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As the United States and the Western world continue to spiral deeper and deeper into socialistic ideals and communistic thinking, it’s no surprise that this mindset has also crept into the church. It seems as if many Christians today have replaced the gospel with demands for social justice, and exchanged Biblical truths for political correctness.
If You Claim Jesus is a Socialist, You Are Demeaning God and Worshipping Politics
This new breed of quasi-Christianity manifests itself through anti-establishment thinking, extreme Calvinistic theology, and Christian Universalism; all of which promote collectivism and downplay personal responsibility. But is this type of socialist dogma really what Jesus introduced to the world through his life and teachings?
Foxes Have Dens…Jesus Had Money
In order to discuss Jesus’ viewpoints on money and economics, it’s important to start by dispelling the popular myth that Jesus was poor.
According to Luke 8:3 the Bible reveals that Jesus had several prominent women helping to support him and his disciples to carry out the work of his ministry. Furthermore, according to John 13:29, it appears that Jesus had enough finances coming into his ministry that it necessitated he appoint one of his disciples, Judas, to act as the secretary of the group’s treasury.
Homeless hippies have little need for an accountant, but Jesus’s ministry flourished to such a degree that Judas would regularly oversee the renting of rooms, the purchasing of supplies, making arrangements for the disciples’ travels, and overseeing other expenditures related to Jesus’ ministry.
And apparently, Jesus must have been a good employer. Had Judas not been accustomed to receiving such a substantial wage from his day job, I suggest it probably would have taken much less money to bribe him into betraying Jesus.
The Bible tells us that Judas was given 30 silver coins by the Chief Priest himself to divulge Jesus’ whereabouts so that he could be taken into custody. Although in today’s economy this may seem like an insignificant amount of money, some scholars estimate that 30 silver tetradrachmas would be worth about six months of a worker’s wage.
In addition to the support Jesus received by women such as Joanna (the wife of Herod’s chief administrator), Martha, and Mary, some scholars speculate that Jesus’ ministry may have been funded from the original gifts given to him and his family by the Magi.
As most will recall, scripture reveals that shortly after his birth, Jesus was showered with lavish gifts from men from the East who came to honor him. Although western tradition states that there were only three “wise men” with small amounts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, scripture never defines the number of men, nor the number of their gifts. Read more