Jesus and Money In John

Jesus and Money in John
Lord,
As we look at your words and actions around and about money in the book of John, we invite you to open our minds and hearts to see and hear these well-known passages in fresh ways. As we look at your cleansing of the temple and the time when Mary annointed you just before Palm Sunday, be with us to understand some of the deeper levels in these texts today. In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

John 2:12-17
After his first miracle, Jesus, the disciples, and his family decide to travel to Jerusalem for the Passover, once there, Jesus takes exception at the state of affairs in the temple courts. He sees the merchants dishonestly inflating currency rates and prices for the sacrificial animals they were selling and loses it. The Holy Spirit moves on him to clean up shop. They could do that just about anywhere else in Jerusalem, maybe even just outside of the Temple, and it might not have had the same results. Jesus makes a whip and drives everyone out because he knows that the Temple is to be Holy, set aside for prayer and worship, not everyday business. They were profaning the place where they were supposed to meet with God by not just bringing commerce into the picture, but ripping off believers who were coming to honor God and make the sacrifices that were required for the Passover.

What does this teach us? Are church bookstores and coffee shops wrong? Would Jesus be offended at us for commercializing our churches? Would he even recognize most churches as legitimate? Did the Holy Spirit lead us to start selling books, trinkets, and coffee at or in our churches? Would most of us even recognize the Holy Spirit if He chose to show up in our midst? Big questions. I do not feel called to judge, just to ask the questions now.

John 12:3-8

What does it mean that Mary used that which was probably the most expensive single thing that she had, something that was meant to serve as a guarantee of her future, on the dirty, smelly feet of her rabbi? Why did Judas really balk at it? We are told here that Judas was interested in enriching himself as the treasurer of the ministry, and that Jesus knew this and it likely factored into his stern rebuke. Why would Jesus leave him in that position if he knew that Judas was stealing from the ministry? I digress. Let’s focus back in on Mary and her lavish display of love for Jesus. This is the sacrifice that we are called to as well. This doesn’t mean that you need to give all of your money to the church (unless the Holy Spirit tells you to do that), but that is a personal thing, that no pastor or so-called leader should be involved with influencing. What I feel that it does mean for us is that it is all about love. Love motivated her to potentially sacrifice her future to anoint Jesus in this way. Give what you might otherwise tithe as alms to help others, rather than just tossing it in the proverbial offering plate or donating it to some larger NGO that purports to help the needy, either in your area or somewhere else.