TWELVE BIBLICAL CHARACTERS

AND THEIR MONEY

by

Waldean Wall

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Contents

1. The Rich Fool

Greed Defined ..................................................................... 2

2. The Rich Ruler

Commendable but Lost ....................................................... 4

3. Barnabas

Humble Stewardship ........................................................... 8

4. Zacchaeus

The Money-Idol Replaced ................................................. 10

5. Paul

A Life Upended ................................................................. 13

6. The Poor Widow

Knowing God .................................................................... 15

7. The Macedonians

Modeling the Gospel in Giving ......................................... 17

8. The Good Samaritan

A Difficult Lesson in Giving .............................................. 19

9. Job

God as the Supreme Treasure ........................................... 21

10. The Philippian Church

Giving is Not Only about Giving ....................................... 23

11. Mary and Judas

The Contrast of Two Witnesses ......................................... 25

12. Jesus

Rejecting Earthly Wealth for Eternal Gain ....................... 27

The real measure of our wealth is how much we would be worth

if we lost all our money.

– J. H. Jowett –

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1. THE RICH FOOL

Greed Defined

Greed is a self-centered desire to have something (money, time,

toys, your neighbor’s wife, etc.) for self-centered purposes or to

have more than we should. Greed and a God-dependent, content

life are enemies.

Interacting with Jesus often creates an unexpected outcome. In

this encounter, someone who was hoping to get part of an

inheritance became the catalyst for a lesson on greed and a

wasted life. In order to make his point, Jesus told the story of a

wealthy man planning for retirement.

Someone in the crowd said to [Jesus], “Teacher, tell my brother to

divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made

me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And [Jesus] said to them, “Take

care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does

not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a

parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he

thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my

crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build

larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will

say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years;

relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your

soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will

they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich

toward God.” – Luke 12:13-21

The man in Jesus’ story was focused on funding a secure and

independent lifestyle. To achieve this he dedicated his efforts to

building his retirement assets. Sounds reasonable, right?

Two thousand years ago there was no public safety net. No Social

Security and no health care system that would come to the

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rescue. If you didn’t build your assets and/or family support,

running out of money meant you were in big trouble. So, you

could make the argument that having as much money as possible

was actually more critical two thousand years ago than it is today.

Maybe that’s why Jesus used this particular example. What could

be more important than doing everything possible to sustain

yourself as you age?

But this was not how Jesus thought about it. It wasn’t even close.

You cannot serve God and money (Luke 16:13). It will be one or

the other. Since the driving force of your life will determine what

you do, the top priorities will get the resources. But can’t we just

live a “balanced” life? Nope. There is always a core filter through

which we think about everything else. This core filter controls

how we see life. The balanced life isn’t really balanced.

While the man in Jesus’ story had a tight grip on things that were

temporal and would vanish, and no grip on the Kingdom. You

might ask if we can we save for retirement and care about the

Kingdom at the same time? Of course we can. But that is not

Jesus’ point. The Kingdom did not have first place in this man’s

life. Money and the personal benefits of money had first place.

Aligning with God’s heart came in a distant second or third or

fourth, or nowhere.

For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or

impure, or who is [greedy] (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in

the kingdom of Christ and God. – Ephesians 5:5

Now, the tendency might be to breathe a sigh of relief and claim

that this story has little connection to me. My financial situation

is not remotely like this rich man’s situation. But again, that’s not

the right observation or the point of Jesus’ story.

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Greed will always follow a heart that has the wrong focus

because, by definition, resources (time, money, talent) will be

poured into the wrong priorities. And priorities reflect our reality.

Even though this is very tough stuff, we should ask how our

spending and savings would change if we were focused on

following Jesus in everything; if we were given wholeheartedly to

God’s mission. If we use an earthly lens we would see this rich

man as very successful. If we look through the eyes of Jesus, he

is a greedy fool who wasted his life and, in the end, comes out

with nothing.

Rich people are greedy for the same reason poor people

are greedy, because they are people.

– R.C. Sproul Jr. –

2. THE RICH RULER

Commendable but Lost

The Bible is the Word of God that exposes the heart. We can fool

everyone around us and meet the best expectations of society

while still being lost. Like Judas, we can walk with disciples and

lose eternal life. To say this is difficult is an understatement. In

this story we see the Word expose a rich man’s heart.

And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit

eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No

one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not

commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false

witness, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said, “All these I

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have kept from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him,

“One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the

poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was

extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How

difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!

For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for

a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” – Luke 18:18-25

Jesus encountered a wealthy man – sometimes we call him the rich young ruler – who sincerely wanted to be faithful to God and accepted by God. And based on his commandment-keeping (we’ll take this at face value), he was a very good man (In Matthew’s account we also see the critical, love-your-neighbor-as-yourself element). If he was even close to the man he thought he was, he was amazing. I’m sure he had a fantastic reputation.

Despite all of this, the man was insecure and perhaps afraid. He was unsure as to whether he was on the right path. At a minimum, he was trying to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. He may have known that his good works could not make him good enough. And it’s possible that he even knew the answer to the question he was going to ask. Regardless, now Jesus was near and he could know for sure.

One of the interesting things about this story was how Luke took the time to tell us about this man’s response. The man became sad when Jesus told him to sell everything. Instead of arguing or dismissing Jesus, he responded as if he knew who Jesus really was and he knew that Jesus had it right. He was deeply moved, but he still didn’t leave his money.

So, among the many questions we might be asking, here are three:

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What was Jesus doing with this man?

Jesus was bringing this man face-to-face with his god. In the commandment-keeping that Jesus initially asked about, he didn’t ask if the man had any other gods that came before God (the first commandment). Can you imagine the response if he had asked that? I’m sure this man would have denied any other loyalties. So, Jesus directly confronts this man’s idolatry by making sure he knows that this god, money, must go. If we’re to have a right relationship with God, there is no room for idols. God must be our God. This man should have dropped to his knees in sorrow, confession, repentance, and worship. But he wouldn’t do it.

This story reminds me of a discussion I had with a young man who was on the wrong path. He was sexually involved with a girl who was pulling him away from everything he believed. As we talked, he began to cry. He recognized the problem and desperately wanted to do the right thing and follow Jesus. And I remember the next sad event as if it happened yesterday. As he picked up the telephone for his break-up call, he looked at the phone for a few moments and then put it down. He couldn’t and wouldn’t leave his idol.

Should everyone sell everything?

This story of Jesus’ encounter contains his instruction to the man to sell everything. Since he was focused on this man and not speaking to the crowd, we need to be careful in the conclusions we reach. There is no directive for everyone to do the same. While “everyone should sell everything” doesn’t stand up to the clear teaching of the New Testament – see 2 Cor 9:7, 1 Tim 6:17-19 – it is clear that that:

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• every idol must go (Ex 20:3; Luke 12:34; 1 John 5:21) • we should live as stewards of God’s resources and

relinquish the concept of autonomous ownership (Luke 14:33)

• all that Jesus is for us should erase any competing loyalties (Mt 13:44)

What’s with the camel analogy?

Is it more difficult for God to save a rich person than a poor person? That’s not what Jesus said. He’s not comparing the money-idol to any other form of idolatry. He is simply focusing on the strength of money’s deception and our inability to defeat it. Without the salvific call of God, the love of money will take our souls.

A biblical comparison

The story of this rich young ruler, at least for Luke, is incomplete without the contrasting story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). Here we have an amazing contrast of two rich people. While both were rich, the community loved one and hated the other. One was exemplary in his lifestyle, and one was reprehensible. One clings to his wealth, and one releases it. One is lost, and one is saved.

The comparison of the rich ruler to Zacchaeus is not an accident. One of the strong messages here is that we can appear to be very close to God in our conduct, and still be in idolatry. This was also the case with Judas. When Jesus said that one of the disciples would betray him, the disciples didn’t seem to have an obvious candidate. And it’s interesting that money was Judas’ god too.

The rich young man in this story was trying to do the one thing that can’t be done. He was attempting to serve both God and money. The Bible is clear that we will love one and hate the other

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(Matt 6:24). We must all examine our thoughts and lives to make sure that God is our God.

…having the appearance of godliness but denying its power.

– 2 Timothy 3:5 –

3. BARNABAS

Humble Stewardship

Barnabas was a humble, trustworthy, risk-taker-for-the-gospel

kind of guy. And he seemed to understand what God was doing.

For example; when Saul (Paul) was converted, Barnabas saw the

hand of God on him and went to his defense (Acts 9:26-27) even

as everyone else hesitated. Barnabas had a humble heart that

saw things in a simple, Jesus-is-my-treasure way.

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered

together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and

continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Now the full

number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no

one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but

they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles

were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and

great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among

them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and

brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet,

and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was

also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of

encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that

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belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’

feet. – Acts 4:31-37

As the Holy Spirit came upon the earliest believers, they were of

one heart and soul and their deep unity and purpose affected

how they thought about their personal wealth. As a result of a

Spirit-infused commitment to each other, those who had wealth

were using it to meet the needs of the church, and there was not

a needy person there. And what was Barnabas’ role in this? He

brought what God had given to him – wealth. He sold a piece of

land and simply gave the money to the apostles for the needs of

the group. This is one way he and others who had assets gave

themselves to the gospel and to each other.

The unity of this early group of believers was much more than

verbal agreement about the truths of the gospel. The gospel had

penetrated their hearts and produced change in the way they

lived. To be clear, there is no indication that these believers were

forced to sell their property. And there’s no indication that

communal ownership was the rule of the day. Rather, the Gospel

simply created amazing perspective and purpose in these

believers. And now they had the same radical, at-all-cost

commitment to the Kingdom that Jesus did.

What Barnabas did, and how he did it, was so exemplary, that

Luke compared it to the “gift” of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts

5:1-11. While Barnabas was concerned about the Kingdom,

Ananias and Sapphira had an evil, underlying motive. They saw

an opportunity for personal benefit in their giving. And because

of their evil purposes and actions, God killed them both.

This passage is an amazing example of what a Spirit-infused

fellowship should look like:

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• Created by the Holy Spirit.

• Unified around Jesus and focused on the Kingdom with

everything available to support God’s purposes. When

the Holy Spirit is working, believers give.i

• Holy in conduct. This Spirit-created group of believers

was sacred. So sacred that Ananias and Sapphira both

died because they attempted to bring an evil deception

into a work that God was doing.

This passage is about much more than giving to the church and

taking care of those in need. We have a picture here of how the

church should look: Spirit-filled, unified, and sacrificially giving.

Can you imagine the impact that the church in North America, or

any church anywhere, would have if we absorbed the Gospel the

way these first century Christians did? If we saw ourselves as

stewards and not owners? Perhaps the persecuted church is

growing in countries like China because the believers there have

a Spirit-saturated commitment that we do not.

Humility is not thinking less of

yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.

– C.S. Lewis –

4. ZACCHAEUS

The Money-Idol Replaced

The story of Zacchaeus is one of the most familiar New

Testament Bible stories we have. While there are songs about

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this story and lots of teaching aids for children, I fear that the

substantive lessons we can learn are often missed:

And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax

collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but

on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in

stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to

see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to

the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come

down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came

down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all

grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of

my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of

anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation

has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son

of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” – Luke 19:2-10

Do you want to see a real miracle? Well, there’s one in Luke

chapter 19! Someone who could more easily fit through the eye

of a needle than be saved, is saved. A hardened, spiritually dead,

rich, chief tax collector is raised from the dead. Zacchaeus went

from being a self-serving, dishonest, tool of Rome, to a disciple

of Jesus. And in this conversion he gains a new treasure that

replaces the one he had been committed too.

Luke tells us that Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was. There

was something going on that raised his curiosity. While we can’t

be precisely sure what was going on here, Jesus looked at people

very differently and his knowledge of the Scriptures was

unmatched. He could have been a major player in the cultural

structure but he had no desire to be one of the elites. In fact, he

was very comfortable relating to the outcasts as real people with

value. Maybe Zacchaeus was trying to make sense of it all.

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When Zacchaeus truly experienced Jesus, he changed on the

inside. And that internal change created a matching external

change. His internal reality was so transformed that he did

something amazing. He gave away half of everything he had, and

he paid back those he had defrauded – fourfold. And even though

Jesus could see Zacchaeus’ heart and knew of his transformation,

he publicly confirmed the conversion after Zacchaeus

demonstrated it. Zacchaeus seems to be a living example of Jesus

words:

…any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my

disciple. – Luke 14:33

In the story which comes just before this one, we see the other

possibility. Here, a rich young ruler, someone who lead an

admirable life, just couldn’t make the leap. His wealth remained

his god. With Zacchaeus, however, we see that Jesus breaks the

grip of idols.

God can do the impossible and rescue anyone – the worst of us.

We also see that faith in Jesus results in a changed heart. And

when focused on Jesus, that changed heart brings with it

different priorities and idols fade away.

While this story is not primarily about money – it’s about the

saving power of Jesus – a tax collector like Zacchaeus would be

the example of someone driven by money. This salvation

encounter is not accidental and Zacchaeus’ conversion is just as

miraculous as the parting of the Red Sea or the raising of Lazarus

from the dead.

One other thing worth considering. Luke emphasizes joy and

happiness and excitement when it comes to belief (see 1:14;

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8:13; 10:17; 13:17; 15:5, 9, 32; 19:6, 37). And we see it here as

well.

And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him,

“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house

today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. –

Luke 19:5-6

Zacchaeus didn’t let go of his wealth begrudgingly. He did it

because earthly wealth lost its value when compared to the value

of real treasure.

God loves a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:7

5. PAUL

A Life Upended

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of

knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of

all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.

– Philippians 3:8

Paul and Zacchaeus have much in common. They were very

committed to the wrong thing. Zacchaeus was committed to

money and Paul was committed to God – or so he thought. And

both had their lives turned upside down by Jesus.

Paul was a brilliant man who, from an earthly perspective, had it

all. He was educated and on his way to the top of the leadership

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structure. His life was moving toward the pinnacle of success with

admiration and support from a large core of influential folks. And

he was a living nightmare for the early church. He was ravaging

the church, entering house after house to drag men and women

to prison (Acts 8:3). And he was there when Stephen was

executed (Acts 6-7).

Paul had much invested in his mission. He was making a name for

himself and, no doubt felt great about his performance.

However, when Jesus appeared to him and his reality changed,

he made the same about-face that Zacchaeus made. When life’s

real treasure – Jesus himself – became known to him, he released

his priorities and ambitions and embraced a walk-by-faith

existence for King Jesus. When Jesus became Paul’s reality, he

counted everything he had achieved as worthless.

Paul was all in. He was captured by the treasure of God Himself

and now saw everything in light of the Gospel. With Jesus as

Savior and Lord, Paul gave up the future he had been moving

toward. He now, with a new hope, embraced hunger and poverty

for King Jesus. What a change.

…and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with

him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

– Romans 8:17 –

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6. THE POOR WIDOW

Knowing God

Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering

box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he

said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of

them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of

her poverty put in all she had to live on.” – Luke 21:1-4

True followers of God should look like this widow. While she had

almost nothing and her earthly needs were undoubtedly real, her

faith was deep. And so she gave. There was no fanfare, and the

amount of her offering was very small when compared to others.

God, however, saw this widow as one who gave more than the

rich and powerful. Why? She saw God rightly, and she responded

rightly. True disciples don’t have a tight grip on money, and

worldly acclaim means nothing. They are happy with God.

Both Luke’s version of this account, as well as Mark's, is preceded

by a warning to beware of religious teachers (scribes) who call

attention to their piety and status while they actually have

neither. There is a great contrast between these self-elevated,

it’s-all-about-the-show teachers and this poor widow. For the

scribes, it was about position and power, while the widow went

unnoticed. They lived in different realities. Both here and in the

life to come.

Among the many things this story can teach are:

• Being cherished by God is very different than being

acclaimed by this world.

• The size of the gift is important to the world, but the size

of our God is important to the faithful.

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• Great faith produces “crazy” God-pleasing action that

doesn’t need to be acknowledged by the world.

This story leaves me in awe. As I ponder this widow’s act, I really

struggle. It feels like I’m missing so much. What exactly is the

point here? I’m glad to learn about humility and trust, but I’m

sure there’s much more. I’m sure that this woman who gave

everything will continually convict me. So, if God is everything to

me, should I be following this example? This is so “out there” that

my defenses kick in.

I’m not sure what to make of it except that this woman knew

God. It seems that her existence was so entwined with God’s that

she saw things clearly while the religious leaders didn’t have a

clue. She knew who God was, and what really mattered. She

entrusted all she was and had to God.

In Habits of Grace, David Mathis writes, “Do you ever abstain

from something you’d otherwise think of as ‘the needs of life’ in

order to give to others? Nothing shows our hearts like sacrifice.

When we are willing to, not only to give from our excess, but

embrace personal loss or disadvantage for the sake of showing

generosity toward others, we say loudly and clearly, even if only

to our own souls, that we have a greater love than ourselves and

our comforts.”ii

Charity is, indeed, a great thing, and a gift of God, and

when it is rightly ordered likens us to God Himself, as far

as that is possible; for it is charity which makes the man.

– John Chrysostom –

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7. THE MACEDONIANS

Modeling the Gospel in Giving

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been

given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of

affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have

overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave

according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of

their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in

the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave

themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6

Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should

complete among you this act of grace. 7 But as you excel in everything—

in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for

you—see that you excel in this act of grace also. 8 I say this not as a

command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also

is genuine. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that

though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by

his poverty might become rich. 10 And in this matter I give my

judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this

work but also to desire to do it. 11 So now finish doing it as well, so that

your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out

of what you have. 12 For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable

according to what a person has, not according to what he does not

have. 13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you

burdened, but that as a matter of fairness 14 your abundance at the

present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may

supply your need, that there may be fairness. 15 As it is written,

“Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered

little had no lack.” – 2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Macedonia was a region; an area that encompassed towns like

Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. In 2 Corinthians 8:1-15, Paul

uses this area as an example of what commitment to the

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Kingdom looks like. He writes about the Macedonian Christians

because the Corinthian Christians were not giving as they should.

Interestingly, the Macedonians were poor. Paul says they were

experiencing extreme poverty (v.2) but giving anyway. And they

insisted on giving. They begged Paul earnestly for the privilege of

helping other believers (v.4). They were giving from the heart

with joy and determination – more than anyone could have

expected of them.

So, how did they arrive at their radical giving commitment? First,

they gave themselves to the Lord. Then the Lord directed their

giving. So, in this statement (v.5), Paul has another message for

the Corinthians. Christians can’t live as they should unless Jesus

dominates life. When Christian’s give themselves to God, the

Holy Spirit reorders our priorities.

And this amazing, sacrificial giving, lead Paul to a profound

observation. These Christians are modeling the gospel in their

giving. They are following in the footsteps of Jesus who became

poor for the sake of others (v. 9). These Macedonian Christians

understood what it meant to follow Jesus.

Paul then approaches the Corinthian giving – or lack of giving –

from another direction. He asserts that we cannot mature as we

should without giving (v.7). It’s almost as if there’s a beautiful

checklist that can help us know if we’re on the right path: faith,

speech, knowledge, eagerness, and giving. Paul encourages the

Corinthians to add giving to the way they think about Christian

virtue.

Following Jesus, like the Macedonians, is amazing and wonderful

and challenging. When we earnestly seek the Lord, we will end

up giving.

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…but the righteous gives and does not hold back.

– Proverbs 21:26 –

8. THE GOOD SAMARITAN

A Difficult Lesson in Giving

And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” – Luke 10:37

In this story (Luke 10:25-37), we find another example of how

those in discussion with Jesus often receive the unexpected.

Here, an expert in the Mosaic law is trying to justify his prejudice

against those outside his sphere of belief. The problem is that he

knows he should love his neighbor as he loves himself (Leviticus

19:18) but just can’t seem to embrace this. So, he wants to get

Jesus’ opinion on who really qualifies as a neighbor.

Jesus then turns things around on this religious authority as he

tells a story of a Samaritan (someone this lawyer despised) that

is an example of how to follow God’s heart. This fellow gives his

time and money and attention to a wounded traveler. He gives

without hesitation or limitation. He sacrifices for someone who

needs help while the pious religious leaders in the story (those

like this lawyer) go to great lengths to avoid this wounded man

and his pain. The conclusion is, be more like the Samaritan – go

and do likewise.

Then Jesus tells this smart guy that his question is not the right

question. It’s not about who qualifies to be your neighbor. It’s

about being a neighbor. It’s not about who merits your love, it’s

about loving. Love your neighbor.

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But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in

return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most

High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. – Luke 6:35

See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good

to one another and to everyone. – 1 Thessalonians 5:15

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor

to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly

provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in

good works, to be generous and ready to share… - 1 Timothy 6:17-18

We have a natural tendency to embrace those who think like we

do and reject those who don’t. And if you’ve been a Christian for

a while, you may have put up barriers as this lawyer did. But this

is not loving, and this is not biblical. Our role is to serve in the

name of Jesus and proclaim the gospel. God’s role is to save.

There are times when Jesus’ teaching goes against everything

we’re inclined to do. The religious expert in this story was

undoubtedly offended beyond words. Jesus told him that he

really didn’t understand what he was talking about and that he

could learn from those he looked down on. When Jesus’ words

cut into you, how do you react? Do you repent and follow? Or do

you, while knowing the truth, stay disobedient?

The Samaritan in the story did much more than feel bad for the

wounded traveler. He gave.

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and

he will repay him for his deed.

– Proverbs 19:17 –

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9. JOB

God as the supreme treasure

And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I

return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the

name of the LORD.” – Job 1:21

One of the most difficult aspects of living as a true Christian, at

least for me, is the temptation to worship God because of his

earthly blessings rather than because God is God.

The Old Testament story of Job is very important for many

reasons. It speaks to us about God’s sovereignty and gives us an

amazing example of someone who saw God rightly while

everyone around him was in opposition.

Job was worth millions! While it’s difficult to know exactly, he

owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500

donkeys. And if he owned the land that would be needed to feed

all of this, the total value would have been between ten and

twenty million dollars or more. And, he worshiped the true God.

Satan, however, knew the power of wealth and its ability to

influence and deceive and to be one’s god. He was sure that the

foundation of Job’s worship was God’s earthly blessing and not

really God:

Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no

reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all

that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands,

and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your

hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” –

Job 1:9-11

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Job, at least to Satan, was the perfect example of someone who

would crumble in the face of suffering. After all, his lifestyle was

saturated with the benefits of health and wealth and family. I’m

guessing that even his servants had servants.

As God allowed Satan to do his worst, we watch Job lose

everything. His financial assets disappear, his children die, and he

develops boils from head to toe (this may have been leprosy). He

moves from being housed in luxury to living in garbage outside

society. And his friends have only earthly counsel for him as his

wife tells him to curse God and die. But Job is still faithful.

God’s reward in this story is important. A long life, double the

wealth, and a fantastic family. Job’s faithfulness resulted in a

blessing beyond imagination.

The job story helps us to know that God is God. In the person of

Job we also see an image of the One who was faithful as he

suffered on the cross and absorbed the wrath of God. And for

both Job and Jesus we see the outcome of faith that endures – a

reward beyond description.

Job not only gives us an example of what it means to faithfully

worship the true God, he also gives us the opportunity to repent

of the idolatry that can easily grip us.

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on

the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields

yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there

be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I

will take joy in the God of my salvation.

– Habakkuk 3:17-18 –

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10. THE PHILIPPIAN CHURCH

Giving is not only about giving

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in

glory in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:19

The rewards of a gospel-first, walking-by-faith, living-for-the-

Kingdom life are amazing. The “sacrifices” that we make here

evidence the truth that God is our treasure and we are excited

about and satisfied with him. And it’s important that we know

that as we walk rightly, God will be everything for us.

After circumstances had prevented the Philippian church from

supporting the Apostle Paul, these folks were now back. They had

made a financial gift in order to revive their partnership with him.

But Paul responds in a way that could seem strange. Instead of

thanking them for meeting his desperate need, Paul actually

downplays the need for their help and says he’s content in any

situation (Phil 4:11). And he does this in order to focus on

something different. Paul is more excited about what the giving

means for the giver than about what it means for him.

Paul is anxious for the benefits they will receive from their giving.

And, in verse 19 we find the promise that God will supply all of

their needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

This verse has been the object of much debate. What does Paul

mean here? Is Paul saying that if someone gives financially to

their church or to missionaries, they will always have enough

food or money, or that they will gain perfect health?

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It can be easy to take this verse this way. After all, it’s easy to

think that our deepest and most critical needs are material, right?

The truth is, if we have Christ we have everything we need.

Paul is simply excited about the truth that in living lives of faith;

lives that embrace God’s vision for life, God will be and will

provide what we need. While God is in control of how his

material blessings take shape for us, one thing is sure as we

follow Jesus and put the Kingdom first, God will draw near to us.

(James 4:8)

Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will

himself be watered. – Proverbs 11:25

“…give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down,

shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the

measure you use it will be measured back to you.” – Luke 6:38

…whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows

bountifully will also reap bountifully. – 2 Corinthians 9:6

They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and

ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good

foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is

truly life. – 1 Timothy 6:18-19

In giving we are living out what we believe. We are depending

less on this world and more on God. God’s vision for his children

is a life of faith where we walk by the Spirit and depend on him.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

– Psalm 23:1 –

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11. MARY AND JUDAS

The Contrast of Two Witnesses

Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure

nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair.

The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas

Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said,

“Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given

to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but

because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used

to help himself to what was put into it. – John 12:3-6

One of two possibilities will be true in your life: Jesus will be your

great treasure or something else will. The Bible seems

determined to drive this home. Jesus will reign in your life and

money will lose its power, or something else, like money, will be

in control.

In John 12, we see this in the event that takes place after Jesus

raised Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus’ resurrection was a pivotal,

public event, and there were many who believed in Jesus as a

result. This was not a small, private miracle that could be

explained away. If you were one of the disciples, this resurrection

confirmed the identity of Jesus, and it vindicated those who were

loyal to him.

For some, however, nothing can bring Jesus to the forefront

because their spiritual eyes are diseased (Mat. 6:22-23). No

matter how convincing and real God’s glory is, they remain blind.

The great contrast in this story is between Mary and her

complete devotion to Jesus, and Judas and his inability to see

Jesus for who he is. For Mary, there was no distraction, and Jesus

was her singular focus. He gave purpose to her life. For Judas, life

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was about himself and money and being captured by the things

of this world. He would hang with Jesus until a better offer came

along.

Even though it’s impossible – you cannot serve both God and

money – I’m guessing Judas would have advocated the balanced-

life approach where there’s room for everything as long as you

don’t get carried away with any one thing.

When Judas saw Mary anointing Jesus with perfume that would

have cost the average person a year’s income, he was appalled.

This was an unthinkable waste of money and a missed

opportunity to profit. He had no idea what Mary was doing and

he couldn’t relate to how she actually felt about Jesus.

The problem with a balanced approach to life is that it’s not

balanced at all. In the end, there is still a core priority that creates

one’s loyalties and joy, and determines one’s actions. Since

money was Judas’ treasure, we can understand his actions. And

since Jesus was Mary’s treasure, her love-at-all-cost action is also

understandable.

Two thoughts here:

• The Gospel should result in everything we have being

available to King Jesus. It should create a longing to

embrace Jesus as our supreme treasure – like Mary.

• We can be very close to the truth and not get it. We can

see evidence of the Gospel in the lives of those around

us, and we can talk in a Christian way, and we can live in

the context of the church while being ruled by worldly

enticements – like Judas.

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While it’s simplistic to say that worship is love, it’s a fact

that what we love most will determine what we

genuinely worship

– Bob Kauflin –

12. JESUS

Rejecting Earthly Wealth for Eternal Gain

And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the

world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this

authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it

to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And

Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your

God, and him only shall you serve.’ ” – Luke 4:5-8

Jesus was not immune to the temptation of wealth and power.

After fasting for forty days and being weak and hungry, Jesus

faced the devil and his three temptations. These temptations

were undoubtedly the devil’s best shot a defeating Jesus in his

vulnerable condition. One of these temptations promised all the

kingdoms of the world.

Now here’s where it gets interesting. The devil promised

abundant earthly wealth and power without the need to face the

horrific pain and humiliation and judgment that was coming in

his crucifixion. Thankfully Jesus stood firm and trusted his father

to be faithful in all he had promised. He was steadfast in his

commitment to walk the difficult path that would bring God

glory, bring him joy, and give us eternal life.

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We too face a test of faith. As we receive the gospel and admit

that we’ve been worshiping the wrong god, we confess our sin

and helplessness and, like Jesus, acknowledge the One who is

worthy of all worship. In essence, we agree that embracing this

world and its priorities leads to death, and embracing Jesus and

all he accomplished on the cross, leads to life.

With this belief comes the challenge of living lives of worship. It’s

very important that God is truly our God. And this will surely have

a profound impact on the way we think about and handle money.

Just as Jesus’ mission was accomplished because he had faith in

his father’s promises, we too are called to joyfully focus on the

promises of God in Jesus as we live our lives for the glory of God.

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man

found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has

and buys that field. – Matthew 13:44

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the

world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world

– the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life

– is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing

away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides

forever. – 1 John 2:15-17

So, take heart, our call is to follow Jesus and focus is on the

Kingdom while he takes care of us.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,

and all these things will be added to you.

– Matthew 6:33 –

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i Giving is not limited to money from those who are wealthy. Everyone gives. We give of what God has given us (1 Peter 4:10-12).

ii David Mathis, Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines (Crossway: Wheaton, Illinois, 2016), 209.