What Jesus actually said about money

What this entry is

This is not a summary of “Jesus’s teaching on money.” It is a list of the things Jesus is recorded as saying about money, possessions, and wealth, in the Synoptic Gospels and John, with references and the words themselves. Where multiple Gospels record the same saying, we cite the parallel references. We do not draw conclusions about how the sayings cohere or how they apply.

For what the text says about Jesus more broadly — across all QFB collections — see The Bible on Jesus.

Direct sayings about money, possessions, and wealth

We give the BSB text of each, with the reference. Where a saying has Synoptic parallels, the parallels are noted.

”You cannot serve God and money”

Matthew 6:24 (parallel: Luke 16:13):

No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

The Greek word translated “money” here is mammōnas (μαμωνᾶς), a transliterated Aramaic loanword meaning roughly “wealth” or “riches” — sometimes personified.

”Treasure in heaven”

Matthew 6:19–21 (parallel: Luke 12:33–34):

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

”Give to the poor”

Mark 10:21 (parallels: Matthew 19:21, Luke 18:22) — to the rich young ruler:

Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said, “There is one thing you lack: Go, sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me."

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle”

Mark 10:25 (parallels: Matthew 19:24, Luke 18:25) — following the rich young ruler:

It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

”Blessed are you who are poor”

Luke 6:20:

Looking up at His disciples, Jesus said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”

Note: Matthew 5:3 reads “Blessed are the poor in spirit” with the additional phrase. The two versions are not identical.

”Woe to you who are rich”

Luke 6:24:

But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.

The “woes” of Luke 6:24–26 parallel the beatitudes of 6:20–23 in Luke’s account; Matthew’s beatitudes do not include the woes.

”Render to Caesar”

Mark 12:17 (parallels: Matthew 22:21, Luke 20:25):

Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.

The exchange involves a denarius coin with Caesar’s image. The saying is delivered in response to a question about paying Roman taxes.

”Watch out for greed”

Luke 12:15:

Then He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

This saying introduces the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:16–21).

”Do not worry about your life”

Matthew 6:25–34 (parallel: Luke 12:22–31):

For this reason I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns — and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Concludes (Matt 6:33): “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”

The parables of money and possessions

Approximately eleven of the 39 parables in the Synoptic tradition concern money, possessions, or economic activity. The list is approximate because some parables touch on money incidentally; we count those that have economic activity as their primary subject:

A specific incident

The widow’s two small coins

Mark 12:41–44 (parallel: Luke 21:1–4):

Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and watched the crowd putting money into it. And many rich people put in large amounts. Then one poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. For they all contributed out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had to live on.”

The Greek word lepta (λεπτά) names the two small coins; they were the smallest denomination in circulation. The “fraction of a penny” comparison in modern English understates how small the amount was.

The cleansing of the temple

All four Gospels record an incident in which Jesus drives money-changers and animal-sellers from the temple courts. The accounts differ in placement and detail:

• Matthew 21:12–13
• Mark 11:15–17
• Luke 19:45–46
• John 2:13–17 (placed near the start of Jesus’s ministry rather than near the end)

Jesus is recorded as quoting Isaiah 56:7 (“My house will be called a house of prayer”) and (in Matthew, Mark, Luke) Jeremiah 7:11 (“but you have made it a den of robbers”). The action concerns commercial activity in temple precincts.

What this entry does not do

We have not synthesised these passages into a single position on wealth. The Gospels record sayings that range from “watch out for greed” through “give everything to the poor” to “render to Caesar what is Caesar’s.” Different Christian traditions have organised these sayings into different overall frameworks (the prosperity reading, the radical-discipleship reading, the personal-stewardship reading, etc.). The Gospels themselves do not arbitrate between those frameworks — they simply record what Jesus is reported to have said. We do the same.

For related material, see our topic entry on the love of money and our curiosity entry on Bible mentions of money.