The persons composing the crowds
that swarmed around Jesus to receive his healing touch and hear his teaching were
the common “people of the land.” We might suspect that such audiences would
have shaped his teaching style and content to some degree yet his subjects also
suggest that occasionally hearers with some means were in the audience.
Take for example, the Sermon on
the Mount instruction,"Do not
store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and
where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in
or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt. 6:19-21, NASB) This logion does
not find an easy application to persons who only own the clothes on their back.
It makes more sense to see it as addressing the more well to do in the crowd. At
the very least warns it against accumulating things, if not outright rejecting
the amassing of physical wealth. The teaching raises concerns about motivation,
goals, and material threats to holdings. Wealth and seeking more do not come
off in a positive view here. The goal that Jesus promoted was investing now for
future benefits in heaven (“Treasure in heaven” Matt. 19:21; Mark
10:21; Luke 12:33; 18:22)
An episode that Luke (12:13-21)
alone presented pushes this perspective even more. When Jesus was confronted
with a claim to make an equitable division of inheritance, Jesus refused to intervene.
Instead he viewed this request as an opportunity to confront greed. His shared a
story of a rich landowner. This rich man attends to accumulation and how to
properly store the ever increasing product. His expansion for the future moves
him to celebrate his present good fortune and future prospects. The surprise
ending narrates his immediate demise, futile creation of more effective storage,
and loss of his amassed holdings. The character is treated with contempt, named
a “fool.” The parable explanation applies the story to any who might follow
like misguided priorities (v. 21). This parable was spoken with reference to someone
who questioned fairness of an inheritance settlement. We don’t know the
economic status of the one who asked for Jesus’ help. The most we can say about
the petitioner was he was potentially wealthy. What is clear is that the
attitude perceived behind the request received a direct rebuke from Jesus. Here
again wealth and
seeking more do not come off in a positive view.
A third episode but an example narrated by all three
synoptic gospels (Mark 10:17-31; Matt. 19:16-30; Luke 18:18-30) is the
encounter between Jesus and the “rich young ruler.” Jesus perceiving a personal
weakness within this questioner omitted the final commandment from his list of
several Decalogue rules, and love for neighbor (in the Matthew version only), to
elicit from the young man a bold claim to complete obedience, “I have kept all
of these things from my youth up.” (Mark 10:20). Despite the bold claim Jesus
recognized the problem, “one thing is missing.” His aim in life concerned the
seeking of more. Desiring more lies at the foundation for the amassing of
wealth. The prescription as Jesus saw it was distribution of his holdings for
the common good of the poor. He however, could not comply since riches were too
great an attraction. Jesus used this occasion to acknowledge the difficulty for
the wealthy to enter the kingdom before his surprised disciples. They hold a
mistaken view that wealth is a clear sign of divine blessing. Jesus asserted
the very opposite. Wealth is not a sign of the acceptance of heaven, but an omen
of rejection. To emphasize the degree of
difficulty that the rich must overcome, he then uttered something of a well
turned proverb, “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Meaning: it can’t be done. Wealth
builds an impassible barrier for the rich to assault, but they can’t. The good
news that Jesus proclaims is that God can solve this impenetrable problem, what
is impossible for humanity God can overcome. Here again it is plain to
see wealth and
seeking more do not appear in a positive light. To promote a future life of
blessing in heaven (?) wealth is something to be abandoned and avoided. If the
prior examples are inconclusive then I have two more to mention.
On occasion Jesus gave instruction related to riches in an
even more direct manner. Luke reported that Jesus once gave a general command concerning
the disposition of wealth, “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make
yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven,
where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there
your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:33-34) And finally Jesus explained that the
disposition of wealth is a prerequisite for being a follower of Jesus: "So then, none of you can be My disciple
who does not give up all his own possessions.” (Luke 14:33)
From these examples it should be obvious that the way current American
society views wealth and the way Jesus warns about it suggests that these
perspectives are quite different and not compatible.
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