Jesus Teaches on Tithing

.....As Christians we become stewards of all that is in our care, and we accept the possibility that the Lord may call for it's use at any time (Acts 4:32). All our treasures are in His hand, that our hearts may be His as well (Matthew 6:19-21). It is important for us to understand the absolute devotion that Jesus requires, as a prerequisite for the liberty He allows:

....."But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you. But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone."

(Luke 11:41-42)

.....In this passage, Jesus seems to be telling the Pharisees: ‘There are more important things in your walk with God than tithing; but Yes, you were correct not to neglect your tithe.’ Between the days of Malachi and those of Jesus, the nation had fully accepted tithing as a practice. But as we shall see, their underlying attitude remained a problem.

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.....Jesus had come to "magnify the law and make it honorable," so He was concerned with the attitudes He saw. Tithing had become so meticulous that it carried legalistic precision down to the smallest fractions. Jesus wanted to grow us up from a child-like mentality of ‘following the rules’ to a mature relationship with God that was based on our love for Him (Isaiah 42:21; Mark 12;33,34; Romans 3:31; 13:8). But the Pharisees had completely neglected the love of God in their offerings.
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.....To emphasize His point, Jesus formed a contrast. Had they given alms of some other amount, whether more or less, but given from a generous attitude, it would have been more acceptable than the strict ten percent they gave now, from the attitude of a requirement (2 Corinthians 9:7). By majoring in the practice but minoring in the attitude, they had gotten their priorities backward, becoming:

....."Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!"

(Matthew 23:23-24)

.....Through this, Jesus removed the strict requirement of ten percent – and this is where we must have a mature understanding about His intention in so doing. Jesus was not primarily allowing for less, but asking for more, that is, for our hearts (Isaiah 42:21). It was less important that our giving reflect a dollar amount, and more important that it reflect a relationship with God, as had been in the case of Abraham.

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.....At the same time that Jesus removed this requirement, He reminded us of the living intention behind it. Tithing remained the accepted standard, as long as it was coupled with the proper attitude: "These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone." (Luke 11:42). But even so, one size would not fit all:

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.....Sometimes our giving to the Lord can become a financial balance between our esteem for Him and our ability to express it – and sometimes this defies the limits of tithing. If a widow gave two mites, for example, Jesus regarded it more highly than the great donations of the wealthy (Mark 12:42-44); and likewise for the very wealthy, ten percent could seem a rather meager gift (Mark 10:23-27;12:44; 1 Timothy 6:17-19).

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.....For the same reason, Jesus would show great mercy to those whose genuine need, such as hunger, compelled them to withhold their tithing for a time. Yes, it is true that the first fruits of our increase belonged to the Lord Himself, and in this sense they would trespass by setting their hand to the holy thing (Proverbs 3:9). But Jesus would answer their critics by reminding them of another story:

....."Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? . . . But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless’."

(Matthew 12:3-7)