What Did Jesus Say About Tithing?

Do a quick search on TikTok or YouTube, and you’ll find thousands of videos out there telling you why you shouldn’t tithe. They’ll probably say something like:

• Tithing only applies under the Jewish law.
• Tithing was only applicable to crops.
• Tithing is only in the Old Testament.

There’s no dispute that tithing was clearly commanded in the Torah, specifically Leviticus and Deuteronomy. But what about the New Testament? What did Jesus say about tithing? Did he tell us to tithe?

Fair warning: If tithing makes you uncomfortable, Jesus preached something far more radical and harder to swallow than tithing. If you think tithing is hard to do, wait for Jesus’s red letters on giving and generosity!

Jesus’ Teachings on Tithing

Throughout his earthly ministry, one topic that Jesus was not silent about was money. It was one of his most frequent topics, mentioned in 11 of his 39 parables.

Jesus said plainly to tithe and to give to God.In Matthew 23:23, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees but doesn’t correct their tithing:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”

Jesus calls out the Pharisees for going far, far beyond what the law required. They were tithing their pay and their herbs and everything in between but neglecting the heart of the law—which is love for God and others. He’s saying tithing is not merely a ritual, but an act of worship that flows from a heart committed to righteousness and compassion.

Tithing is so important to Jesus that he tells the Pharisees—and us—not to neglect it. If it’s important to Christ, it should be important to us.

Jesus’ Teachings on Generosity

Let’s go even further where Jesus raises the bar on giving altogether. Some believers are out there trying to find all these loopholes to get out of tithing. They complain about giving 10%. But the reality is that Jesus’ call to discipleship is so much more costly than that.

In Luke 14:25-33, Jesus says count the cost to follow me. If the cost to follow him was just the tithe, he would say following me is only going to cost you 10%. But to follow Jesus means you give him 100%: “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33).

This verse means you can’t pick and choose what Jesus gets to make calls about in your life. He’s Lord of it all—your time, finances, relationships, everything. And as Lord, he calls us to radically rethink how we view our money and possessions.

What does this look like practically? I’ll give you one word: Generosity.

Jesus gave so many commands about giving that are largely ignored today:

• “Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.” (Luke 6:30)
• “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.” (Luke 6:38)
• “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.” (Luke 12:33)
• “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)
• “Freely you have received; freely give.” (Matthew 10:8, NIV)
• “But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” (Luke 14:13-14)
• “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19-20)

We’ve barely scratched the surface about Jesus’ sayings on giving and generosity. But the point is that for followers of Christ, generosity is not a one-time event. It’s a habit, a lifestyle. It’s a requirement of following Jesus.

You can see this in the temple when Jesus and his disciples watch a widow put two small copper coins in the offering box. The rich are pouring their offerings in, but Jesus says the widow gave more than everyone else. He observes, “For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on” (Mark 12:44). The widow wasn’t willing to give only part or only the tithe as the law required, but everything. Her love for God and her faith in him was so great that she sacrificially gave her very livelihood. In the same way, Jesus calls us to radical generosity that goes far beyond the tithe.

Summary

As with so many topics, Jesus isn’t happy with the status quo. He makes us uncomfortable. He turns the tables on what we think we know. And he does this about tithing. He doesn’t just want your tithe: He wants everything. He wants you to surrender your life to him and follow him and then let generosity come out of the overflow.