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.