Money Matters: Money, Status, and Power

by Marilynn Chadwick

Let’s take a look at the poor widow’s gift (Luke 21:1-4). Luke reminds us how she gave what the rich young ruler would not (Luke 18:22). And proportionately, she gave even more than Zacchaeus (Luke 19:8). All the more reason for Jesus’s public affirmation of her gift in front of the corrupt teachers of the law.

In addition to their worship of money, the religious leaders also worshiped status. Jesus had already reprimanded them as “those who justify yourselves in the sight of others.” “But God knows your hearts;” he warned, “for what is exalted by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15 ESV).

Jesus' denouncement of the scribes sounds remarkably similar to the condemnation leveled by the Old Testament prophets. One Early Church father, Cyril of Alexandria, wrote that the scribes’ behavior showed their unbelief. “Beware and don’t expose yourself to their vices and disregard of God.”

Now, in the presence of all the people, Jesus warns his disciples to watch out for these teachers of the law. He knew they craved honor and recognition. Their teaching, or “leaven” was corrupt as shown by their status-seeking behavior. “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at feasts” (Luke 20:46).

For the religious leaders, appearance was everything. Jewish customs such as the wearing of long robes and the places of honor coveted by religious leaders are important to understand. The scribes’ outer garment was a festive robe worn to celebrate status in that day. Luke would have known that in the Roman Palestine region, clothes signified a special social standing. Wealth was their ticket to status.

The Temple setting is appropriate, since the scribes’ status was attached to the Temple. It was the religious focal point and the center of all social activity—command central for these leaders to exercise their abusive authority. Temple offerings took place in plain sight for all to observe, adding to their “sense of show.”

The religious leaders were known to defraud the poor while appearing pious to the community. Jesus condemned their hypocrisy as those who “devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers” (Luke 20:47). There’s evidence they mismanaged property, received large sums of money for prayer, and absconded widows’ houses for debts that could not be paid.

Money and power corrupted religious leaders then just as it sometimes does today. It’s been said that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Some things never change.

Money Matters: Where Your Treasure Is

by Marilynn Chadwick

Luke’s Gospel emphasizes society’s outcasts—those lacking in power, prestige, and money. He tells stories of Jesus’s kindness toward women, the weak, and the powerless. But he gives an especially prominent place to the poor. Luke flips society’s “script” about who has value and who does not, a motif sometimes called the “divine reversal.”

The proper attitude toward possessions is also a major theme in Luke. He shines a glaring light on the use and abuse of money. This theme repeats itself again and again as Jesus contrasts the dangers of wealth with the virtues of generosity—and more specifically, the gifts of the rich compared to the gift of the poor widow (Luke 21:1-4).

Money, for Jesus, appears to be a litmus test for one’s spiritual condition. Luke presents us with several snapshots of Jesus’s teaching on money. Earlier, Jesus had warned his disciples to watch out for the “leaven,” or teaching, of the hypocritical Pharisees (Luke 12:1). He challenged his followers on the upside-down nature of heaven’s value system, warning them not to trust in riches. “Sell your possessions and give to the poor” he encouraged them. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:33,34 NIV).

It’s no secret where the Pharisees’ treasure resided. Luke tells us plainly they were philargyros, or “lovers of money” (Luke 16:14). Money was at the core of their corruption.

Jesus warns that those who have not been “faithful with dishonest wealth” cannot be trusted with true [eternal] riches (Luke 16:11). He warns that no one can serve both God and wealth (16:13). Other versions translate mamonas, or “wealth,” as “mammon,” personifying the deity-like quality of money (KJV). In short, these religious leaders worshiped money.

The worship of money was a stumbling block for the rich young ruler who asked Jesus for the way to “inherit eternal life.” Jesus answered him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich” (Luke 18:22,23 ESV).

In contrast, Zacchaeus was a despised tax collector and known as a great “sinner.” But his heartfelt response to Jesus upon receiving salvation was to cry out, “Look, Lord! Here and now, I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount [double what the law required]” (Luke 19:8 NIV).

Luke shows how true repentance dramatically impacted Zacchaeus’s relationship with money. When we truly encounter Jesus, it naturally follows that we loosen our grip on this world. Think about the words of this beautiful old hymn, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

Money Matters: The Divine Reversal

by Marilynn Chadwick

Most of us know Luke as the physician, but did you know he’s also widely regarded as a respected historian? According to Luke’s opening verses, the author himself refers to his work as an “orderly account” rather than a Gospel (Luke 1:3).

The story of the poor widow’s sacrificial gift (Luke 21:1-4) is one of Luke’s most well-known stories about Jesus and money. It takes place near the end of Jesus’s earthly ministry.

Luke devotes much of his narrative to the journey of Jesus and his disciples (Luke 9-19). The action now moves quickly as Jesus approaches the cross. Jesus enters Jerusalem, weeps over the city, cleanses the temple, and responds to a series of heated arguments with the religious leaders. He condemns the scribes (Luke 20:45-47); honors the poor widow for her gift; and turns the tables on the rich (Luke 21:1-4).

Jesus’s confrontation with these corrupt leaders has been a continual theme throughout much of the Gospel of Luke. Luke shows us how Jesus used surprising examples for the religious leaders. His listeners would have been shocked and offended at the heroes of his stories. Some call this Luke’s “divine reversal.”

For example, children in that day were completely powerless. “People were bringing even the infants to Jesus.” (Luke 18:15 NIV). And even the disciples rebuked them. Yet, Jesus responded, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Luke 18:16). The word, brephos, is used for infants and children—born and unborn. Luke uses the same word to describe John the Baptist who “leaped” in his mother’s womb (Luke 1:41).

Women were also considered as second class citizens. Yet Jesus, in another example of “divine reversal,” included women in his community of followers. He even entrusted the first news of his resurrection to a woman, Mary Magdalene (Luke 24:10).

Finally, there’s the example of Zacchaeus. Tax collectors were despised as traitors, working for the Roman Empire, not for their Jewish community. They were known to be corrupt. Luke tells the story of Zacchaeus’s dramatic heart change. He gave back all he had stolen and even restored twice what was required.

Throughout Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is always “flipping the script,” bringing surprising heroes to his stories. Perhaps this should give us hope for our stories as well.