The labor of Jesus

Much of what he preached focused on work, just economics

Yesterday was Labor Day. If you are very familiar with the Bible, you probably know that topics related to work, just wages, rest, poverty and wealth are major themes of Scripture.

God placed the first human in a garden with instructions to “till and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). We are working stewards of creation.

The great Exodus story tells of Israel’s origin. It is essentially a story of a labor movement. When harsh taskmasters demanded higher productivity — gather your own straw and meet the same production quotas — God heard the workers’ cries. God called Moses to lead a labor walkout.

In the wilderness, God gave them the Law. Much of the Law deals with creating a just economy. Pay your workers a fair wage, and do so promptly. Have special concern for the needs of the poor and the vulnerable. “The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt” (Leviticus 19:34).

The Law instructed harvesters not to pick up produce when it falls to the ground. They must leave a margin unharvested at the property’s edges. There must be produce left behind in the fields for the poor and unemployed to glean.

God also gave the people the gift of rest — the Sabbath day.

The Sabbath principle extended beyond the week. Each seventh year was to be a Sabbath year when the land would lie fallow so that the poor and the wild animals may eat. In that year, all debts were to be erased.

Every seventh Sabbatical year (7 x 7 = 49 years) was to be a Jubilee year. In the Jubilee year all property would return to the original family ownership as God had distributed the land evenly among the original families and settlers. In that year all indentured servants and all slaves would be freed. Debt-cancellation and land restoration would be good news for the poor. The natural economic inequalities of the market were to be reversed in the Jubilee year.

Jesus’ first public words about his ministry echoed this Sabbath-Jubilee tradition. He announced his coming as “the year of the Lord’s favor” and his Gospel as “good news to the poor.”

Many of Jesus’ teaching illustrations came from the economic realities of an agricultural world concerned with seed and harvest, servants and masters. He often spoke of forgiveness of sin with the same language as forgiveness of debts. He attacked the Temple’s monetization of forgiveness. For Jesus, forgiveness of sin was free. Daily bread was a human right, not just a reward for the gainfully employed.

Jesus told a parable about paying laborers the same living wage, whether they came to work at the first hour or the last hour. He taught us to pray that everyone would receive their “daily bread.” He preached “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” He imagined a banquet table where the poor and those who cannot repay are the first to be invited.

The people wondered if Jesus was a prophet. The prophets spoke judgment to the rich and powerful, demanding that they use their power and wealth to relieve the suffering of the poor and marginalized, the weak and oppressed. Jesus’ sternly warned the rich who failed to respond to the needs of their poor neighbor (Luke 16:19f).

The early church practiced an economy that provided for all. “All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all as any had need” (Acts 2:44-45). Their practice echoed the lessons from the wilderness when God fed the people with manna. “As it is written, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed” (2 Corinthians 8:15).

For those of us who are Biblical Christians, work is sacred. A gift from God. But work must be structured justly.

Biblical Christians are suspicious of structures that concentrate and perpetuate great wealth and power.

Christians will be concerned with the worker’s right to a living wage — daily bread. For safe working conditions and prompt pay, with time off for rest and leisure. For the right of workers to organize. For relief from crippling debt. For safety nets for the poor and vulnerable, and equal rights for foreigners.

Like most things, labor and economics also boil down to Jesus’ basic teaching, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”