Through the Eye
of a Needle

We look at the economic situation of the first-century Roman world: the distribution of rich, poor, and destitute; the possibilities of employment; the burden of taxation. We then narrow the focus to the small towns and villages of rural Galilee where Jesus lived, and ask how understanding those circumstances helps explain his key teachings on money, wealth, and poverty.

We examine how ancient Greek and Roman moral teachers treated wealth as a potential problem, asking: for whom, and why? Where they thought money should be given away, we ask to whom, under what conditions, and for what reasons. This lecture shows how radically different ancient ideas about charitable giving were from what most people assume today, setting the stage for Jesus’s equally distinctive teachings.

We move from pagan philosophy to the world of ancient Judaism, starting with the Hebrew Bible’s repeated insistence that those with resources must provide for the poor and needy. We ask why this conviction developed within Judaism, how unusual it was in the ancient world, and how it gave rise to the tradition of almsgiving, including the striking idea that giving away one’s resources could bring atonement for sins.

We consider Jesus’s own distinctive understanding of wealth and its obligations. His views overlapped with other Jewish teachers of his day, but diverged in significant ways, shaped by his deep conviction that the Day of Judgment was about to arrive. That apocalyptic urgency pushed him toward a radical and universal ethic of giving: no time for half-measures, and no reason to limit generosity to one’s own people.

Many American Christians, including prominent public voices, argue that Jesus was at heart a capitalist who saw wealth accumulation as good and godly. Among the passages cited are the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (private property and market wages), the Parable of the Talents (capital investment), the Parable of the Sower (investment strategy), and the Parable of the Mustard Seed (compound interest). We examine each to ask whether these readings hold up.

Other Christians argue just as forcefully that Jesus was a socialist, pointing to his opposition to unequal distribution of wealth and his call for the well-off to give their resources to the poor. We examine this view honestly, asking whether it is coherent to apply Jesus’s words to economic systems that arose only out of the Industrial Revolution, and whether the principles behind his teachings might still carry relevance for today.

Some of Jesus’s sayings about wealth are almost impossible to process: Why would he praise a steward who lied and cheated his employer for personal gain? Why would he commend his disciples for abandoning their jobs, homes, wives, and children? How can he seriously advise people not to worry about having food or clothing? We confront these hard sayings directly, trace their interpretation over the centuries, and see whether any of it can be made sense of.

After Jesus’s death, thousands of Jerusalem converts reportedly sold everything they owned and gave the proceeds to the apostles for distribution. The practice didn’t last. But the teachings lived on, especially in the monastic movement, where fourth and fifth-century monks built hospitals, orphanages, and institutions for the destitute. We trace this legacy alongside the rival impulse within the church to accumulate wealth, and ask how both streams echo in Christian social and economic debates today.