Debunking Homeless Jesus & Other Myths

A lot of us have been duped by religion over the years.

We have not understood the truth about Jesus. We were taught to think Jesus was poor. Through the Word of God, we’re going to uncover the truth about Jesus and the resources He had available to Him while on earth. We’re going to let the Word of God speak for itself.

The “Jesus Was Homeless” Narrative

Another popular belief, which quite frankly I cannot fathom how it became so deep-rooted, is the “Jesus was homeless” narrative. A lot of people say Jesus was homeless. He had no place to live. He had no place to dwell. They look at Jesus like He was a vagabond or someone wandering to and from places trying to find His way through life. I don’t know if He had a GPS to direct Him while He wandered and slept in the middle of nowhere. Well, that is not a fact we get from the Bible. A lot of the time, we’ve misunderstood Christ and His teachings by making them fit into our own ideologies rather than what they really are.

So many people hold strongly to the verse that says, “Foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head,” and they say, “See brethren, do you not see? Jesus was so broke, He couldn’t afford to live anywhere, nor could He handle anything.” This shouldn’t be our narrative of Jesus. How can the Savior of the world be so helpless and unable to fend for Himself?

Let’s examine this perspective. Considering the Scriptures, Matthew 8:19-20 says:

Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

If we read even further, verse 21-22 says:

Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Let’s ponder on this passage before we move forward. I think Jesus was in a little bit of a mood when He said some of these things. This scenario is very similar to the encounter He had with the apostles on the boat when they thought they were drowning. He rebuked them and snapped at them a little bit. At that moment, He was probably disappointed with their progress. It was obvious that Jesus was irritated when He said, “Oh, unbelieving generation, how long shall I put up with you?”

Just like the boat experience, Jesus was obviously irritated when He made the statement “foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” If you take this at face value, then you’ll fall into the category of people who believe Jesus was homeless. However, if you look at this story in Luke 9, just previously in this Scripture Jesus had sent messengers to Samaria. In this area where He was going to rest, they completely rejected Him. At that moment, as they brought Him the news of this rejection, you had this man saying to Him, “I’ll follow You wherever You go.” Jesus could as well have said, “Foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, but sometimes when you follow Me, we’re not always welcome in a town.” Simply put, you aren’t always guaranteed a place to sleep.

Because of this, people say Jesus was homeless. He had no permanent home to dwell in. They assumed Jesus just came and went, floating around with no place to stay. I want to bring another perspective to this. In John 1:38-39:

Then Jesus turned, and seeing them [two of His disciples] following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.”

Simply put and without hesitation. If we read on, the Bible tells us that they went with Him and saw where He was staying, and they remained with Him that day.

The Capernaum Scenario

The Greek word used in this passage is the same word you would use to identify where a person lived. It would be used in conversation saying, “That’s their house.” Use of the word staying in the Greek is to say, “This is where He lives.” In other words, it was defining His residence. It’s crucial that you understand this point because it will serve as the basis of this discussion. Jesus was saying, “Come to My house.” Now, some commentators believe Jesus’ house was in Capernaum, which I’m persuaded to agree with. So when He said, “Come and see,” they went with Him and saw where He was living and remained with Him the entire day. This incident happened around the tenth hour. Let’s pause and think about this. Would they have remained with Him for very long if it wasn’t His house? Certainly not!

I’ll give you another example to reinforce the fact that Jesus had his own house. In Mark 2:1 it says, “And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.” Note the use of the definite article there. It says “the house.” It’s like saying He was in His house. If you were to say to your family, “Let’s go back to the house,” what would that mean to them? They wouldn’t need you to explain further, as they’ll understand what you mean immediately. Let’s continue on with this reading. Verse 2 says, “Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them.” Verses 3-4 say, “Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.” Every single time I read this I find it mind boggling. They didn’t just give up and go away; what did they do? They uncovered the roof where He was. They were relentless, hallelujah!

I digress. We know the rest of that story. Jesus made him well. But notice very clearly, first, we see in Mark 2:1 the phrase, “He was in the house.” It’s like, hey! I’m back at my house. Going further, we see how they lowered somebody through the roof. Now, imagine if you would that you’re out of your house, and you’ve decided to spend some time at a friend’s house. The next thing you know, some people show up with shovels in their hands; they have pitchforks, hammers, and crowbars. Suddenly, they rip the roof off your friend’s house. Don’t you think somebody might voice a concern over that? Don’t you think somebody would have said, “Hold it, hey!” I expect a lot of people would say, “Wait, this is Peter’s house, or James’ house, or even Andrew’s.” But no one did any of that because it wasn’t necessary. Do you know why? It was because the owner of the house was looking right at those five men and probably chuckling to Himself about their grand entrance.

Everyone must have thought to themselves, It’s His house and He’s letting it happen. This took place and nobody freaked out. Nobody shouted and Jesus probably made a mental note to get it fixed later. Capernaum was Jesus’ hometown, and I strongly believe this theory that He had a house there. So we must understand that a lot of the time when Jesus made statements like “the Son of Man has no place to lay His head,” He was just being figurative and not literal.

The Rich Young Ruler

Let’s look into another very popular narrative. This story can be found in Mark 10:17-22. Here, Jesus is talking to the rich young ruler, a story that has stirred up controversy for generations when it comes to the topic of being rich.

Mark 10:23 says, “Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, ‘How hard is it for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!’” Now, He had just been dealing with this rich young ruler. Remember the story? The rich young ruler came to him in the previous verses, saying, “Lord, I’ve done it all. I’m amazing!” Then Jesus said, “Keep all the commandments, love your neighbor.” The rich young ruler said, “I’ve kept all those since I was a young man. Anything else?”

At this point, the Bible says Jesus looked at him, and in Mark 10:21 it says, “Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor…and follow Me.’” This is the part where we read that the man’s heart sank because he had many possessions. Now that’s a strong understanding that we’ve got to get into. A lot of people think he was rich; that’s why Jesus rebuked him.

There are a couple of points in that verse I want you to notice. He was rich, but he was also young, hence the name “the rich young ruler.” There’s something to be said about age. When you look at people’s age in Scripture, there’s a lot to do with that note, as age has to do with the definition of one’s experience and how he’d work things through.

For most young people, we know that oftentimes they are filled with idealism. What Jesus was doing in that passage was confronting that fact. He was saying, “Hold on, son, you haven’t really figured it all out yet, have you?” He needed the rich young ruler to understand that one thing was closer to his heart than Jesus. The rich young ruler loved his wealth more than God, and Jesus knew it, which is why Jesus touched on that very topic and began to tell him to give all he had to the poor.

Fast forward to verse 23 of that chapter. After that encounter, “Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, ‘How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!’” Another way of saying this would be, “How hard is it for those who are had by riches to enter the kingdom of God!” Jesus wasn’t addressing those that possess riches, but those with riches that possess them, just like this circumstance.

The rich young ruler had riches that possessed him. Verses 24-25 are very revealing:

And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!” It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

The Eye of the Needle

Let’s talk about this camel and the eye of the needle for a minute. A lot of people have said this “eye of the needle” is a small, special gate in Jerusalem, Israel. When it’s locked, a camel must get down on its knees and trudge across the ground, attempting to get into the city. As this camel is doing an army crawl, fully loaded, it is a picture that the camel must humble itself and break off all the packages from its back and crawl down with nothing on it to enter the gate.

This sounds pious and noble, with only one thing going against it—there is no gate called the eye of the needle in Jerusalem. Theologians and commentators all agree that it’s very disputed at best. Most reputable commentators and theologians agree it probably doesn’t exist and never did.

What did Jesus mean when talking about “the eye of the needle”? Many people still believe today that Jesus was referring to a camel and that tiny (non-existent) gate. They claim it means that the camel can get through but not without a lot of effort. Let’s get this straight, because that’s not what Jesus is saying. Instead, Jesus is saying it’s not difficult for the camel to get through the eye of the needle—it’s impossible!

In other words, it’s not difficult for a rich person or someone who trusts in their own strength to get into the kingdom. No, it’s impossible. However, He goes on to say that all things are possible with God. The rich person simply needs to call out to Jesus and they will be saved.

If we look at verse 26, after Jesus mentions the idea of a camel going through the eye of the needle, He uses it to signify a rich man’s inability to get into the kingdom. The response by the disciples is really revealing. Verse 26 says, “And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, ‘Who then can be saved?’” Let’s think deeply about what this verse is pointing at. Why would the disciples look at each other and say, “Who can be saved?” Why did they all seem afraid? It’s because they all had money. They were all business owners who were wealthy men in their own rights.

Can you even begin to imagine how confused they felt? They must have thought, How is this possible? If we can’t be saved, then who can? If what You’re saying is true, Jesus, what hope do we have? In verse 27, Jesus goes on to say, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” In other words, man with his own strength cannot save himself no matter how hard he tries. In verse 28, it says, “Then Peter began to say to Him, ‘See, we have left all to follow You.’” This is where it gets very interesting. In verses 29-30, it reads:

So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.”

If we move on to verse 31, it further says, “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” At this point, I need you to fully internalize the idea that Jesus was stating. Jesus was saying that if you’ve given up these things, you’re going to receive one hundred times as much now in this present time. All He really wants from anyone is to put the kingdom of God over self-preservation. Anyone who chooses to let go of any and all earthly comforts for the sake of Jesus and the gospel will receive a multiplied reward in this present time!

If You Do the Difficult, God Will Do the Impossible

We still find a lot of people preach that there’s no such thing as a hundredfold return. The only reservation I have with that is that the Bible happens to say there is. In Mark 10:30, it says, “who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions.” It doesn’t get any clearer than this! Jesus in essence is saying, “If you give up, you will go up! If you do the difficult, watch God do the impossible!” The impossible in this Scripture means an exponential curve of return that, most certainly, will release exponential growth.

I believe the reason the church has not tapped into this is because it has not created a faith-based mental picture of the kind of return or economic horsepower the body of Christ could have. Dear reader, you need to understand that your sufficiency is from the Lord and no one else. When you fully grasp this concept and let go, only then can you truly allow God to work His blessings in your life.