“Was Jesus rich/wealthy?”……Our Saviour and King wasborn in a place where animals were kept? …He then laid in the animals’ food trough? …Surely, God’s Son deserved a high-profile birth in the most elegant of surroundings. But, instead, God’s own Son made His appearance on earth in the lowliest of circumstances. …This humble birth conveys an amazing message to creation: the transcendent God condescended to come to us. Instead of coming to earth as a pampered, privileged ruler, Jesus was born in meekness, as one of us. He is approachable, accessible, available—no palace gates bar the way to Him; no ring of guards prevents our approach. The King of kings came humbly, and His first bed was a manger.

…As the second person of the Trinity, Jesus is as rich as God is rich. Indeed, our Lord owns everything and possesses all power, authority, sovereignty, glory, honour, and majesty (Isaiah 9:6Micah 5:2John 1:1, 8:58, 10:30, 17:5Colossians 1:15-18, 2:9-10Hebrews 1:3).

Yet during the time Jesus was here on earth, He willingly relinquished His eternal riches and most of the privileges of His deity. Becoming poor indeed, our Lord took on the nature of a lowly and humble servant

Zechariah 9:9…Rejoice, O people of Zion!  Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you.  He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—…riding on a donkey’s colt.

2 Corinthians 8:9

You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.

Philippians 2:6-8

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God  as something to cling to.…7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,…8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

And by the time our Saviour endured the tortures of the cross for us, His earthly possessions amounted to no more than the clothes on His back which were divided up by the soldiers who crucified Him.……Sadly, however, there are many prosperity preachers today who would like you to believe that Jesus was rich while here on earth and that God wants nothing more than to lavish His children with an abundance of material blessings.

After all, a rich Jesus would certainly make it easier for them to persuade their flock that God wants them to be rich too.

However, a materially rich Jesus Christ is utterly incompatible with biblical truth. Even a cursory examination of the Bible should dispel any notion of our Saviour being wealthy in an earthly sense.

During His public ministry, Christ and His disciples depended entirely on the hospitality of others as they ministered from town to town .

Matthew 10:9-10…9 “Don’t take any money in your money belts—no gold, silver, or even copper coins. 10 Don’t carry a traveller’s bag with a change of clothes and sandals or even a walking stick. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve to be fed.

As Jesus told a would-be follower

Luke 9:58

But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”

It is unfortunate, then, that this false teaching about Christ’s wealth and its concomitant “gospel of greed” has gained a foothold in churches today. As Solomon aptly taught, however,

Ecclesiastes 1:9

9 History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.…We can see that Paul addressed similar matters in his own churches: …Romans 16:17-18…17 And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. 18 Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people.

…Paul’s terse commentary in his first letter to Timothy regarding those who think godliness is a means to financial gain captures the essence of Christ’s numerous teachings on the dangers that accompany a heart bent on the accumulation of earthly treasure:

1 Timothy 6:9-10…9 But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Indeed, the New Testament is filled with lessons where Jesus chides the rich and praises the poor. Jesus said…Luke 12:15…15 Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” (Abundance of his possessions)

Matthew 6:19-21…19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Our Lord, who knows the hearts of men, is aware of the deceitfulness of riches and what a considerable stumbling block wealth can be. The sentiment of Proverb 30:8-9 which declares …8 First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.…9 For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.

and reverberates through the entirety of God’s Word.

Thus, it would be a strange paradox indeed—and one that would certainly dilute the gospel message—if Jesus Christ was a member of the rich class of people who, as He declared, would find it so difficult “to enter the kingdom of Heaven” …Matthew 19:23…23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.