Jesus: Rich Man, Poor Man?
Rachel, a volunteer over at Off The Map, asked me my opinion on the article “Was Jesus rich?: ‘Kings brought him gold and he travelled with a treasurer’” in the National Post (ht: Justice & Compassion blog). The article presents the argument of many Christian leaders that Jesus was not a poor man at all, but rather wealthy, evidence (along with health and good relationships) that He was living in the fullest blessings of God. When the primary pastor quoted is “Rev. Dollar”, you can probably guess what direction they take.
While I am not going to get into the arguments and details, let it suffice to say that I disagree with the premise they present and have strong objections to the prosperity Gospel in its many varieties. And yet, the debate of “Rich Jesus vs. Poor Jesus” is not an adequate enough framework to explore the underlying questions. We first need to acknowledge that, while Biblical and historical evidence helps, the record is not explicit on the subject.
Some argue that the gifts of the Maji would be enought to establish the wealth of Jesus and His family. Certainly, such gifts would have helped, but we also must remember that shortly thereafter they fled to Egypt with little notice. The trip and the years in Egypt would have required money. Further, we can fairly deduce from Jesus life that we received an excellent education as a child, which also would have been costly.
When they returned to Israel, in addition to the cost of the move, they were coming home to a land under the thumb of foreign power, in the midst of political turmoil. Add to that the fact that first century Jews did not function like our nuclear families today, with larger extended family units, there were many expenses for the whole household. Also, Joseph leaves the story earlier in Jesus life, meaning one primary provider would be removed. Also, what wealth he had would be shared with more than just Jesus.
So as Jesus enters adulthood, we cannot say that He was wealthy, but neither should we say he must have been poor. As a popular rabbi and with a following, Jesus would likely have had a fair amount of support. Having someone care for the purse does suggest that there was a fair amount of money in that provision. However, given other Scriptures about giving (and the pattern of the early church) makes it clear that Jesus and His followers did not count this wealth as their own. Perhaps one of the most important factors to remember is that Jesus birth was in question. He would have been a social outcast to many, so despite his financial status, he would have suffered from some “social poverty” that cannot be underplayed.
So was Jesus poor or rich? In my opinion, most likely neither. It is dangerous to build a theology of prosperity on the thin references and culturally biased interpretations that are common today. There is far greater evidence to counter these shallow theologies in the fullness of Scripture. Again, I will not get into the details here.
However, it is also dangerous to paint Jesus a “homeless” man. Yes, Jesus did not “have a place to lay His head”, but in our cultural/historical context the word “homeless” is loaded with meaning that would not apply to Jesus’ situation. Working in the inner city, homelessness is not just defined by having not home (though that would seem obvious), but rather to the broader issues of poverty. Frankly, Jesus had the diverse support system that most of today’s homeless would greatly envy.
That being said, Jesus spent a great deal of time and energy living and loving the truly poor of His world. By His choices He demonstrated a pattern that made issues of poverty, marginalization and injustice (and their underlying causes) significantly important to our own faith, in belief and action. So while I do not think Jesus can be so strongly identified as a poor man as some today would like, neither can we ignore how strongly He identified with the poor.
As a missionary in an inner city context, I have a strong emphasis on Jesus’ identification with the poor and marginalized, something that I believe is Biblical. However, I also see the danger of that emphasis going too far. Whether it is to support a prosperity Gospel or to restore a balance against such tendencies, we must avoid remaking Jesus into images that are more convenient to our causes and purposes.
What do you think?
