Jesus, Church and Money

Jesus, Church and Money
Who is Jesus
The real value of money
Jesus and Standard of Payment
The Law of Proportion
Jesus and Church Hospitality
The law of Large number
Jesus and Investment
Jesus on Payment of Taxes
Divine Provision of Money
Commerce in the Church
Jesus and the Rich
Jesus and Ill-gotten wealth

Who is Jesus
One of few personality who needs little introduction. But if you really want to know Him
Go to John 1:1-36

The real value of money( Law of proportion versus law of large number)
Matthew 12:41-44
41 ¶ And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. {money: a piece of brass money}
42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. {mites: it is the seventh part of one piece of that brass money}
43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.


Jesus and Standard of Payment

Matthew 17:24-27
24 ¶ And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? {tribute: called in the original, didrachma, being in value fifteen pence sterling; about thirty seven cents}
Ex 30:13; 38:26; Mr 9:33

25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?

26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free
27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee. {a piece...: or, a stater: it is half an ounce of silver, in value two shillings and six pence, sterling; about fifty five cents}

Jesus and Investment

Lu 12:48
But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

Lu 19:15 And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. {money: Gr. silver}

Jesus and Divine Provision of Money

Mark 6:7-13
7 ¶ And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;
8 And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: {money: the word signifieth a piece of brass money, in value somewhat less than a farthing, but here it is taken in general for money}

9 But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.
Ac 12:8

Luke 9:3
3 And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.


Jesus and Commercialization of Churches

John 2:13-16
13 And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,
Ex 12:14; De 16:1,16; John 2:23; 5:1; 6:4; 11:55

14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:
Mt 21:12; Mr 11:15; Lu 19:45

15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;

16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house a house of merchandise.
Lu 2:49


Jesus and Church Hospitality

John 6:5-
5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?

6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him,

9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost
13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

15 ¶ When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.


Jesus and the Rich

Luke 18
18 ¶ And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Mt 19:16; Mr 10:17

19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
Mt 6:19-20; 19:21; 1Ti 6:19

23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
Pr 11:28; Mt 19:23; Mr 10:23

25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

26 And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?
27 And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
Jer 32:17; Zec 8:6; Mt 19:26; Lu 1:37


Jesus and Tithe

Mt 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. {anise: Gr. dill}
Lu 11:42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone

Jesus and Giving

Luke 6:38
38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.


Conclusion

Money Versus Value
Money is a store of value
Money is a means and not an end
Money is a facilitator of ends achievement
Money cannot achieve ends alone, it must be combined with other factors such as human resources to achieve ends.
VALUE can be created without money. e.g the world was created without money. wild life and vegetation are regenerated without money and human intervention.
MONEY cannot be created without VALUE
Money mentioned in 118 times in KJV version of old testament scripture.
Money mentioned only 22 times in KJV new testament scripture
In John 6: 7 Philip focused on money as a means to an end (VALUE).
While in John 6:10 Jesus focus on virtue of faith (VALUE)
Money must be scarce to avoid it losing its ability to store value
Money is not a perfect store of value
Value is a function of perception of individual and varies from person to person.
Money is not an absolute store of value, but a relative store of value.

Recommendations
Church organization doesn't have to over-depend on money before they can create value. This is because of the number of human resources at their disposal. Individual strength of members should not be assessed or equated to financial ability.
Low net worth individuals may be weak financially but may be strong in other valuable aspect of life.
Human resources constitute major part of the church asset, which can be accessed freely or cheaply by their members. This is demonstrated by the Lord Jesus Christ when he was about to feed about five thousand men, Individuals who do not have cash may be in possession of skill or materials needed by the church which they are willing to give, but if the church insists on money it denies the congregation the opportunity to give. After all the instruction in Luke 6:38 says GIVE, with no emphasis laid on money.
Economically, speaking money in circulation is always fewer than value in existence. Emphasis on money by the church will rob the church the ability to create value to full capacity.