# Jesus and the needy question **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 9, 2015, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048 "2015-10-09T17:39:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048/1 "2015-10-09T17:39:06Z")
This question is purely aimed at those who follow the teachings of Jesus Christ: according to His teachings, are you supposed to open up your personal house to those in need of clothes, food, and/or shelter, or are the Scriptures to be interpreted as your house being homeless shelters that the Church donates to? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048/2 "2015-10-09T17:44:38Z")
Since this is a matter of interpretation, let’s move it to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048/3 "2015-10-09T17:47:39Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Since this is a matter of interpretation, let’s move it to IMHO. > > Colibri > General Questions Moderator Thanks Colibri, wasn’t sure where to post at first. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048/4 "2015-10-09T17:54:48Z")
> [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](#): > > This question is purely aimed at those who follow the teachings of Jesus Christ: according to His teachings, are you supposed to open up your personal house to those in need of clothes, food, and/or shelter, or are the Scriptures to be interpreted as your house being homeless shelters that the Church donates to? Got a verse for that? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048/5 "2015-10-09T17:59:04Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Got a verse for that? A verse for what, exactly? I thought it was common knowledge, even amongst unbelievers, that Jesus’ teachings provided for aid to the needy. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048/6 "2015-10-09T18:02:53Z")
[This](http://www.openbible.info/topics/homelessness) page seems to have verses that deal with it, but I’m not a theology scholar and am not about to interpret each one: ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048/7 "2015-10-09T18:05:11Z")
> [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](#): > > [This](http://www.openbible.info/topics/homelessness) page seems to have verses that deal with it, but I’m not a theology scholar and am not about to interpret each one: Well, where’d you get the idea that\* “are you supposed to open up your personal house to those in need of clothes, food, and/or shelter, or are the Scriptures to be interpreted as your house being homeless shelters that the Church donates to\*?”. Big stretch from “aid to the needy”. Indeed, you are supposed to help those less fortunate. I mostly volunteer, but do donate to causes. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048/8 "2015-10-09T18:05:19Z")
Here’s a piece from that page: Isaiah 58:7 ESV Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048/9 "2015-10-09T18:06:43Z")
> [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](#): > > Here’s a piece from that page: > > Isaiah 58:7 ESV > > Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? That’s OT, dude, not the Word of Jesus. Go take a class on Theology, then come back. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048/10 "2015-10-09T18:08:19Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Well, where’d you get the idea that\* “are you supposed to open up your personal house to those in need of clothes, food, and/or shelter, or are the Scriptures to be interpreted as your house being homeless shelters that the Church donates to\*?”. Big stretch from “aid to the needy”. Indeed, you are supposed to help those less fortunate. > > I mostly volunteer, but do donate to causes. Not a stretch by any means. It’s pretty much either Jesus meant what he said or he didn’t or something is being misinterpreted somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048/11 "2015-10-09T18:08:58Z")
> [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](#): > > Not a stretch by any means. It’s pretty much either Jesus meant what he said or he didn’t or something is being misinterpreted somewhere. So, again, quote _Jesus_, please. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048/12 "2015-10-09T18:09:42Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > That’s OT, dude, not the Word of Jesus. > > Go take a class on Theology, then come back. Thanks. You’re absolutely right. It is OT. But my question wasn’t answered at all. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048/13 "2015-10-09T18:09:59Z")
I may have missed one in skimming, but the only verse on that page which explicitly says “bring the homeless into your home” is Isaiah 58:7, an Old Testament verse (and, thus, not actually a quote of Jesus). Absolutely, there are a number of verses from the Gospels in which Jesus exhorts his followers to aid the needy. It seems like you’re trying to find a “gotcha” in which Jesus explicitly said, “open your homes to the needy”, and show Christians that they aren’t following Jesus’s teachings to the letter. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048/14 "2015-10-09T18:11:04Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > So, again, quote _Jesus_, please. I shouldn’t have to. Did you read my OP? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048/15 "2015-10-09T18:12:42Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I may have missed one in skimming, but the only verse on that page which explicitly says “bring the homeless into your home” is Isaiah 58:7, an Old Testament verse (and, thus, not actually a quote of Jesus). > > Absolutely, there are a number of verses from the Gospels in which Jesus exhorts his followers to aid the needy. It seems like you’re trying to find a “gotcha” in which Jesus explicitly said, “open your homes to the needy”, and show Christians that they aren’t following Jesus’s teachings to the letter. I’m not looking for a gotcha at all. Gotcha’s are pretty much a slam dunk in many religious texts. It’s a question based on your interpretation based on the teachings of Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048/16 "2015-10-09T18:15:02Z")
There is _nothing_ in the Gospel, or in Jesus’s teachings, which says that a Christian is “supposed to open up your personal house to those in need of clothes, food, and/or shelter”. There is _plenty_ which says, “if you love me (Christ), you must help the needy, for what you do to them, you do to me.” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048/17 "2015-10-09T18:15:29Z")
> [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](#): > > I shouldn’t have to. Did you read my OP? Yeah, you should. If you have a question about any of Jesus’ sayings, you should be prepared to cite the ones you have a question about. Don’t make us do your work for you. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048/18 "2015-10-09T18:17:41Z")
I guess the two most direct ones are: Isaiah 58:7- “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” Deuteronomy 15:7-8- ““If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.” ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048/19 "2015-10-09T18:18:50Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > That’s OT, dude, not the Word of Jesus. > > Go take a class on Theology, then come back. Thanks. I thought Jesus was God. And vice versa. If so, wouldn’t the OT carry the same weight? Or have they stopped using the OT during Mass? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048/20 "2015-10-09T18:21:26Z")
> [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](#): > > I shouldn’t have to. Did you read my OP? Yes. have you read the words attributed to Jesus? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-and-the-needy-question/734048.md?page=2)