Did Jesus Tithe?

Did Jesus tithe? Did he take 10% of his income and give it to the temple as commanded in Scripture?

I’ll be upfront with you: We don’t have a Bible verse that verbatim describes Jesus tithing. But I would say absolutely yes, that Jesus tithed during his thirty-three years on earth.

One of the key reasons Jesus tithed is that he was 100% Jewish. He grew up a Jew. More than that—he was the perfect Jew. The Gospels are full of clear examples of Jesus following Jewish law and customs throughout his life. Let’s look at some examples.

Jesus’ Childhood and Upbringing

The gospel of Luke gives us a few glimpses into Jesus’ childhood, both of which center around temple, which was the focal point of worship in Jesus’ day:

• Luke 2:22-24 describes Mary and Joseph bringing infant Jesus to the temple to complete Mary’s ritual purification after childbirth and to redeem the firstborn son as the law required.
• Luke 2:41-42 says, “Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom.” Here, Jesus’ family again adheres to Jewish law as they attend the Feast of the Passover year after year.

These two examples are among the few glimpses that the Gospels give us into Jesus’ upbringing, but they strategically involve Mary and Joseph’s strict adherence to the law of Moses, the Torah. It’s clear that Jesus was raised within Jewish traditions and taught to follow the commandments—which includes tithing. If Mary and Joseph are following the Torah in these ways, we can be confident that they also tithed.

Jesus’ Carpentry Career

But what about Jesus tithing? It’s obvious that you have to have money to tithe. Did Jesus have any money? He made wages as a carpenter before he started his earthly ministry (Mark 6:3). It’s hard to fathom a faithful, law-abiding Jew not tithing on his salary. So it’s more than likely that Jesus tithed during his carpentry career.

Jesus’ Ministry

Then there’s Jesus’ three-year ministry. We have the most data on this period of his life.

Again and again, the Scriptures make it clear that he adhered to and respected Jewish traditions and laws. One of those was keeping the festivals:

• Feast of Booths. Jesus observed the Feast of Booths—also known as the Feast of the Tabernacles—in Jerusalem (John 7:1-14).
• Feast of Dedication. John 10:22-23 mentions Jesus at the temple during the Feast of Dedication. Today this is known as Hanukkah or the Festival of Lights. This feast was optional and not mandated because it wasn’t in the Torah—but Jesus still has respect for the tradition and observes it.
• Passover. Luke 22:7-8 describes Jesus observing the Passover, or the Feast of Unleavened Bread, with his disciples in what is now known as the Last Supper.

The Gospels portray Jesus as not only respecting the law and its commands, but also fulfilling some extra credit items. It’s clear that the feasts and festivals were part of his rhythm of life.

Not only that—but Matthew 17:24-27 records Jesus paying the temple tax. This was a religious tax for the temple upkeep. If anyone would have been exempt, it was Jesus! By all accounts, he even says he’s not required to pay it because kings do not tax their own children. God should not have to pay a tax on his own temple where is he worshipped! But Jesus pays it to avoid offending the religious leaders. If Jesus made the effort to pay this obscure tax, all the evidence points to the fact that he surely tithed as well!

We know he also raised funds for his ministry and that Judas sadly had his hands in the purse (John 12:6). Did Jesus tithe on those funds? There’s a good chance. He speaks to the Pharisees in Matthew 23:23 and Luke 11:42 where he corrects them for their hypocrisy, but in the same breath tells them not to neglect tithing.

Summary

The Gospels record a clear pattern of Jesus following the Jewish customs of the day, including adhering to the festivals and laws. He wasn’t going around throwing out the law as some anti-tithers claim. Far from it! He fulfilled the law to be our perfect sacrifice for sins. He respected and honored the law, so we can easily assume that he also tithed in obedience to it. If he didn’t, the Pharisees and Scribes who watched his every move would have gladly used that as ammunition against him. And we have no record of them doing so. Christ is our example to emulate in all things—especially our finances. If he tithed 10% of his earnings in worship to God, why shouldn’t we?