By Fr. Chinaka Justin Mbaeri, OSJ

I woke up to a video clip making rounds on Social Media of Pastor Ibiyeomie who stated: “Jesus never visited any poor man in the Bible. Check your Bible. Jesus never entered the house of a poor man.

‘That means He hates poverty. Check, he visited Lazarus, they were not poor they were giving him food. He visited a Sinner called Zacchaeus, who was rich. Tell me one poor man Jesus entered his house? He hates poverty, that’s the meaning – He hates people who are poor. He died for you not to be poor…”

Some friends have already tagged me to the video, asking for my clarification. And to think that this teaching is already on the Punch Newspapers is worrisome. Therefore, I present my rebuttal:

The assertion that “Jesus never visited any poor person in their house” and therefore “He hates poverty” is not only false but dangerously misleading. It distorts both the life of Christ and His consistent ministry to the poor. Jesus’ mission, as revealed in Scripture and affirmed by the Church, was especially directed toward the poor, the outcast, and the lowly (cf. Luke 4:18) – “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me… He has anointed me to preach the Good News to the poor.” He didn’t just tolerate the poor, He prioritized them – preferential option for the poor (cf. Matthew 11:5).

Jesus was born into poverty, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger (Luke 2:7). He chose a life of material detachment: “Foxes have holes… but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Mtt. 8:20). He ate with tax collectors and sinners, yes, but also with humble peasants, fishermen, and the marginalized. He did not choose wealth or palace life. Are we to say He hated Himself?

Claiming that Jesus visited Lazarus of Bethany, brother of Mary and Martha, and that they were giving him food, doesn’t mean they were rich.

This reveals Pastor Ibiyeomie’s ignorance of the meaning of the hometown of Lazarus, which is Bethany. Bethany in Hebrew is “Beth anya” (בֵּית עַנְיָה), which means “House of the Poor” or “House of Affliction.”

This is because it is literally known as the ‘House of Figs’ from the Hebrew Beth te’enah, which reflects the nature of the village at that time.

The houses in Bethany (John 11:1-5) as the name implied were associated with fig cultivation – agriculture. Thus, Bethany was not a city of the elite or the rich but was a small, humble village near Jerusalem, known for housing the sick and the poor and Jesus’ preferred resting place whenever He was in Judea.

Christ’s visit to the home of Zacchaeus, a wealthy but despised tax collector known for his dishonesty (Luke 19:1–10), was not an endorsement of his riches, but an act of mercy aimed at his conversion.

Though Zacchaeus possessed material wealth, he was spiritually bankrupt. Jesus did not judge by social status; He reached out to those in need of salvation.

Interestingly, after his encounter with Christ, Zacchaeus willingly pledged to give half of his possessions to the poor and repay four times whatever he had extorted. By this pledge, he practically stripped himself of his wealth, embracing voluntary poverty as a sign of true repentance and radical change.

Jesus dined with Simon the leper (Mark 14:3), and with many sinners and outcasts, many of whom were poor. He healed beggars, widows, and the blind who sat by the roadside, not rich men in villas.

The widow who gave two coins was praised (Mark 12:41-44), not the wealthy. And Jesus taught that blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3). And in Luke’s Gospel, it’s not even “poor in spirit,” but simply “Blessed are you poor” (Luke 6:20).

Pst. David’s claim that Jesus died to make us rich is misleading. If this were so, why weren’t the Apostles and early Christians rich? They lived the life of sacrifice on behalf of Christ and the gospel.

When Paul’s authority was challenged, he offered as his credentials the fact that he actually gave up prosperity for the sake of suffering. Kindly read 2Cor 11:24-30, which talks of the suffering Paul underwent for the sake of the Gospel.

Unfortunately, today, only a few preachers do preach about the reality of the cross and suffering. The authentic Gospel of Christianity is that of attaining eternal glory through the Cross as Christ demonstrated in the gospels: “Anyone who wishes to be a follower of mine, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me, for anyone who saves his life would lose it, and anyone who loses his life for my sake in this world would save it for eternal life. What, then, will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his soul” (Matt. 16:24-26; Lk 9:23-25). Jesus also rebuked the crowd who followed him because of the material benefits (cf. Jn. 6:26).

On the other hand, the gospel of prosperity is the kind of gospel first preached by the devil himself. After showing Christ all the kingdoms and riches of this world, the devil said to him: “All this will I give you if you bow down and worship me” (Matt. 4:9; Lk. 4:7).

It is sad today that many who call themselves Christians are following what came out of the devil’s mouth. What exactly is wrong with Christianity? What do people think Christianity is? Jesus died so that we could be rich? So that life could be easy? No! Jesus died so that we can have eternal salvation.

Anyone preaching that Jesus “hates poverty” just as David Ibiyeomie, and uses that as a justification for a gospel of prosperity is twisting the Scriptures.

Jesus did not come to erase earthly poverty by giving riches, but to offer eternal life regardless of one’s material status. To preach otherwise is not the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, it’s marketing dressed in theology. Dear Christians, do not be swayed by soundbites, but stand on the Word.

Dear friends, you’ve got the responsibility to share this post in correcting the false teaching.

Shalom!
Fr. Chinaka Justin Mbaeri, OSJ

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