The Sources of Jesus’ Income
Not only did Jesus have a rich uncle, He also had other means of revenue.
He paid the sacrifice for sin making salvation available as well as providing healing from sickness. For our sakes, He took to the cross everything that held you in bondage. I believe He took poverty to the cross as well for us to become rich.
Jesus Had at Least Two Sources of Income
First, He supported Himself with His carpentry work. He was called the carpenter’s Son for a reason. As we saw earlier, history doesn’t explain how Joseph died because the Bible does not mention him in the latter part of the story. Upon Joseph’s death, it’s very possible that Jesus took over the family business at an age as early in His teen years or into His early to mid-twenties; He ran this business till the age of 29 or 30. People have different ideas about what happened to Joseph. I believe that the Bible, based on God’s design, intentionally omitted that information for a variety of reasons. It is possible that unhelpful doctrines may have developed around it and God didn’t want that, decidedly omitting the information.
Jesus ran the family business and this gave Him personal income. Earlier we learned that Jesus had a home in Capernaum. It was probably a nice house; there is no record saying that Jesus abandoned His home after He began His ministry.
Jesus also ran His own personal ministry and was so successful He required a treasurer. You’d probably think it would’ve been any other person than Judas! It is mind-blowing that Jesus allowed Judas to oversee the money!
Partners in Ministry
Jesus never asked for one financial offering during the time of His earthly ministry. Now, He worked miracles when receiving what could be considered an offering of five loaves and two fish. There is a principle to be understood that requires giving all you have. Such was the case with the young man who gave all the food he possessed. The result was a miracle of epic proportions. It is also an amazing fact that there were baskets left over! Why? Because God is always the God of too much, if we will just let Him be!
Jesus may not have routinely asked for offerings, yet what He did have were partners and supporters, some of whom worked with Him. Who’s to say He didn’t also contribute to His ministry from His personal business? My wife and I have done that many times to support the people around us, because we really care about the ministry that God assigned us to. There have been many times that we have been the biggest givers in our ministry for the sake of our staff, team, and the vision God has called us to accomplish.
If you’re running a ministry, you should have the mindset of being the biggest giver in that ministry for the sake of others and not yourself. Our experience with giving has resulted in us being surrounded by radical givers. There are two fundamental things you should know about giving and a third point that is an important life lesson. These are:
You can’t out-give God.
You can’t out-give a giver.
You can’t out-give a taker.
We’re blessed to be surrounded with so many generous givers in our ministry; we believe this is a direct result of being radical givers from the beginning of our marriage and ministry. I strongly believe Jesus might have taken some of His wealth and used it for the benefit of God’s kingdom on earth.
The Importance of Partnership
And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance (Luke 8:3 KJV).
Partnership was important to Jesus, and it should be the same for us in our ministry today. One of the ways Jesus must have given access for people to become rich through Him, even in His earthly ministry, was through partnership. Peter made his boat available to Jesus, and many others supported Him through their resources (see Luke 8:3). This means that people supported Him financially, including His uncle, Joseph of Arimathea, the richest man in the entire region, who surrendered His tomb for Jesus to be buried in.
Woman with the Alabaster Jar
One powerful example of giving to Jesus is found in the story of the woman with the alabaster jar (see Matthew 26). She broke it on His feet and poured perfume all over Him. Do you recollect how Judas rebuked the woman and said the oil could have been sold and the money given to the poor? Jesus responded against Judas’ accusing, greedy nature by saying, “No, don’t do that, because what she has done is a beautiful thing.” He received a gift worth a year’s wages from that woman. How much more do you think others would have given? Just think about it.
In today’s world, this would be the equivalent of giving a one-time gift of twenty to one hundred thousand dollars, which is the average annual income, depending on someone’s salary, industry, or the current economy. Jesus would say to that kind of gift, “Oh, it’s beautiful.” Consider the widow who gave her last mite. Though the Pharisees gave large sums of money and made sure to put on a show while doing so, Jesus considered her offering more than everyone else’s due to her heart. I’d love to hear the end of the story about the woman with the perfume jar and the widow who gave her last mite. I’d like to know what they received after they sacrificed their extravagant gifts. I believe Jesus’ partners entered God’s economy even while Jesus was on earth.
Operating in God’s Economy
Can you imagine giving directly to the Son of God? The same Jesus who walked on water. Think about the boy who brought Him five loaves and two fish—suddenly, He multiplied it all over the hillside! This is what it’s like giving to Jesus; you become rich. He was a distribution center, a wealth exchange, and the prophet’s reward. Allow me to illustrate the wealth of Jesus with an example. It is like bringing God a potato, and then God says, “How amazing!” It doesn’t end there. God then goes on to say, “Hey Michael, give this precious child a truckload of gold for his obedient heart.” That, my friend, is how you operate in God’s economy. He’ll exchange His truckload of gold for your potato, and all you’ve got to do is obey Him. Look what He did with the five loaves and two fish and other instances when He multiplied food. He even paid taxes from a fish’s mouth. God’s economy can accomplish far more than we can comprehend.
It is fascinating to consider that Jesus had financial giving partners to such a degree that He needed to have a treasurer. As mentioned above, Judas was the treasurer, who would sometimes leave late at night to give alms to the poor. There are only a few references to Jesus’ partners; we can find this in Luke 8:3 where it says, “And Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.” Note, the Bible mentioned women like the wife of Herod’s steward. This sounds like someone who was well-to-do.
Why did the Bible mention these women? It’s probably because of their status, or even more so because of how much they gave. Joanna, Susanna, and many others assisted and gave a lot to Jesus’ ministry. The word many as used in that passage means a lot of people sowed into “Jesus of Nazareth Ministries International.”
Imagine the Return on Sowing into Jesus’ Ministry
I bet everyone who partnered with Jesus had a wild, crazy biblical return, and I bet they were falling over each other to give into His ministry. When we give into ministries today that are filled with purity and the Spirit of Jesus is on them, we can begin to receive in the same magnitude. It’s a powerful concept.
The second reference to Jesus’ partners is in Luke 23:55-56 where it says:
And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
This passage is talking about what happened after Jesus died; His partners were still doing things for Him. This is just a quick sidebar Scripture to show you that these partners, these friends of Jesus, stood by Him.
You need to know that Judas was Jesus’ accountant or rather employee; we can find this in John 12:6 and John 13:29. This was to provide for the poor and keep the accounts for the entire ministry. In His early days, Jesus provided for Himself through His business, but He deliberately stepped away from this source of income after He called His disciples.
Jesus did not just give to the poor but also provided for His disciples and staff. Maybe this is just me, but when Jesus said in Mark 10 that it was difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, He meant two things. Remember the disciples asked, “Who then can be saved?” Peter then said, “We have left all to follow You!” Jesus replied to Him saying, “No one who has left lands, houses, mothers, brothers, or families to follow me will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this time.”
Now it’s possible that Peter made this statement because he still had some of his holdings, or could it be that Jesus just paid His staff so well that they were wealthy themselves? Something to further consider is that His uncle could have placed them all on payroll for their service to Jesus of Nazareth Ministries International. He may have paid them from the wealth given by the magi and watched over by His uncle, or it may have been that His financial partners were that generous, or both! Those partners mentioned in Luke 8:3 were so supportive that Jesus could take care of the poor and provide for His staff.
When you do your highest and best calling for the kingdom of God, you will be a money magnet as well! God wants to finance all His sons and daughters! Find out what God has called you to do; go after it with all your heart and you will not have to worry about the needs being met. He is looking for those who will take Him at His word and perform their high calling.
