The common claim is that Jesus was poor. He was born in a stable, impoverished as a homeless beggar, and buried in a borrowed tomb. We will examine these claims using scripture and show they are all false. We will show that Jesus was blessed, living in a house, with abundant resources at his disposal, and even giving to the poor himself from the overflow. Jesus was rich when he lived on the earth but became poor on the cross for us.
"But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?" John 12:4-5.
This scripture mentions an ointment lavished on Jesus worth about a year's wages in today's money. Judas reacted to this and clearly distinguished between 'poor people' on the one hand and Jesus on the other.
"Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial. “For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.” John 12:7
From this reaction of Jesus, it is clear that he did not see himself as being poor, also making a clear distinction between himself and ‘the poor’. If others today claim that Jesus was poor, they are making a claim that Jesus himself appears to disagree with.
We will now move on to the common claim that Jesus was homeless. A familiar scripture used in this regard is Luke 9:58:
And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head”. Luke 9:58.
The context here is that Jesus was on the move and away from home. In addition, his true home was in heaven, not on this earth, and Jesus knew where he was going. In fact, there is a great deal of scriptural evidence that Jesus did have a home on the earth.
“Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali”. Matthew 4:12-13.
It is clear from scripture that Jesus settled in Capernaum during his ministry. Of course, it is possible that he 'came and settled' under a bridge rather than a house in Capernaum, but other scriptures show that this is unlikely.
“When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home.” Mark 2:1.
By the time of this scripture, Jesus had already settled in Capernaum, and it says that he was 'at home'. He was ‘at home’ because he had a house to live in when he settled in Capernaum. Therefore, it is clear that Jesus lived in a house.
Was Jesus Penniless?
Jesus regularly received offerings through his many partners who followed him in his travelling ministry (Luke 8:1-3), so they were not a band of travelling beggars. Jesus had at least 12 disciples to provide for in addition to himself, and they came from wage-earning professions themselves. I will suggest that the ministry of Jesus had a lot of money and that the overflow was used to give money to the poor.
“After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.” Now no one of those reclining at the table knew for what purpose He had said this to him. For some were supposing, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus was saying to him, “Buy the things we have need of for the feast”; or else, that he should give something to the poor.” John 13:27-29
This scripture is taken from the last supper and, notably, Judas is mentioned as being the treasurer who carried the 'money box'. It is reasonable to suppose that a poor, destitute Jesus would have little need for a treasurer. Scripture also says that Judas took to stealing from the moneybox from time-to-time and no one was aware of it (John 12:6). This is much easier to do when a lot of money is coming in. In addition, when Judas left, it says that the other disciples were not surprised because they supposed that he 'should give something to the poor'. From this scripture, it is clear that the ministry of Jesus gave money to the poor and hence it was no surprise when Judas left, as they thought he was fulfilling his regular routine of providing for the poor.
"Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. “All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God.” Deuteronomy 28: 1-2.
The scripture is clear that the man who walks in the law perfectly will be entitled to all the blessings of the law. The problem was that no man could walk out the law perfectly, or at least not until Jesus came. Jesus was entitled to all the blessing in the Old Covenant as the man who walked out the law perfectly. These include the promises that Jesus would be the 'head and not the tail', he would be 'above and not beneath', Jesus was 'blessed coming in and blessing going out', and the basket (wallet) and the store (savings) of Jesus were blessed. When we examine the life of Jesus through the New Testament, we read that his life was a life of blessings. Examples of this are below:
The tax man came chasing Jesus for money and the money was provided through the mouth of a fish (Matthew 17:24-27)
He fed 5 thousand people with five loaves and two fishes (Matthew 15:32-39)
The upper room for the last supper was provided fully furnished and prepared and most likely free (Luke 22:10)
The donkey he used to enter Jerusalem was provided free (Matthew 21:1-2)
He turned six stone jars of water into wine at the wedding at Cana (John 2)
... and on we could go. We have not mentioned here the gold, frankincense and myrrh Jesus received in childhood and the expensive garment Jesus wore before the crucifixion that the guard cast lots for. The point is that Jesus lived a blessed life here on this earth.
In summary, there is no biblical basis to suggest that Jesus was poor. Jesus did not regard himself as being poor and neither did his treasurer Judas. Jesus had a house to live in and regularly took offerings from his followers. There is ample evidence to suggest that Jesus had plentiful resources and even regularly gave to the poor himself. In addition, as the only man on the earth who followed the law perfectly, Jesus was entitled to all of the blessings of the law, including those detailed in Deuteronomy 28.