Jesus taught that wealth and possessions can become idols that prevent people from fully serving God. While Judaism associated prosperity with God's favor, Jesus warned that riches increase the danger of greed and dependence on material things rather than God. He taught his followers to use wealth and possessions to help others and spread God's kingdom, rather than accumulating earthly treasures. True Christian stewardship involves wisely using resources to invest in eternal rather than temporal priorities.

1. LESSON 10
June 7, 2015
Jesus and money
Golden Text
“Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the
kingdom of God”! (Lk 18.24)
Useful Practice
The Scriptures do not condemn an honest acquisition of wealth1, but the love
of it.
Scripture Reading
Luke 18: 18-24
18 - A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit
eternal life?”
19 - “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good —except
God alone.
20 - You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you
shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony,
honor your father and mother.”
21- “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.
22 - When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell
everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in
heaven. Then come, follow me.”
23 - When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy.
24 - Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the
kingdom of God!
General objective
To teach, as stewards2, the proper use of money and the goods entrusted to
us by God, in the light of the teaching of Jesus.
1
Riqueza, opulência, ostentação
2
Mordomo

2. Specific objectives
I – TO POINT OUT money, property and possessions in the secular and
Christian perspective.
II – TO EXPLAIN about money, property and possessions from the
perspective of the Judaism of Jesus' time.
III – TO KNOW what Jesus taught about money, possessions and goods.
IV – TO MAKE students aware3 of the importance of heaping up4 treasures
in heaven.
Introduction
Biblical and orthodox Christianity has always maintained a position of
caution and even reservations regarding the use of money and acquiring
wealth. In fact, the early Christian leaders, inspired by the teachings of
Jesus, began to discourage the acquisition of material goods. However,
secularism and materialism have always prowled5 around Christianity and,
at times, Mammon has left its mark among us.
We have observed in this lesson that Jesus' teachings on the acquisition
of wealth distance themselves from the Judaism of his day and also from
that which is practiced today by many sectors of evangelical Christianity.
Far from stimulating the purchase of goods, as do dozens of churches, Jesus
advised to get away from them.
Let us learn from the Master about the right use of money and how to be
good stewards of the goods that have been entrusted to us.
I - MONEY, GOODS AND POSSESSIONS FROM THE SECULAR AND
CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVES
1. Secular perspective. One of the most common ways of seeing money,
goods and possessions in secular culture is to see them only as something
of a purely material nature. Both in the ancient and the contemporary
world, you can see that material reality have always seemed to take
precedence over the spiritual one. Materiality begins to dominate the lives
of people and that includes money, goods and possessions. In the Western
World, this way of seeing things has become a life philosophy that refuses
3
Consciente
4
Amontoar
5
Rondar

3. to see anything beyond matter. From this perspective, materiality is
overestimated while spirituality is ignored and superseded6. In this
context, those who have possessions are valued, and those who do not are
worthless7. Money, as a material value that ensures possessions, gains lord
status instead of servant.
2. Christian Perspective. In the Christian context, the same God who made
spirituality is the same who made materiality. In the teachings of Christ,
there is no dualism between matter and spirit! However, spiritual things,
because they are of eternal nature, take precedence over material ones,
which are only temporal (Lk 10:41). From the Christian perspective,
therefore, the material and spiritual dimensions must coexist. Just as we
serve God with our spirit, our spiritual dimension, we must also serve with
our body (1 Corinthians 6:19,20; Thes 5:23), our material dimension. Thus,
whoever has become a participant in spiritual values should also serve
with their material possessions (Rom 15:27; Luke 8.3). Here, money, as a
material value, is not viewed as a lord, but only as a servant.
II - MONEY, GOODS AND POSSESSIONS IN THE JUDAISM OF JESUS’ TIME
1. Rich and poor. In the Judaism of Jesus' time, society was divided into
two groups: the rich and the poor. In the upper class, there were the
priests, participants of an elite that controlled the system of sacrifices and
profited from it, and the Herodians, who owned large estates. Another
group consisted of members from the Jewish aristocracy enriched at the
expense of taxes from their properties and their business. The last group
consisted of Jewish traders, who, despite not possessing estates, actively
participated in the nation's economic life. At the extreme end of this
situation were the poor! These were "the people of the land" (Luke 21:1-4).
They had nothing and were still oppressed by the rich (James 2:6).
2. Generosity and prosperity. In the Jewish culture of Jesus' day,
possessing material goods was not seen as an evil in itself. The Bible
expositor PH Davids notes that the examples of Abraham, Solomon and Job
served as inspiration to those who aspired to prosperity. The idea was that
the rich prospered because God's favor was on them. Thus, prosperity
began to be associated with piety. To avoid avarice and greed, the rabbinical
tradition encouraged the rich to be generous and sympathetic to the poor,
who were the majority in the community. Obviously this conception only
encouraged outward actions, without taking into account inner attitudes
(Luke 21:4).
6
Suplantado
7
Sem valor

4. III – MONEY, GOODS AND POSSESSIONS IN THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS
1. Jesus warned about the danger of wealth. Jesus' teaching about the
use of wealth was much more radical than Judaism and the rabbinical
tradition of his days taught. Jesus, unlike the rabbis, did not associate piety
with prosperity. Someone’s wealth had nothing to do with their real
spiritual condition. For Jesus, the danger of riches lay in the fact that they
could even become a personification of evil and claim worship for itself.
Therefore, he warned: "You cannot serve God and money [wealth]" (Luke
16:13). The word translated as "wealth" in this text corresponds to the
Greek word of Aramaic origin Mamonas, translated in the “ARC” as
Mammon. Wealth can become an idol, or a god, to those who owns it. In
this respect, riches become an obstacle in the way of a person who serves
God (Luke 8:14).
2. Jesus taught to trust in God. Although Jesus showed that wealth can
even become a personification of evil, He did not demonize it. However,
from Luke’s perspective, Jesus discourages the acquisition of wealth (Luke
12:13; 18:22) and stimulates trust in God. And there was a reason for it.
Soon after showing the dangers of avarice to someone who wanted to make
him a judge in a matter related to an inheritance, Jesus reveals to his
disciples that the best way to protect oneself from this evil is to rely
completely on God's provision (Luke 12:13 - 34). Riches give a false sense
of security and independence of spiritual things. Hence, his
recommendation not to trust in them (Luke 12:33,34).
IV – MONEY, GOODS AND POSSESSIONS IN CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP
1. Assessing the intent of the heart. Dictionaries define avarice as an
exaggerated and nasty8 attachment to money and meanness9. We have seen
that, to avoid this evil, the rabbinic tradition encouraged philanthropic and
solidary practices. Jesus' teaching about the use of wealth goes far beyond
simply donating goods and philanthropic actions. He did not just limit
himself to evaluating outward actions, but focused especially on inner
attitudes. Thus, he appreciated the attitudes of the sinful woman in the
house of Simon the leper, and those of Mary of Bethany, the sister of
Lazarus (Lk 7:36-50). It was not enough, therefore, just to dispose of the
goods, but the attitude and intention with which it was done (Luke 11:41,
21: 1-4). It is not enough to give offerings, or tithes10, but the attitude with
8
Desagradável
9
Mesquinharia
10
Dízimos

5. which they do these things. It was not enough just to make donations, but
to donate oneself.
2. Heaping up treasures in heaven. A steward is someone who manages
someone else's possessions. The possessions do not belong to him, but he
can enjoy them while administering them for their rightful owner. Jesus
told the parable of the manager, or the unfaithful steward to show this fact
(Luke 16:1-13). The understanding between the interpreters of the Bible is
that this parable has an eschatological end. Just as the children of this
world are cunning and astute with regard to the use of their wealth, so the
children of the kingdom should be wise in handling their goods. The
parable teaching is that the best investment is to use the acquired material
resources in spreading the kingdom of God and thus winning friends for
eternal life (Luke 16:9).
CONCLUSION
There is no moral value in money itself. Having money can be a good
or a bad thing. It will depend on the set of values of the one who uses it.
Certainly, using money to help a philanthropic work, or to invest in the
missionary work is a useful and praiseworthy11 thing. However, using that
money, as Jesus warned, simply with the attitude of wanting more
possessions, more prestige, more self-satisfaction turns out to be a bad
thing. Let us read carefully the third Gospel and discover the exercise of
true Christian stewardship12.
11
Louvável
12
Mordomia