Today we are making available the third installment of our new online video series for Economics in the Gospels.

Labor (Part 2)

From servants to flute players, crooks to bankers, farmers to spies, there is a wide spectrum of jobs in the Gospels. Then there are the slaves…

This a particularly challenging part of the study because we have to confront slavery, a ubiquitous form of labor in Jesus’s day in the Roman empire. It is particularly difficult because it is taken as a given and a theological or historical point of view is complicated, at best. Especially coming from a WASP man. You can see for yourself how it goes as this installment to the video course will be up and available for all to see over the next week before moving into the course collection with the others.

With all that said let’s review what we find in the Gospel economy labor-wise.

A mix of servants  includes many in positions of high responsibility and are valued confidants.  There are also distinctions made with references to hired men as we see when Peter (Simon) left his business and boat with ‘”hired men”:

Mark 1:20 Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

We also see gardeners as in this famous case where the presumed gardener mentioned was Jesus himself. 

John 20:15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” Because she thought he was the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him.”

If we look hard we can even see restaurant jobs, not just servants but more evolved professions like the head steward in this famous episode where it appears to be a job found today – arranging for the wine.

John 2:8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the head steward,” and they did.

Slaves in the Gospels are ever-present and often play key roles in the parables - and are a focal point in many stories. Sometimes, they are featured as a kind of catalyst as in this story of the slave girl:

Mark 14:66 Now while Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the high priest’s slave girls came by. 14:69 When the slave girl saw him, she began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.”

Then there are “jobs” one might miss simply because they are not what we might expect in our own time. The “wise men” for instance  are some of the most enigmatic of all the “professions” in the Gospels.  They lend credibility to Jesus’s birth and bring presents, also of interest from an economic perspective.

Along the same lines we find the Prophetess:

Luke 2:36 There was also a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old, having been married to her husband for seven years until his death.

Not surprisingly in an advanced economy for its day with associated agricultural accomplishments we find people in the fields like tenant farmers and herdsmen. In the following the term herdsmen denotes a herder of pigs:

Mark 5:14 Now the herdsmen ran off and spread the news in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened.

Also, not particularly surprising we find an entire criminal class represented with criminals and outlaws, thieves, and robbers. Not unexpectedly we also find prisoners, which while surely a stretch, are still potentially a form of labor. Certainly, the executioner has a key role in the Gospels.

Moving along we also find eunuchs, messengers, flute players, prostitutes, beggars, and spies:

Luke 20:20 Then they watched him carefully and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They wanted to take advantage of what he might say so that they could deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor.

Throughout this section on labor I imagine many are looking for their own job, or something close to it. So, for the finance types I am glad to offer this one mention from the parables, one exceedingly interesting from a financial system point of view. 

Matthew 25:27 Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received my money back with interest!

Lastly, one of the most famous passages in the Gospels feature the peacemakers…

Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.
 

Today we are making available the second installment of our new online video series for Economics in the Gospels.

​Kingdoms/Labor(Part 1)

Kingdoms have largely been tamed nowadays. They were not particularly effective economic systems compared to mixed economies so the patrician classes throughout the world have been set aside – economically and politically speaking anyway. Monarchies still exist, the Royals in Britain for instance, but the Magna Carta changed the directory of the world’s economic systems leading to worldwide capitalism and its concomitant institutions.So, what about Kingdoms in the Gospels? In Jesus’ world we have in fact several layers of authoritarian government, beginning with Caesar and the Patricians representing Rome, Herod representing the kings of Israel, and, in some ways, the priestly class with the Pharisees on top. All of whom are well represented in this installment from the Economics in the Gospels video course and study.

Even though the chapter on Kingdoms is one of the shortest it also has the most mentions (126). Most of these are of the heavenly variety, e.g. the “Kingdom of Heaven”; but there are several mentions of actual kingdoms, which is what we are mostly interested in for our economics study of that ancient world of Christ’s. Interestingly, Jesus seemed to have only one system in mind: Kingdoms - in heaven of course. And once again we don’t see a very promising capitalist in Him.

Many jobs are seen in the Gospels (50+) including all those ruling class roles already mentioned. Many are iconic jobs like: fishermen, carpenter, and shepherd, all of which instantly bring to mind stories and characters from the Gospels. For our purposes these aren’t of just passing interest but convey a great deal about the economy in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John’s world.

Add to the mix Roman figures like Centurions and officers, soldiers, and guards, all of whom must be paid and provided for and not so different from today. Where would the Gospel stories be without these characters? They are central, vital, and relatable some 2,000 years later.

There is a well-represented clergy of course, though the picture we have is of a vilified profession. The Pharisees and  the rest of the priestly class are usually antagonists in the stories, and they paint a picture of a powerful clerical sphere. Not surprising for a theocracy-based authoritarianism – a mixed economy that produces most of the things it takes to live, but in a way that is abhorrent to us today in our Capitalist/Socialist stew.

Moving on we find the lawyers (Experts in the Law) and a thriving judicial system with judges, magistrates, wardens and, as we will see later in the study: courts and prisons. Then there are the truly despised jobs: tax collector and money changer. Not sure which is worse.

Fortunately, I guess, for finance guys like me we see many folks in business doing managerial functions, especially in the Parables. Often these jobs are being done by those referred to as slaves and servants (more on this in the next installment: Labor (Part2). Why do I guess it’s fortunate? Because often these guys are not seen in the best light. But we are all promised love and forgiveness so what’s to worry, right? A particularly intriguing passage is that of the Business Partner, a phrase mentioned just once in the Gospels:

Luke 5:10 and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s business partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”

Apparently, businesspeople are exactly the kinds of people Christ chooses…so long as they give up their business and follow Him – in this example anyway.

At a point in time where we have so many unemployed we can perhaps find it reassuring to know that so many jobs have been here for so long, including the jobs I think Jesus would like to be thought of Himself: teacher and physician. Not that he wasn’t proud to be a carpenter, we just never see Him carpentering.

Next up: Labor (Part 2)

​For more information about the course click here.
To view the video click here.
For the study text click here.

Today we are making available the first of ten installments to our new online video series for Economics in the Gospels.

Treasure, Gold, and Money

​A trillion here, a trillion there, before long that adds up to real money! That is a not too tongue-in-cheek assessment of our current economic situation.

Money was similarly front and center in Roman times and society too. Their interest in controlling their money supply had developed over at least 700 years by Jesus’s time. Add 2,000 years and you have a Federal Reserve and other central banks manipulating and trying to  keep our worldwide economic system on an even keel. The Gospel writers do not reference economists, monetary nor fiscal policies, but they had coins.

Gold is an early economic occurrence in the Gospels, and we are still extremely interested in the supply and value of gold today as a cornerstone of the entire worldwide economic system. Many imagine we are still on the gold standard, that there is something backing up the trillions being printed in the proverbial basement of the Fed. But the money we use nowadays is largely paper and bytes with nary a coin from gold nowadays, though it was not that long ago that we did. Paper money in 1st century Jerusalem? Not so much. Imagine Jesus upsetting the table of the credit card issuers?!

All-in-all this first video installment is a great way to kick off our course and I have seen it in action with my students in Kathmandu, who especially love the Q&A with the Ladies from St. Luke’s.

Unfortunately, we start with a fairly long-winded introduction, but it does lay out the background of the study and the economics centered/non-theological context we are going for. The Parable of the Talents and the Parable of the Wedding Banquet make it worthwhile I hope. But if not just sneak ahead thirteen minutes or so and you will be ready to go.

All videos in the course follow the study closely which can be found on Amazon by clicking here. To read along we have also posted the corresponding excerpts from the study further on in this blog.

Up Next: Kingdoms  & Labor (Part 1)

​For more information about the course click here.
To view the video click here.
For the study text click here.