Mind My Business

So I've been on this journey... I've been looking in scripture to see what the life of our Lord looks like... in my last blog I talked a little about the "idea" that Jesus could or could've not been homeless..... I think Scripture supports that Jesus in fact wasn't homeless to the least bit. So I've moved beyond the "resting place" of Jesus... my next thought was.... well, what did His ministry look like? We've all been talking about this idea.. ( or some of us) of a "paid" minister or a ministry being funded and obviously we would need to look no further than to what scripture shows us.. at least that's what we should base it off of, right? So.. here we got this Dude that starts talking about God and the Kingdom of Heaven .... thus, Jesus starts His ministry..... out of thin air? Jesus took on the same trade as his earthly father Joseph.... Did He work for free? What did He do with HIs cash?? well, lets take a deeper look...

Was Jesus' ministry poor and poverty-stricken? He had enough funds that a treasurer was required right? Or better yet established... Not only that, but the treasurer of His ministry (Judas) was a thief. (John 12:4-6) So there must have been enough in the funds so that the thefts would not be too apparent.......So, despite His treasurer being a thief, there is nothing in the Scripture that would lead us to believe that Jesus’ ministry ever lacked for money, and why should it? I mean..... Would God fail to provide the wherewithal for His Son’s earthly ministry? If we look at Luke 8:1-3, it tells us that Jesus “began going about from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God; and the twelve were with Him.” It also tells us that He had the financial support of several women whom He had “healed of evil spirits and sicknesses” (including Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward), “who were contributing to their support out of their private means.” But is that where it started? I don't think so, because Jesus started His ministry before that miracle.. also Scripture says they "were contributing to their support......" Which tells us they were adding to the ministry. A ministry that already had money.. A ministry that already had a focus. It was through the blessing that they received that compelled them to give. It wasn't commanded or required. (If you read my last blog you might understand what I mean as far as Jesus and money goes.....) So, how much money did Jesus have available? We can recall that Jesus miraculously fed the 5000 men (plus the women and children with them) with just five loaves of bread and two fish. But few note that (Luke 9:13), Jesus first told the disciples “‘You give them something to eat.’ And they said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people’”. They obviously had enough money to consider buying food for more than 5000 people! Jesus performed the miracle because the people were hungry and He had compassion on them. To go and buy enough food for several thousand people in the “desolate place” (Luke 9:12) where they were gathered would have taken a lot longer. On another occasion when Jesus performed a miracle to feed a great company of people, He said to Philip, “‘Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?’ And this he was saying to test him; for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. Philip answered him, ‘Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little’.” (John 6:5-7). Two hundred denarii was more than six months wages at that time but it didn’t seem to trouble Philip to consider spending that amount to feed the crowd. Jesus also spoke thought provoking parables talking about talents.. Which in scripture we learn one talent was greater than one thousand dollars.... why would Jesus choose to speak like this? Especially if He was dirt poor.....