The Indignant Reaction of the Disciples

The occasion that prompts a character to say or do a thing is very important to understanding their meaning. In this case, again, jesus's prompted to say this by the indignant reaction of the disciples. The poor you will always have with you, but you won't always have me. We looked at all that other stuff throughout the book of matthew that demonstrates the immediate value of jesus and how much jesus celebrates and affirms the people who physically came into contact with him. But we haven't dug deeply back into the beatitudes where people of low position are listed in spirit.