Matthew 26:11

Matthew 26:11. For ye have the poor always with you (Mark adds: ‘and whensoever ye will ye may do them good ‘); but me ye have not always. His speedy death is foretold; but the main point is, that this opportunity could never return; while the care of the poor would be a daily ‘duty to humanity down to the end of time.' The act was justified by the special occasion. It ought not to be cited to defend expensive modes of worship at the cost of neglecting the poor. Such special occasions may, however, recur in our lives. This verse suggests that no reorganization of society will ever banish poverty from the earth. There is but one way of doing this, namely, by Christ's people recognizing the poor as ‘with them ‘and under the impulse of love like that of Mary, making the care of them the usual expression of that love.