Mind My Business

I heard a great Christian writer make a statement that "Jesus was homeless". I thought to myself, was he really? And if so, what did that look like? I love challenging statements. They have always directed me straight to scripture. I thought I would expound on some of my thoughts.

When we enter into scripture in search for the beginning of Christ it starts off of a baby born in a stable. Jesus’ birth in a stable has led many to believe that Joseph and Mary were "poor people" and this has been used to make Christians think that there is something spiritual and, therefore, desirable about being poor. However, if we turn to scripture the word teaches us in Luke 2:7 and is clear that Jesus was born in a stable only “because there was no room in the inn”. When I think of women in labor and stories I have heard, sometimes babies are born in inconvenient places like the back seat of a Nova. Sometimes circumstances arise in crazy situations... So being born in a stable has really nothing to do with being poor. Joseph was a carpenter, a fairly rewarding occupation in Biblical times. He had money to pay for a room at the inn if one was available. He owned a donkey that Mary rode. Poor women made the journey for the census on foot. So, needless to say Mary had her Mercedes... or Geo Metro.. whatever you like to picture. Furthermore, if we turn to Matthew 2:11 it talks of the three wise men, “And they came into the house, and saw the Child with Mary his mother; and they fell down, and worshiped Him: and opening their treasures they presented to him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.” So Joseph and Mary apparently had enough money to rent a house where they had been living with their young son from His birth until He was almost two years old. King Herod had ascertained from the wise men the time frame in which Jesus might have been born and then ordered that all male children born in the area of Bethlehem within the previous two years be killed. Given this, we can conclude that Jesus may have been as much as two years old when the wise men came. Further in scripture it is written an angel warned Joseph about Herod’s plan and told him to take Mary and the child and flee into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-16). It has often been taught that the valuable presents from the wise men arrived at just the right time to cover the expenses of the flight into Egypt to escape King Herod’s soldiers. However, there is nothing in the Scripture to suggest that Joseph and Mary used the gifts for that purpose. They both knew that Jesus was a divine child. Is it likely that they would have spent all of His wealth? It’s more likely that Jesus still had some of that wealth available to Him when He started His earthly ministry.

Jesus was homeless?

If we look at the passage in Luke 9:58, Jesus says, “the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head.” From this scripture, many have concluded that Jesus was so poor that He didn’t even have a place that He could call home. pointing to my quote at the beginning of this post "Jesus was homeless." Basically we get the idea that if Jesus was here today in Redding.. He would probably be down at Winchell's or the Gray Hound Bus Station. I'm not sure about that.... The proper context is seen in the preceding verses (51-57) where it is stated that Jesus had “resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem; and He sent messengers on ahead of Him. And they went, and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make arrangements for Him. And they did not receive Him, because He was journeying with His face toward Jerusalem......And they went on to another village. And as they were going along the road, someone said to Him, ‘I will follow You wherever You go.’” It was then that Jesus made the remark about having nowhere to lay His head. He had thought to sleep in the village that would not receive Him and had not yet reached the next village so He did not know what awaited Him there. Matthew 8:20 quotes Jesus as saying essentially the same thing when He was preparing to enter a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee with His disciples at night. Again, He did not know where He would sleep that night. (He slept in the boat). In addition, John 1:35-37 tells us that two of John the Baptist’s disciples followed Jesus after John identified Him as the Lamb of God. According to John 1:38 , “And Jesus turned, and beheld them following, and said to them, ‘What do you seek?’ And they said to him, ‘Rabbi, (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and you will see’. They came therefore and saw where he was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.” So, Jesus did have a dwelling place and it was big enough that others could stay with Him. Obviously, when Jesus said He had nowhere to lay His head, He was not commenting on His financial state or lack of a home, but on the itinerant nature of His ministry that allowed Him little opportunity to sleep in His own house or bed.