Jesus and Money

Jesus and Wealth

Jesus was neither anti-wealth nor pro-wealth in the ways we expect. He warned again and again about the danger of trusting in riches, which can quietly take the place of God, yet he also welcomed the wealthy, ate in their homes, and honoured those who used their money generously. Wealth, in his teaching, is good to have and dangerous to love.

What Jesus actually taught

He told a parable of a rich man who built bigger barns and called his soul secure, only to die that night (Luke 12), and he warned that riches can choke the word like thorns. Yet the same Jesus was funded by wealthy women (Luke 8:3), buried in a rich man’s tomb, and told the wealthy Zacchaeus that salvation had come to his house.

What it means

Notice what Jesus does and does not say. He does not say it is a sin to be rich, and he does not tell every wealthy person to sell everything. What he warns against is trusting in riches, letting them become the thing that makes us feel safe, important, and self-sufficient, the place in the heart that belongs to God alone.

So wealth is not condemned and not worshipped. It is a trust. The wealthy person who holds money with an open hand, ready to give, is free; the one who clings to it, whether rich or poor, is not. This cuts against both the prosperity gospel, which flatters wealth, and the idea that poverty is holiness, which romanticises it. The heart is the battleground, not the bank balance.

Frequently asked questions

Did Jesus condemn wealth?

Jesus condemned trusting in wealth, not wealth itself. He warned it is hard for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom (Mark 10:23-25), yet he welcomed wealthy people like Zacchaeus and was supported by wealthy followers. The danger is the grip, not the coin.

Was Jesus rich or poor?

Jesus lived simply and said he had nowhere to lay his head (Matthew 8:20). But he did not treat poverty as a badge of holiness or wealth as a mark of sin. He measured people by their hearts and their generosity, not their bank balance.