. It is to be a centre of moral and spiritual health to the
changing socialorganism. It is not a mutual benefit association, a moral
insurance company, a religious creche, oreven an organisationfor the
maintenance of public worship. It is all this by being more, a body of servants
of Jesus pushing the kingdom of God's grace intensively and extensively.

3. Our lessoncontains illustration by practice as wellas by theory and
exhortation. Paul could declare with full sense of his responsibility that he was
"pure from the blood of all men." No person in Ephesus could rise up and say
that Paul had not caredfor his soul. With lowliness of mind, with tears, with
trials, coveting no man's silver or gold or apparel, but caring for himself and
his companions by daily labour at his trade, he gave himself to teaching
publicly and from house to house, going about preaching the kingdom. He
shrank from nothing that was profitable to either Jew or Greek, declaring the
whole counselof God and admonishing everyone night and day with tears.
How intense, too, the flame of his devotion still was that had burned so
brightly in Ephesus for three years!He was going to Jerusalemunder
constraint of the Spirit. They should see his face no more. Just what was to
befall him he did not know. Only as he went on clearwarning came in every
city that bonds and afflictions of some sortwaited for him, and yet the course
marked out for him in God's grace allured him more than it frightened him.
He would accomplishit at any cost. The spirit of self-giving utterly triumphed
in him as in his Master. He gloried in his tribulations. He rejoicedin his
sufferings in behalf of the disciples. One cannotbut feel after this review of
the apostle's conceptionof the Christian faith and practice that the principle
here commended is fundamental to Christianity. More than any other it
voices the essentialtruth of the religion of Jesus. Herein the religions of the
nations fail to stand the test. Strip them of their superstitions and falsehoods,
and they are powerless to control the mighty passions ofmankind.
Christianity alone seizes upon the hearts of men and makes appealto grateful
love, because it is neither a philosophy nor an ethical code nor a scheme oflife,
but a simple story how God gives Himself to men, in intimate and loving ways,
for the removal of their weaknessand misery and rebellion.
(J. R. Gow.)
The largerblessing and the less
W. Arnot, D. D.

1. This word, like the greatapostle who has reported it, was born out of due
time. It lay silent in loving hearts, or was whisperedby loving lips, until
spokenby Paul. In another sense it was like him — "not a whit behind the
chiefest" ofthe Master's sayings in preciousness andpower.
2. Luke reports Paul's speech, and Paul's speechholds a priceless fragment. It
is as when a seamanin a shipwreck has seizeda servant, who, when she is
raised, discovers in her arms an infant of the family she serves. We have here
a word of Christ rescuedfrom sinking into oblivion, with a word of Paul's
wrapped round it; the jeweland its setting.
3. These words were employed to stimulate the EphesianChristians to
charity; but if you limit them to that application you will miss their deepest
meaning. A child sees in the stars only twinkling lights, but you know they are
central suns. As the difference betweenthe intrinsic greatness ofthe fixed
stars, and their incidental usefulness at night, is the difference betweenthese
words in their origin and their application to Christian contributions.
4. The Redeemerhere expressedHis own experience. He who loves a cheerful
giver is a cheerful giver. A penitent may encourage his soul with the factthat
the cure of his disease will impart greater joy to the Physician than to himself.
Forms of beauty may be thrown off by common workmen; but the one type
grew in the secretofa greatersoul. So off the experience of Jesus in His work
of redemption from the beginning in the eternal purpose, till its finishing in
the fulness of time, was this maxim taken. The love wherewithChrist loved us
is the mould in which this practicalrule was cast. And so all who have left a
beneficent mark on the world have first practisedwhat they preached. Nor
has Christ's giving ceasednow that He is exalted (Ephesians 4:8).
5. This glimpse into the heart of the Redeemeris a salve for the greatestofall
sores. Jesus, forthe joy of giving us salvation, endured the Cross. Let us bear

these words, then, on our hearts when we pray. He Himself counts it
blessednessto give.
6. These words do not mean that it is unblessedto receive. When the receiver
is needy, the gift good, and the giver generous, it is blessedto receive.
Evidence that Christ delighted in the self-consecrationofHis disciples crops
up everywhere — e.g., in the narratives of the woman with the alabasterbox,
and the one leper out of ten. It was kind of Him to let us know that He values
our gifts, although we render to Him only what we have received. And now
that He has gone beyond our reach, it is His express wish that we should
considerthe poor as receivers for Him.
(W. Arnot, D. D.)
The greaterblessednessofgiving
Principal Reynolds.
1. When St. Paul visited Miletus, severalof his most potent letters had been
already penned. These were saturatedwith thoughts the origination of which
we cannot fairly attribute to him, and for which we can find no adequate
explanation in existing literature. Where can we find any explanation of this
more rational than that Paul had been himself revolutionised by the "words of
the Lord Jesus"?
2. Strange to say, from our modern standpoint, not one of the four Gospels
had then been written. Nevertheless,the teaching of Jesus had gone forth into
all lands. And neither Matthew, Mark, Luke, nor John gathered up a tithe of
these Divine words, which spread like prairie fire round the whole seaboardof
the Mediterranean.

3. We could more willingly part with many an ancient classic, whole sutras of
Buddha, and the entire Vedic literature, than with this Divine utterance,
which goes down to the very depths of human life, and stretches out to
embrace the essentialblessednessofGod Himself. Small and bright as a dew
drop, yet, as we watch, it swells into a veritable oceanof love, on whose placid
surface are reflectedall the glories of heaven and earth.
I. IT IS BLESSED TO RECEIVE. There is no antithesis here betweenthe
blessednessofgiving and the non-blessedness ofreceiving. Oriental mysticism,
Buddhist legends, the hyperbole of self-sacrifice forits own sake, have
stumbled into this pit of pessimism. Christ illumined the profoundest
problems of ethic and the true secretofreligious life, when He said, "It is
more blessedto give than to receive."
1. It is blessedsimply to receive nature's gifts.(1) All the progress ofman is
measuredby the degree to which he has receivedand appreciatedthese. When
man first understood what nature had done for him in offering him the flower
and fruit and seedof corn, then began the harvest of the world. When human
intelligence apprehended what was involved in the chalk, coal, and mineral
wealth at his feet; when he graspedthe meaning of fire and lightning, and the
contents of water and air; when he beganto "receive" andutilise the energies
which had been moulding the world for untold centuries — then science took
its birth. If we refuse to receive the light of heaven, we stumble into pitfalls. If
we refuse to receive our daily bread, we perish.(2) Furthermore, nature
lavishes upon us appeals to our higher and more subtle desires, and gives us
the sense ofbeauty, truth, and goodness. The surpassing loveliness ofmuch of
nature's work must be receivedby those who have the eyes and ears of the
spirit opened to receive it. The great artists and poets, musicians and
sculptors, have so embodied their strong emotions in abiding form and
material, that others may learn from them the blessedsecretofreceiving the
mystery of beauty, and accepting some of the truth and goodnessofits eternal
source.

2. All human love is a ministration of Divine love. Human tenderness is but a
channel cut by Holy Providence through which the rivers of God's pleasure
flow. Now, it is blessedto receive human love and the gifts of love. See the
child with its hands full of birthday gifts, intense joy lighting its eye, almost
bursting the tiny heart. Only on this principle can the inequalities of human
powerand capacitybe compensated, canthe strong help the weak, the
physician heal the sick, the wise instruct the foolish, the ignorant walk in the
light of knowledge. Becauseit is "blessedto receive," we candrink into the
spirit of the mighty dead, and apply to our own case their hoarded wisdom.
All beneficence wouldbe dried at its source, if there were no blessednessin
receiving the streams of living water which are always pouring forth from
human hearts.
3. The most impressive illustration of the principle is the blessednessof
receiving the grace ofGod. The secretofreceiving from the living God what is
neither earnednor merited, but which we have gracelesslyforfeited, is a
secretwhich some are slow to learn. It is blessedto receive whatJesus Christ
gives to man, even though it smite down our pride and explode our self-
sufficiency. It is blessedto receive the greatestgift, to receive into our very
nature a new and endless life, to sit in the sunshine of the Divine Presence,to
be satisfiedwith the grace ofthe Lord Jesus, to be filled with all the fulness of
God, to be forever with the Lord.
II. BUT IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE.
1. Can any reasonbe assigned for such a sweeping and comprehensive
inversion of all ordinary maxims? Should we not tremble to put it to such a
test here in this Christian England of ours? Let the race course and the stock
exchange, the insurance office, Parliament, and the law courts answer!Let
diplomacy, with its duties, let trade and speculation, let professionaletiquette

and socialdistinctions and cliques be submitted to the fire of this principle.
The honestadvocate of such a law of life would be branded with scorn, and
hustled off any stage ofhuman activity.
2. Is this the regalprinciple in what calls itself the very body of Christ?
Individuals may occurto us whose whole being is one unceasing processof
giving, and on whose brow there sits the dome of peace, andin whose eyes,
which are full of tears of boundless sympathy, there gleams the light of
heaven's own joy. But is their experience a final proof? Can we take the Son
of Man at His word?
3. The judgment of the Lord Jesus was authoritative for St. Paul. The saying
of the text must be true, because He who is the truth uttered it. He put the
principle to the most complete expression. He tested it, as no other could
possibly do, by, on the one hand, a receptivity open to all the amplitude of the
Holy Father's love lavished upon Him from eternity; and, on the other, a
sacrifice and gift of Himself. which was practicallyand to our most vivid
imagination infinite and absolute.
4. The eternal relation of the Fatherand the Son is the eternal interchange of
giving and receiving love. In the text we see the very order of the Trinity. The
Father's giving greaterthan the Son's receiving. Jesus says, "Iand the Father
are one";but "the Father is greaterthan I." From this principle we see some
hint for the motive of the creation. The Lord calledforth an objectfor the
superfluity of His infinite love. Greatis the joy of the Lord in the praises of
His children, but greaterstill in bestowing upon them ever-abounding reasons
for their praise.

5. The noblest and the most wonderful gift of the Lord God is the incarnation
of the Son of God, and that greatact of the Father is the blessedestofall. He
gave His only-begotten, His well-beloved.
6. But we must adapt this greatprinciple of blessednessto the smaller range of
our own experience.(1)Ye ought to remember and act upon the words of the
Lord Jesus, becauseit is a truth you are, in the corruption and weaknessof
nature, in continual danger of forgetting. I grant you all the blessednessof
receiving the gifts of nature and of the love of man: you must aim at the
higher and greaterblessednessofdiffusing to others what you know to be
worthy. The first believers stripped themselves utterly that they might yield
themselves to this sublime impulse, and know something of the blessednessof
Christ and of God.(2)Ye ought to remember these words of the Lord Jesus
when you are tempted to say, "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many
years." There is a question betweenthe blessedness ofbuying a ring, or a
picture, or a house, or a book, or a co, at for yourself, and the blessednessof
giving to the sick, the helpless, the naked, and the fatherless.(3)Mostearnestly
St. Paul counsels you to receive the grace of God. But art thou going to sit and
sing thyself away to everlasting bliss? Nay, "Remember the words of the Lord
Jesus." There is a greaterblessedness:you are to give yourself back to God in
holy consecration. You are not your own, but His who has given Himself for
you and to you. Conclusion:We shall find the truth of our Lord's undying
words when we enter into His joy. Not until we chant the endless hallelujah,
not until we yield ourselves absolutelyto our Lord God for eternity, having no
will but His, shall we fully know how much more blessedit is to give than to
receive.
(Principal Reynolds.)
The superior blessednessofgiving
Canon Stowell.

It is more blessedto give than to receive, because it is —
I. FAR HIGHER PRIVILEGE. To receive may be an advantage, but the very
act implies dependence and want, and therefore is so far an irksome feeling.
But to be so graciouslyadvantagedby the Giver of all goodthat we can
assume the attitude of bestowers, must at once be admitted to be far the most
distinguished privilege.
II. MORE SAFE. To be a receiverof goodis dangerous, becauseit is fitted to
nourish that selfishyearning so innate in our souls. How many there are who,
when they were poor and little exalted in this life, had a heart open to pity's
call, and a hand stretched out at pity's claim; but just in proportion as they
got more, they gave less, and, as "riches increased," they"settheir hearts
upon them." But giving has not this peril. It has, indeed, its attendant danger.
Our giving, if it minister to self-complacency— if it lead us to put it in the
steadof the free "gift of God," which "is eternallife by Christ Jesus" — it will
do us sadharm, and our very acts of charity maybe convertedinto splendid
sins. Nevertheless, there is in Christian giving far less danger than in
receiving;there is something in the very exercise that is fitted to keephumble,
because he is reminded, "Who maketh me to differ from another? and what
have I, that I have not received?" And then how few comparatively injure
their souls by giving, while many and mournful are the examples of those who
injure their souls by getting!
III. HAPPIER. There is a pain too often in receptionfrom man, and it
requires a very lowly and submissive mind in a rightly constituted poor man
to be a dependent upon the kindness of others. And whateverpleasure there
may be in gratitude, there is far more pleasure in benevolence. Godhath so
made us, that our duty is our happiness;and those dispositions which are
most pleasing in His sight are most pleasurable in themselves. There is a
pleasure that the mother feels in feeding, etc., her child; and in the patriot,
whose heart is most passionatelyattachedto his country. And does not this
show us that if even the natural exercisesofthe communicating spirit be its

pleasures and its relish, how much more when it is baptized by the Spirit of
God, and when it assumes its proper purpose — to glorify God and benefit
His creatures!Then, indeed, in giving we get.
IV. MORE GODLIKE. "God is love." And what does His love delight in?
Communicating its own beneficence to all. And that goodnesshath shown
itself infinitely more than all, in that God"sparednot His own Son," etc., and
"how shall He not with Him also freely give all things" to them that are
Christ's? And shall we not contemplate the Godlike characterof the spirit of
benevolence, as it is manifested in God incarnate? Oh! then, would we be
"imitators of God as dear children"? would we "put on the Lord Jesus
Christ"? would we be like "our Father in heaven"? would we be "partakers
of the Divine nature," and transformed into the Divine likeness?We must
know and feel that "it is more blessedto give than to receive."
V. We argue the same blessedtruth FROM THE APPROVAL AND
COMPLACENCYWITH WHICH GOD REGARDS THE GIVER. The
promises to the receiverare few and not so direct; but the promises to the
giver are rich and manifold and animating. Conclusion:
1. What a fatal mistake are most making in the way they setabout to be
happy! To get more wealth, admiration, power, influence, indulgence. What a
mistake!Take a selfish heart to heaven, if it were possible, and it would be
miserable; take a generous heartto hell, if that were possible, and it would be
happy there.
2. Then what a stupendous change must pass upon our fallen nature I No
marvel that it should be calleda new birth, a resurrectionfrom the dead.

(Canon Stowell.)
The blessednessofgiving
Richard Newton, D. D.
It is pleasantto hear people talk about things with which they are well
acquainted; but if a personattempts to speak on a subjecthe knows nothing
about, nobody wants to hear him. Suppose someone should lecture about the
way houses are built in the moon, would you care about going to hear him?
But suppose that a greatexplorer, after he had spent two winters up towards
the North Pole, should lecture about the Polarregions, should not we all be
anxious to hear him? Well, when Jesus said, "It is more blessedto give than to
receive," He knew all about it. It is more blessedto give than to receive
because —
I. IT IS MORE LIKE GOD. God is "the giver of every goodand perfectgift."
Who gave us our hands to work with? our feet to walk with? our ears to hear,
and our tongues to talk with? our minds to think, and our hearts to love with?
these lungs to breathe with? God. Yes, God gives us our health, our strength,
our clothes, our friends, our teachers, ourparents, our homes, our churches,
our ministers, our Bibles.
II. IT IS MORE USEFUL. If Godshould stop giving for just one day,
everything would perish.
1. It is more useful to ourselves. Suppose I want to have my arm become very
strong. If I carry it in a sling, and do not use it all, after a while it will grow
weak and thin. But if I use it all I can, the strongerit will grow. Look at the
blacksmith! And what is true of the arm is true of the heart. Our hearts will
grow larger, and stronger, and better, by proper exercise.And the proper
exercise forthe heart is giving. A goodmany people carry their hearts in a
sling. And the consequence is that their hearts grow narrow and little, and

goodfor nothing. If they would begin to exercise their hearts by giving, they
would find that what Jesus saidis true, "It is more blessedto give than to
receive."
2. It is more useful to others. If we keep our money without using it, what
goodwill it do? There was once a Scottishnobleman — Lord Brace. He was
very rich, but very miserly. He was so close and stingy, that one day when a
farmer came to pay his rent, the money he brought was just one farthing
short, and the man had to go all the way back to his home, a distance of
severalmiles, and get that farthing before he would give him a receipt. Well,
when it was all settled, the farmer said, "Now, Brace, I'll give you a shilling if
you'll let me see all the silver and gold you've got." "Agreed," saidthe miserly
lord. Then he took him into his vault, and openedthe greatiron chests full of
gold and silver, so that he could see it all. Then the farmer gave him the
promised shilling, and said, "Now, Brace, I'm as rich as you are." "Ay, men,"
said his lordship, "and how can that be?" "BecauseI've lookedat your gold
and silver, and that is all you will ever do with it." Now let us take an example
of a different kind. Some years ago a certain Sunday schoolwas making up a
box of things to send to a missionary station. One poor little girl was very
anxious to send something. But all she had in the world to give was a single
penny. So she bought a tract with that penny, and gave the tract to her
teacherto put in the box. It was opened at Burdwan, in India. That tract fell
into the hands of the sonof one of the chiefs and led him to become a
Christian. Then he was very anxious that others should become Christians
too. In one year fifteen hundred of the natives of that part of the country gave
up their idolatry and became Christians, through the labours of that young
prince. And all this goodresulted from the one tract bought by that poor little
girl's single penny. Now think of all this goodbeing done by one penny, and
then think of all Lord Brace's goldand silver lying useless,and you must
admit that it is more blessedto give than to receive orkeep.

III. THERE IS MORE HAPPINESS IN IT. Little Robert Manly thought a
greatdeal about pleasing himself, and this is not at all the best way to be
happy. One day a poor woman came to Robert's mother to beg a little new
milk for her sick baby. Mrs. Manly had none to spare, exceptwhat she had
savedfor her Robert's supper; and at supper time his mother told him how
she had given awayhis milk for the poor sick baby. Robert didn't like this at
all, and kept muttering about the milk being his, and nobody else having any
right to it. The next day Robert was takento see this poor family, and it made
him shiver to look round on that cheerless home. The poor woman thanked
Mrs. Manly over and over againfor the new milk. "It kept the baby still all
night," she said. As they walkedhome, Robert did not say a word, though he
was generallyvery talkative. At supper time his bowl of milk was setby his
plate, but in a few minutes he went to his mother's side and said in a whisper,
"Mother, may I take my milk to the poor sick baby?" "Yes, my son," saidhis
mother. By and by he came bounding into the room coveredoverwith
snowflakes, andshouting cheerfully, "Mother, the baby's gotthe milk. Her
mother said, 'God bless you, my child!' and, mother, my milk tastes very good
tonight (smacking his lips); I mean my no milk." Yes, little Robertwas
proving the truth of our Saviour's words.
(Richard Newton, D. D.)
The pleasure of giving
George Peabody.
It is sometimes hard for one who has devoted the best part of his life to the
accumulation of money to spend it for others;but practise it, and keepon
practising it, and I assure you it becomes a pleasure.
(George Peabody.)
Glad of the opportunity of giving

A gentleman calledupon Mr. H. to solicithis aid towards the erectionof a
Sunday schoolin a poor and populous district. Mr. H. contributed, and the
gentleman beganto thank him, when he said,I beg you will give me no thanks;
I thank you for giving me an opportunity of doing what is goodfor myself. I
am thankful to God for the experience I have had that it is more blessedto
give," etc.
The blessednessofliberality
N. Emmons, D. D.
I. THERE IS MORE REAL PLEASURE IN GIVING THAN IN
RECEIVING.
1. There is always a pleasure in receiving, and this pleasure is sometimes
greatly heightenedby the circumstances ofthe receiver, or the disposition of
the giver.(1)A seasonablegift is acceptable,becauseit is immediately
beneficial.(2)A necessarygift is still more acceptable, because itcomes in a
time of want.(3) A greatgift excites greaterjoy, because it not only gratifies
the natural desire of property, but throws the mind into a state of pleasing
surprise and admiration.(4) Any gift never fails to afford a sensible pleasure
to the receiver, when it comes as a mark of affectionand esteemfrom the
giver. But in these and all other cases the giver is more blessedthan the
receiver.
2. There is a higher and purer happiness in rejoicing in the goodof others
than in rejoicing in our own good.(1)The receiverrejoices in his own
happiness; and let his joy rise ever so high, it still terminates in himself. But
the giver, instead of rejoicing in his own good, rejoices in the goodof
others.(2)In receiving gratefully, there is a mixture of submission to our state
of dependence;but in giving freely, there is a mixture of joy in being able to
give. The receiveris laid under obligationto the giver; but the giver is laid
under no obligationto the receiver. And who candoubt whether it be not
more blessedto give than to receive an obligation?

II. MORE VIRTUE; and therefore the giver is more happy than the receiver.
1. The receivermay, indeed, exercise virtue by evincing gratitude. But the
virtue of the receiverprincipally consists in a suitable regard to himself; the
virtue of the giver, however, altogetherconsistsin a proper regard to others.
2. There are many circumstances whichaugment the virtue of giving that do
not enhance the virtue of receiving.(1)The poverty, the distress, and even the
unworthiness of the receiver, augment the virtue of the giver. It is truly
Godlike to bestow favours upon the evil and unthankful.(2) The virtue of the
giver is always equal to his designin giving. A man may give a Bible to a poor
and vicious person, with a sincere designto promote his spiritual and eternal
benefit; but he may have a mean or wickeddesign in receiving it.(3) And it is
generallytrue that the giver has much more noble and extensive views than
the receiver. This our Saviour intimated in His observationupon the conduct
of the poor widow.(4)There is self-denial in giving, which is wholly absent
from receiving.
III. GOD PROMISES TO REWARD THE GIVER, BUT NOT THE
RECEIVER. This distinction plainly intimates that it is more blessedto give
than to receive.
1. There are but few things which God has promised to reward men for in this
life; but He promises to reward acts of munificence with specialtokens of His
favour now. "Blessedis he that considereth the poor; the Lord will deliver
him in time of trouble." "The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that
waterethshall be watered." The alms as wellas the prayers of Cornelius were
had in Divine remembrance, and he was rewardedin his lifetime with peculiar
tokens of the Divine favour.

2. But this is not all; He means to rewardthem more openly and fully at the
greatday of retribution. Hence our Saviour told the almsgiver to give secretly,
"and thy Father, who seethin secret, Himself shall reward thee openly." He
declaredthat the smallestactof charity to one of His followers should meet
with a future recompense (Matthew 25)Conclusion: If it be more blessedto
give than to receive, then —
1. We ought to entertain the most exaltedideas of the blessedness ofthe
Supreme Being.
2. We may see why charity or beneficence holds the highest rank among all
the moral and Christian virtues.
3. It is a greatand peculiar favour to be made rich. Poverty is a real calamity
in itself, and draws after it a long train of natural evils. It not only deprives
men of the powerand pleasure of giving, but subjects them to the disagreeable
necessityofreceiving alms.
4. We may learn what ought to be the supreme and governing motive of men,
in pursuing their secularconcerns, andseeking to increase their worldly
interest.
5. None have any reasonto think that they are real Christians who have never
experiencedthis peculiar blessedness.
6. The covetous and parsimonious defeattheir own design, and take the direct
method to diminish rather than to increase their temporal interest.

7. Those who are able to give should esteemit a favour when Providence
presents them with opportunities of giving.
(N. Emmons, D. D.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(35) I have shewedyou all things.—The words point to his motive in acting as
he did. He sought to teachby example, to indicate in all things how others
ought to act.
To support the weak.—The Greekverb is rightly rendered, but it deserves
notice that it is the root of the noun translated“help” in 1Corinthians 12:28.
The word “weak “is to be takenas implying bodily infirmities. (See Note on
previous verse.)
To remember the words of the Lord Jesus.—The words that follow are not
found in any of the four CanonicalGospels, norindeed in any of the
Apocryphal. They furnish, accordingly, an example of the wide diffusion of an
oral teaching, embodying both the acts and the words of Christ, of which the
four Gospels, especiallythe first three, are but partial representatives. Onthe
other instances of sayings ascribedto our Lord, and probably in many cases
rightly ascribed, see the Introduction to the First Three Gospels in Vol. I. of
this Commentary. The injunction to “remember” the words implies that they
had often been prominent in the Apostle’s teaching.
MacLaren's Expositions

Acts
PARTING COUNSELS
THE BLESSEDNESSOF GIVING
Acts 20:35.
How ‘many other things Jesus did’ and said ‘which are not written in this
book’! Here is one precious unrecorded word, which was floating down to the
oceanof oblivion when Paul drew it to shore and so enriched the world. There
is, however, a saying recorded, which is essentiallyparallelin content though
differing in garb, ‘The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to
minister.’ It is tempting to think that the text gives a glimpse into the deep
fountains of the pure blessednessofJesus Himself, and was a transcript of His
own human experience. It helps us to understand how the Man of Sorrows
could give as a legacyto His followers ‘My joy,’ and could speak of it as
abiding and full.
I. The reasons on which this saying rests.
It is based not only on the fact that the act of giving has in it a sense of power
and of superiority, and that the actof receiving may have a painful
consciousnessofobligation, though a cynic might endorse it on that ground,
but on a truth far deeperthan these, that there is a pure and godlike joy in
making others blessed.

The foundation on which the axiom rests is that giving is the result of love and
self-sacrifice.Wheneverthey are not found, the giving is not the giving which
‘blesses him that gives.’If you give with some arriere pensee of what you will
get by it, or for the sake ofputting some one under obligation, or indifferently
as a matter of compulsion or routine, if with your alms there be contempt to
which pity is ever near akin, then these are not examples of the giving on
which Christ pronounced His benediction. But where the heart is full of deep,
real love, and where that love expresses itselfby a cheerful actof self-sacrifice,
then there is felt a glow of calm blessednessfar above the base and greedy joys
of self-centredsouls who delight only in keeping their possessions, orin using
them for themselves. It comes not merely from contemplating the relief or
happiness in others of which our gifts may have been the source, but from the
working in our own hearts of these two godlike emotions. To be delivered
from making myself my greatobject, and to be delivered from the undue
value set upon having and keeping our possessions, are the twin factors oftrue
blessedness. It is heaven on earth to love and to give oneselfaway.
Then again, the highestjoy and noblest use of all our possessions is found in
imparting them.
True as to this world’s goods.
The old epitaph is profoundly true, which puts into the dead lips the
declaration:‘What I kept I lost. What I gave I kept.’ Betterto learn that and
act on it while living!
True as to truth, and knowledge.
True as to the Gospelof the grace ofGod.

II. The greatexample in God of the blessednessofgiving.
God gives-gives only-gives always-andHe in giving has joy, blessedness.He
would not be ‘the ever-blessedGod’ unless He were ‘the giving God.’ Creation
we are perhaps scarcelywarrantedin affirming to be a necessityto the divine
nature, and we run on perilous heights of speculationwhen we speak of it as
contributing to His blessedness;but this at leastwe may say, that He, in the
deep words of the Psalmist, ‘delights in mercy.’ Before creationwas realised
in time, the divine Idea of it was eternal, inseparable from His being, and
therefore from everlasting He ‘rejoicedin the habitable parts of the earth, and
His delights were with the sons of men.’
The light and glory thus thrown on His relation to us.
He gives. He does not exactuntil He has given. He gives what He requires. The
requirement is made in love and is itself a ‘grace given,’ for it permits to
God’s creatures, in their relation to Him, some feeble portion and shadow of
the blessednesswhichHe possesses, by permitting them to bring offerings to
His throne, and so to have the joy of giving to Him what He has given to them.
‘All things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee.’Then how
this thought puts an end to all manner of slavish notions about God’s
commands and demands, and about worship, and about merits, or winning
heaven by our own works.
Notice that the same emotions which we have found to make the blessednessof
giving are those which come into play in the act of receiving spiritual
blessings. We receive the Gospelby faith, which assuredlyhas in it love and
self-sacrifice.

Having thus the greatExample of all giving in heaven, and the shadow and
reflex of that example in our relations to Him on earth, we are thereby fitted
for the exemplification of it in our relation to men. To give, not to get, is to be
our work, to love, to sacrifice ourselves.
This axiom should regulate Christians’ relation to the world, and to each
other, in every way. It should shape the Christian use of money. It should
shape our use of all which we have.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
20:28-38 If the Holy Ghosthas made ministers overseersofthe flock, that is,
shepherds, they must be true to their trust. Let them considertheir Master's
concernfor the flock committed to their charge. It is the church He has
purchased with his own blood. The blood was his as Man; yet so close is the
union betweenthe Divine and human nature, that it is there called the blood
of God, for it was the blood of Him who is God. This put such dignity and
worth into it, as to ransom believers from all evil, and purchase all good. Paul
spake about their souls with affectionand concern. Theywere full of care
what would become of them. Paul directs them to look up to God with faith,
and commends them to the word of God's grace, not only as the foundation of
their hope and the fountain of their joy, but as the rule of their walking. The
most advancedChristians are capable of growing, and will find the word of
grace help their growth. As those cannot be welcome guests to the holy God
who are unsanctified; so heaven would be no heaven to them; but to all who
are born again, and on whom the image of God is renewed, it is sure, as
almighty power and eternal truth make it so. He recommends himself to them
as an example of not caring as to things of the present world; this they would
find help forward their comfortable passagethrough it. It might seema hard
saying, therefore Paul adds to it a saying of their Master's, whichhe would
have them always remember; It is more blessedto give than to receive:it

seems they were words often used to his disciples. The opinion of the children
of this world, is contrary to this; they are afraid of giving, unless in hope of
getting. Clear gain, is with them the most blessedthing that canbe; but Christ
tell us what is more blessed, more excellent. It makes us more like to God, who
gives to all, and receives from none; and to the Lord Jesus, who went about
doing good. This mind was in Christ Jesus, may it be in us also. It is goodfor
friends, when they part, to part with prayer. Those who exhort and pray for
one another, may have many weeping seasons andpainful separations, but
they will meet before the throne of God, to part no more. It was a comfort to
all, that the presence of Christ both went with him and stayedwith them.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
I have showedyou - I have taught you by instruction and example. I have not
merely discoursedabout it, but have showedyou how to do it.
All things - Or, in respectto all things. In everything that respects preaching
and the proper mode of life, I have for three years set you an example,
illustrating the design, nature, and duties of the office by my own self-denials
and toil.
How that - Or, that - ὅτι hoti. I have showedyou that ye should by so laboring
support the weak.
So labouring - Laboring as I have done. Setting this example, and ministering
in this way to the needs of others.
To support the weak - To provide for the needs of the sick and feeble
members of the flock, who are unable to labor for themselves. "The weak"
here denotes "the poor, the needy, the infirmed."

And to remember - To call to mind for encouragement, andwith the force of a
command,
The words of the Lord Jesus - These words are nowhere recordedby the
evangelists. Butthey did not pretend to record all his sayings and instructions.
Compare John 21:25. There is the highest reasonto suppose that many of his
sayings which are not recorded would be treasured up by those who heard
them; would be transmitted to others; and would be regardedas a precious
part of his instructions. Paul evidently addressesthe elders of Ephesus as if
they had heard this before, and were acquainted with it. Perhaps he had
himself reminded them of it. This is one of the Redeemer's mostprecious
sayings;and it seems evento have a specialvalue from the fact that it is not
recordedin the regular and professedhistories ofhis life. It comes to us
recovered, as it were, from the greatmass of his unrecorded sayings;rescued
from that oblivion to which it was hastening if left to mere tradition, and
placed in permanent form in the sacredwritings by the act of an apostle who
had never seenthe Saviourbefore his crucifixion. It is a precious relic - a
memento of the Saviour - and the effectof it is to make us regretthat more of
his words were not recoveredfrom an uncertain tradition, and placedin a
permanent form by an inspired penman. God, however, who knows whatis
requisite to guide us, has directed the words which are needful for the welfare
of the church, and has preservedby inspiration the doctrines which are
adapted to convert and bless man.
It is more blessedto give - It is a higher privilege; it tends more to the
happiness of the individual and of the world. The giver is more blessedor
happy than the receiver. This appears:
(1) Because it is a condition for which we should be thankful when we are in a
situation to promote the happiness of others.

(2) because it tends to promote the happiness of the benefactorhimself. There
is pleasure in the act of giving when it is done with pure motives. It promotes
our own peace;is followedby happiness in the recollectionofit; and will be
followedby happiness forever. That is the most truly happy man who is most
benevolent. He is the most miserable who has never known the luxury of
doing good, but who lives to gain all he can, and to hoard all he gains.
(3) it is blessedin the reward that shall result from it. Those who give from a
pure motive God will bless. They will be rewarded, not only in the peace
which they shall experience in this life, but in the higher bliss of heaven,
Matthew 25:34-36. We may also remark that this is a sentiment truly great
and noble. It is worthy of the Sonof God. It is that on which he himself acted
when he came to give pardon to the guilty, comfort to the disconsolate andthe
mourner, peace to the anxious sinner, sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf,
life to the dead, and heaven to the guilty and the lost. Acting on this, he gave
his owntears to weepover human sorrows and human guilt; his own labors
and toils to instruct and save man; his own life a sacrifice forsin on the cross.
Loving to give, he has freely given us all things. Loving to give, he delights in
the same characterin his followers, and seeksthat they who have wealth, and
strength, and influence should be willing to give all to save the world.
Imitating his greatexample, and complying with his command, the church
shall yet learn more and more to give its wealth to bless the poor and needy;
its sons and its daughters to bear the gospel to the benighted pagan;its
undivided and constantefforts to save a lost world. Here closes this speechof
Paul; an address of inimitable tenderness and beauty. Happy would it be if
every minister could bid such an adieu to his people, when calledto part from
them; and happy if, at the close oflife, every Christian could leave the world
with a like consciousness thathe had been faithful in the discharge of his duty.
Thus dying, it will be blessedto leave the world; and thus would the example
of the saints live in the memory of survivors long after they themselves have
ascendedto their rest.

Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
35. that so labouring—as I have done for others as well as myself.
ye ought to support the weak to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how
he—"how Himself."
said, It is more blessedto give than to receive—This goldensaying, snatched
from oblivion, and here added to the Church's abiding treasures, is apt to
begetthe wish that more of what issued from those Lips which "dropped as
an honeycomb," had been preserved to us. But see on [2078]Joh21:25.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
I have showedyou all things; as in Acts 20:27.
So labouring; with more than ordinary pains and constancy.
To support; that they do not fall; or, being fallen, that they may rise again.
The word imports the stretching out of the hand to retain any that are going
away, or to hold up any that are falling.
The weak;in knowledge, faith, or any other grace.
The words of the Lord Jesus;Paul might have these words by the relation of
others who heard them spokenby our Savionr; for all things that he said or
did could not be written, John 20:30.

It is more blessedto give than to receive;not so much in that giving speaks
abundance and affluence, but as it shows our charity and goodness,in which
we resemble and imitate God. The substance ofthese words which are
attributed to our Saviour, though not the terms, may be found in divers
places, as Luke 6:38 16:9.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
I have showedyou all things,.... Both as to doctrine and practice, and had set
them an example how to behave in every point, and particularly in this:
how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak;the sense ofwhich is, that
they should labour with their hands as he did, and so support the weak;either
such who were weak in body, and unable to work and help themselves, and
therefore should be helped, assisted, relieved, and supported by the labours of
others, that were able; or the weak in faith, and take nothing of them, lestthey
should think the preachers of the word soughtonly their own worldly
advantage, and so they should be stumbled and fall from the truth:
and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus;which the apostle had either
collectedas the sense ofsome passagesofhis, such as Luke 6:30, &c. or which
though not recorded in any of the Gospels, the apostle might have received
from one or other of the twelve disciples, as what were frequently used by
Christ in the days of his flesh; and which the apostle had inculcatedamong
the Ephesians, and now puts them in mind of them, they being worthy of
remembrance: how he said,
it is more blessedto give than to receive:it is more comfortable, honourable,
pleasant, and profitable: the giver is in a more comfortable situation, having
an abundance, at leasta sufficiency, and something to spare; whereas the
receiveris often in want and distress, and so uncomfortable: it is an honour to
give; an honour is reflectedupon the giver, both by the receiver, and others;

when to receive is an instance of meanness, and carries in it, among men, some
degree of dishonour: it is a pleasure to a liberal man to distribute to the
necessitiesofothers; and it cannot be grateful to a man to be in such
circumstances, as make it necessaryfor him to receive from others, and be
dependent on them; and greatare the advantages and profit which a cheerful
giver reaps, both in this world, and that to come:wherefore the conclusion
which the apostle would have drawn from hence is, that it is much more
eligible for a man to work with his own hands, and support himself, and assist
others, than to receive at the hands of others.
Geneva Study Bible
I have shewedyou all things, how that so labouring ye ought {m} to support
the weak, andto remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is
more blessedto give than to receive.
(m) As it were by reaching out the hand to those who otherwise are about to
slip and fall away, and so to steady them.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Expositor's Greek Testament
Acts 20:35. πάντα ὑπέδ.: “in all things I gave you an example,” R.V., see also
critical note. The verb and the cognate noun are both used in Greek in
accordancewith this sense, Xen., Oec[345], xii., 18, Isocr., v., 27, see Plummer
on Luke 3:7, etc., so ὑπόδειγμα, Xen., De re eq., ii., 2, and for other instances
of the similar use of the word see WestcottonHebrews 8:5, Sir 44:16, 2Ma
6:28; 2Ma 6:31, 4Ma 17:23, cf. also Clem. Rom., Cor[346], 5:1, 46:1. οὕτως,
i.e., as I have done, cf. Php 3:17.—κοπιῶντας:not of spiritual labours, but of
manual, as the context requires. No doubt the verb is used in the former sense,
1 Corinthians 16:16, Romans 16:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:12, but also in the
latter, 1 Corinthians 4:12, Ephesians 4:28, 2 Timothy 2:6 (so also κόπος by
Paul). In St. Paul’s writings it occurs no less than fourteen times, in St. Luke

only twice, Luke 5:5 (Luke 12:27). In classicalGreek, so in Josephus, it has
the meaning of growing wearyor tired, but in LXX and N.T. alone, laboro
viribus intentis (Grimm).—δεῖ, see above on p. 63.—ἀντιλαμβ.:only in Luke
and Paul, Luke 1:54, 1 Timothy 6:2, cf. 1 Corinthians 12:28. The verb = to
take another’s part, to succour(so too cognate noun), in LXX, Isaiah41:9, Sir
2:6; Sir 3:12; Sir 29:9; Sir 29:20, of helping the poor, cf. also Psalms of
Solomon, Acts 16:3; Acts 16:5, Acts 7:9, see further Psalms of Solomon, Ryle
and James edit., p. 73; on ἀντίληψις, H. and R., sub. v. In classicalGreek used
in middle voice with genitive as here.—τῶνἀθσενούν., cf. 1 Thessalonians
5:14, for a similar precept. The adjective need not be limited to those who
sought relief owing to physical weaknessorpoverty, but may include all those
who could claim the presbyters’ support and care, bodily or spiritual, cf.
Romans 12:13. The usage ofthe gospels points to those who are weak through
disease andtherefore needing help, cf., e.g., Matthew 10:8, Mark 6:56, Luke
9:2, John 5:3, so also by St. Paul, Php 2:26-27, 2 Timothy 4:20, although there
are instances in LXX where the word is usedof moral rather than of physical
weakness.Whenthe word is used of moral or spiritual weaknessin the N.T.,
such a meaning is for the most part either determined by the context, or by
some addition, e.g., τῇ πίστει, Romans 14:1.—μνημονεύειντε:the verb is used
seventimes by St. Paul in his Epistles, once by St. Luke in his Gospel, Luke
17:32, and twice in Acts in the words of St. Paul, cf. Acts 20:31. Twice in the
Epistle of St. Clement of Rome we find a similar exhortation in similar words,
chap. 13:1 and 46:7, and in each case the word may refer to a free
combination of our Lord’s words (cf. Luke 6:30; Luke 14:14), so too in
St.Polycarp, Epist., ii., 3. From what source St. Paul obtained this, the only
saying of our Lord, definitely so described, outside the four Gospels which the
N.T. contains, we cannot tell, but the command to “remember” shows that the
words must have been familiar words, like those from St. Clement and St.
Polycarp, which are very similar to the utterances of the Sermon on the
Mount. From whateversource they were derived the references givenby
Resch, Agrapha, pp. 100, 150, show how deep an impression they made upon
the mind of the Church, Clem. Rom., Cor[347], ii. 1, Did[348], i., 5, Const.
Ap., iv., 3, 1; cf. also Ropes, Die Spriiche Jesus, p. 136. In thus appealing to the
words of the Lord Jesus, St. Paul’s manner in his address is very similar to
that employed in his Epistles, where he is apparently able to quote the words

of the Lord in support of his judgment on some religious and moral question,
cf. 1 Corinthians 7:10-12;1 Corinthians 7:25, and the distinction betweenhis
own opinion, γνώμη, and the command of Christ, ἐπιταγή (Witness of the
Epistles, p. 319). τε: Weiss (so Bethge)holds that the word closelyconnects the
two clauses,and that the meaning is that only thus could the weak be rightly
maintained, viz., by remembering, etc., ὅτι being causal. But howeverthis
may be, in this reference, ὅτι αὐτὸς εἶπεν, “how he himself said,” R.V. (thus
implying that the factwas beyond all doubt), we may note one distinctive
feature in Christian philanthropy, that it is basedupon allegiance to a divine
Person, and upon a reference to His commands. The emphatic personal
pronoun seems to forbid the view that the Apostle is simply giving the sense of
some of our Lord’s sayings (see above). Similar sayings may be quoted from
paganand Jewishsources, but in Aristotle, Eth. Nicom., iv., 1, it is the part
τοῦ ἐλευθερίου to give when and where and as much as he pleases,but only
because it is beautiful to give; even in friendship, generosityand benevolence
spring from the reflection that such conduct is decorous and worthy of a noble
man, Eth. Nicom., ix., 8. In Plato’s Republic there would have been no place
for the ἀσθενεῖς. Even in Seneca who sometimes approaches verynearly to the
Christian precept, when he declares, e.g., thateven if we lose we must still
give, we cannot forgetthat pity is regardedas something unworthy of a wise
man; the wise man will help him in tears, but he will not weepwith him; he
helps the poor not with compassion, but with an impassive calm.—μακάριον:
emphatic in position, see criticalnote. Bengelquotes from an old poet, cf.
Athenæus, viii., 5, μακάριος,εἴπερ μεταδίδωσι μηδενί … ἀνόητος ὁ διδούς,
εὐτυχὴς δʼ ὁ λαμβάνων. The lines are by no means to be regardedas the best
expressionof paganethics, but the μακάρ., whichoccurs more than thirty
times on the lips of our Lord, bids us aim at something altogetherhigher and
deeper and fuller than happiness—blessedness. In Judaism, whilst compassion
for the poor and distressedis characteristicofa righteous Israelite, we must
still bear in mind that such compassionwas limited by legality and
nationality; the universality of the Christian precept is wanting, Uhlhorn,
Christian Charity, pp. 1–56, E.T., instancesin Wetstein, and Bethge and Page,
in loco.

[345]Oecumenius, the Greek Commentator.
[346]Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.
[347]Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.
[348]Διδαχὴ τῶν δωδέκα ἀποστόλων.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
35. I have shewedyou all things] Better(as Rev. Ver.) “In all things I gave you
an example.” The verb is cognate with that noun which Jesus uses (John
13:15), “I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done unto
you.”
how that so labouring] i.e. in like manner as the Apostle laboured. And the
verb implies “wearying toil.” He had spared for no fatigue. He speaks ofthis
toil (2 Corinthians 11:27), “in labour and travail.”
ye ought to support [Rev. Ver. “help”] the weak]By “weak”does StPaul here
mean those standing in need of material or moral help? Grimm (s. v.) takes it
for the poor, those who are in want from any cause, as those must have been
who could not support themselves, and whose wants the Apostle supplied by
his ownlabour. Yet this is a very rare sense, as he admits, for the verb to have,
and “feebleness”offaith and trust is much the more common meaning. And
that sense suits well here. If among new converts large demands should be
made for the support of those who minister, they who are weak in the faith as
yet, may be offended thereby, and becoming suspicious, regardthe preacher’s
office as a source of temporal gain. An example like St Paul’s would remove

the scruples of such men, and when they became more grounded in the faith,
these matters would trouble them no more. Forthe use of “weak” in the sense
of moral, rather than physical, weakness, cp. Job4:3-4; Isaiah35:3.
and to remember … Jesus]He appeals to them as though the saying was well-
known, and as we notice this, we cannot but wonder at the scantynumber of
the words which have been handed down as “words of Jesus” beyondwhat we
find in the Gospel. This is the only one in the New Testament, and from all the
rest of the Christian literature we cannotgather more than a score of
sentences beside. SeeWestcott, Introd. to Study of the Gospels, pp. 428 seqq.
how he said] The Greek has an emphatic pronoun, which is representedin the
Rev. Ver. “he himself said.”
It is.… receive]In support of what has just been saidabout strengthening the
feeble in faith, these words seemas readily applicable to that view of the
Apostle’s meaning, as to the sense of “poverty.” What would be given in this
specialcase,would be spiritual strength and trust; what is referred to in
“receive” is the temporal support of the preacher, which St Paul refrained
from claiming. We cannotdoubt that he felt how much more blessedit was to
win one wavererto Christ than it would have been to be spared his toils at
tent-making by the contributions of his converts.
Bengel's Gnomen
Acts 20:35. Πάντα—ὄτι)i.e. I have showedyou, as all things, so also this, that,
etc. If I had not showedyou this, I should not have showedyou all things.—
ὑπέδειξα, I have shown) by actualexample.—ὑμῖν, you) the bishops. He
admonishes these by his own example, courteously, without precept.
Therefore in Acts 20:33 he does not say, the silver, etc., of none of you, which
was evident of itself (without needing that he should sayso); but of no man,

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