Indepently Wealthy Jesus had No Need to Depend Upon the Generosity of Others

It has sometimes been suggested that Jesus was poor, that he lived as an itinerant preacher and that he was supported financially by women of means who donated money to his cause and allowed him and his followers to stay at their homes as they traveled. This, of course, is an ideologically driven fabrication created by liberals, and nothing less.  Jesus, who famously said, "I swear - by my life and my love of it - that I will never live my life for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine,"* would never have accepted this sort of charity. And, as we will see, had no need to accept this sort of charity. Jesus was an independently wealthy businessman and financed his career as an evangelist with his strategic investments.

After his father died, Jesus took control of  the carpentry business that Joseph had built up in Nazareth. He immediately replaced the staff of highly-skilled craftsmen with cheap Samaritan labor (non-union, of course). This allowed Jesus to dramatically increase the profit margin. Then he bought out his brothers shares in the business and sold it to a Lebanese woodworking company which immediately closed the workshop and moved the production overseas.

Jesus invested the money he received from the sale in a number of commodities and stocks through a Roman investment company. This allowed him exploit a number of tax-shelters and loopholes in the tax-code.  Judas Iscariot, described in the gospel of John as holding "the common purse" (John 13:29) was actually Jesus' accountant and often advised Jesus in ways to maximize the returns on his various investments.

This is a far cry from the picture of Jesus as a homeless wandering preacher dependent upon the generosity of others.  Instead, Jesus provides the model for the independent and motivated businessman who has no need to ask others to care for him, and should not be expected to care for others.






* This quote actually comes from Ayn Rand's character John Galt in the novel Atlas Shrugged. Should I say for clarity that this blog post is satire?