J4P – Jesus Had No Money

Guest Blogger: Matthew Freeman

“Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

This question, designed by religious leaders to trap Jesus and undermine his authority, makes a basic presumption which Jesus unmasks.

The dilemma of whether to pay taxes to an idolatrous empire is only a dilemma if you have money. Jesus had no money. He had to ask for a coin from someone before he answered the question.

“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

Through his enigmatic and hotly debated response, Jesus avoided the trap set for him while providing fodder for biblical scholars to write books, articles, and sermons about for the past 20 centuries. But he also provided us an interesting and often overlooked tidbit about his personal life: he carried no money with him.

Another tax story: Jesus claimed a personal exemption on his temple tax based on his relation to the owner of the temple, his Father (Matthew 17:24-27). Jesus, however, decided to pay the tax “so as not to offend” the temple tax collectors. Once again we find that Jesus had no money. Instead he sends Peter to a nearby pond to go fishing- telling Peter that he’d catch a fish with a coin in its mouth.

Enigmatic statements and bizarre stories aside for a moment, what kind of leader has no money? What kind of example does Jesus set? How could he responsibly tell people not to worry about “life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear?” (Mathew 6:25) Don’t we need to make money to provide for ourselves and our families? Don’t we need to make money so that we can give it away?

Our culture’s too-quick dismissal of these questions short circuits an important conversation we should be having about our relationship to money and the capitalist system that provides it to us.

But more to Shane & Chris’s point, if Jesus is to be our President, our Commander-in-Chief, the Ruler of the Kings of the Earth (Rev. 1:5), the Chief Shepherd (1 Pet. 5:4), and the Head of the Church (Eph. 1:22)- what are we to make of his leadership? What are we to do with his material poverty?

In other words, what kind of President has no money?

The kind that makes a farce of royal processions by riding into the capital city on a borrowed ass during the Passover celebration of escape from Egyptian slavery. The kind that calls oppressive and powerful world leaders insulting names (Luke 13:32). The kind that counseled his followers that greatness in God’s kingdom is achieved through service to the human community.

In other words, the kind of President who has no money is one who eschews worldly power, makes a mockery of the self-aggrandizement of political and religious leaders, and calls his followers to serve others instead of dominating them.

The real question is, what kind of people are foolish enough to follow a leader like this? And what would their lives look life if we could find them?

Matthew Freeman and his wife Sarah founded the Gabriel House here in Richmond. The Gabriel House is an intentional Christian community practicing hospitality and resistance in the Catholic Worker tradition.

Currently 5 members live together, host community meals 3 times a week (Tues, Wed, Thurs), offer a room to those in need of a place to stay, garden in the back yard and in the neighborhood, and seek to be a welcoming place to all who come to the door.