Did Jesus Rent or Own?

When I heard a preacher on TV say that Jesus didn't have a house. I said to myself, ‘uh-uhhh!/"

Consider John 1:37-40 (Note: this is right after Jesus’ Baptism and being stalked by a future disciple)

37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

38 And Jesus turned, and beheld them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? And they said unto him, Rabbi (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), where abideth thou?

39 He saith unto them, Come, and ye shall see. They came therefore and saw where he abode; and they abode with him that day: it was about the tenth hour (Note: about 4 pm by Jewish clock, 10am by Roman reckoning of time of the day.)

40 One of the two that heard John [speak], and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s (Note: the Rock of the church) brother.

My conclusion: Not only was there an apartment of some sort, Jesus apparently had rations enough to entertain, because it said “they abode with him that day.”

At that point, Jesus was a 32-year-old, full-grown, working man who, all at once, gave up his known life, to become an evangelist.

He met Peter because he had entertained his brother, Andrew, at his dwelling place, which he had obviously worked for (or, as a craftsman, built himself), because he had just that very day been baptized, into his true mission.

That part where “…Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has not where to lay his head” was nine chapters into the Gospel of Luke (9:58) and considerably after he began to travel in ministry.

I think this distinction is very important in the context of so many self-centered,“spiritual” teachings these days about going after things, in the name of Jesus.

I figure, if you want something, save your money and go buy it— it seems to work for me, anyway.

The cautionary tale about that is, as I heard another preacher say, “You can spend your whole life climbing the ladder of success, and when you finally reach the top, you realize, you put your ladder on the wrong building.”

Luke 16:15: And he said to them, You are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knows your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

Finally, speaking of buildings, Revelation 3:20 says: Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will eat with him, and he with me.

The "good news" in the book of John, described above, plainly teaches us the same thing would happen if we were to knock on Jesus' door (smile).

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Chief Operating Officer of Alejo Media. Previously, as Director of News and Media Services at the American Institute of Physics, he led the creation of the InsideScience.org news platform, which includes Inside Science TV. He also previously served as Media Director, Energy NOW! and Clean Skies...

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