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Did Jesus give monetary help to the poor?
The short answer is possibly. At least one could interpret the Scriptures as such, at least through the hands of Judas.
Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor. - John 13:29
Other translations do not employees y the word cash, but can still be inferred as the meaning.
Upvote:1
In Matthew 6:1-4, Jesus teaches about giving to the poor. It is not a matter of "if" but of "how". Since the Lord claims to have come to fulfill the law and God raised him from the dead to approve his sacrifice, we can assume that he fulfilled this command.
The question then becomes, what did Jesus give and what is money?
Today, we give money to the poor so they can pay to see a doctor and buy medicine. Jesus healed the sick directly.
Today, we give money to poor people so they can buy food. Jesus fed the 5,000 directly.
Today, we give money to the poor so that they can see a therapist. Jesus comforted people like Mary and Martha directly.
Today, we give money to the poor so they can get a job, and prerequisites like training, tools, or opportunities. Jesus trained his disciples directly for their new job as apostles and missionaries. He also advised them how to do their old job, and they caught lots of fish.
Today, people pay investment advisors and people with planning skills so they can get insight into the future and plan their next move. Jesus was a prophet who told people the future directly.
Today, people pay for radios to warn of bad weather, for anchors and other equipment to secure their ships during storms or powerful motors to outrun them. Jesus calmed the storm.
When the poor need transportation, we give them reduced fares on the MBTA or pay for their taxi. When Jesus needed a donkey to ride into Jerusalem, he told his disciples to borrow one, along with its colt. He did this EVEN THOUGH HE OWNS ALL THINGS!
I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,
for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills. (Psalm 50:9-10)
The only money stories that come to mind are Jesus telling Peter to get a coin from a fish's mouth to pay their tax and Jesus telling people to render to God what is God's and to Caesar what is Caesar's (the coin bearing Caesar's image).
Money is a transactional intermediary. It facilitates exchanges of goods and services between providers and consumers.
Jesus is the sole mediator between Man and God. He can do all things. He has no need of an additional mediation agent, such as money. That is why the money changers at the temple infuriated him so. They made money, not the Son of God, their false, idolatrous intermediary between Man and God.