But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you. Luke 11:41
“The Greek wording of v. 41 is very compressed, resulting in both ambiguity of meaning and diversity of translations. The phrase “give alms” (NIV “be generous to the poor”) is a Hebraism, and the juxtaposition of words in the first part of v. 41 without showing their syntactic relationship to each other suggests Hebraic influence as well.
The Hebraic character of the verse may help explain its meaning. The LXX translators regularly chose to translate tsedaqah, the important Hebrew word for “righteousness” and/or “justice,” with the Greek word for “alms,” eleēmosynē. Giving to the poor, in other words, was at the core of God’s will for justice in the world.
The Hebraism “give alms” seems to signify something similar in v. 41. Giving alms, being generous with the poor, is not the opposite of “greed” and “wickedness” (v. 39), but a deep and genuine expression of a pure heart. When one’s heart is pure, “everything will be clean for you.”
James R. Edwards in The Gospel according to Luke (PNTC; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2015) 355.
Over the next two weeks I get to work from home and enjoy my twice daily walks with my wife, Jenni, and our dog, Joy St. Clare (pictured above). Today marks the end of the third week of Lent in which we have been exploring the heart of almsgiving as part of growing in generosity. I’m praying for the growth of every meditations reader this Lent, and I’d appreciate your prayers for me today as I serve a group of Youth For Christ ministry administrators here in Denver.
Edwards helps us understand this somewhat confusing statement by Jesus about giving alms. When our hearts, filled with compassion, exhibit righteous and justice through sharing with people in need, everything else falls into place. Jesus wants us to care for others ahead of ourselves. When we live this way, everything in our lives becomes “clean” or rightly ordered. Thus, alms are not optional or peripheral but “the core of God’s will for justice in the world.”
What does your almsgiving toward others reveal about the condition of your heart?