I asked this on another board, but didn’t get much of a reply.
Was Jesus a socialist, money-wise, or a capitalist?
I don’t know if it’s fair to limit Christ to either. Certainly the apostles kept a common purse, but that was a voluntary relationship among them and may not necessarily apply to political theory. The Catholic Church condemns socialism as undignified to property owners; it promotes capitalism only to the extent that capitalist practice is not based on human exploitation. Charity is highly encouraged. (I believe it was Pope Leo XIII who referred to communism and capitalism as the “twin shipwrecks.”)
I wrote a paper on Catholic social teaching and welfare last semester. There were two key gospel passages I relied on (I don’t have the paper handy, but I believe these are both in the early 20s of Matthew). The first is the story of the rich young man who asks Christ how heaven is obtained. Christ asks if he’s kept all the commandments. The young man says yes, but says what more must be done. Christ says, “Sell all you have and give it to the poor,” to which the young man goes away cranky, because he had many things.
The second is in close proximity to that story. It’s when someone wants to pour some perfume on Christ, and Judas criticizes it, saying that the perfume should be sold and the money given away. (Judas, by the way, was dipping into the common purse.) Christ criticizes him, saying that “The poor will always be with you, but you will not always have me with you.”
The lessons I drew from these is that Christians, if they want to claim title to that label, have an obligation to be giving of themselves. For the rich young man, it wasn’t enough to obey the commandments; Christ showed him that he had to do something more than mere obedience to the law. For him in particular, this meant giving away his possessions. There’s disagreement on whether “Sell all you have and give it to the poor” is a general or a specific commandment of Christ’s, although many scholars agree it’s specific to the young man. This means that we aren’t necessarily required to be generous financially (as the young man was), but we are required to be generous in general.
The second story further fleshes out the first. Christ was making a point that while material donations are important, they’re not the be-and-end-all of the Christian life. The perfume, if I’m recalling, was a foreshadowing of Christ’s passion and death, and Judas was waaaay too dismissive of it, mostly to make himself look good. (“Aha! If I propose that we give to the poor, I’ll look better than these saps with the perfume.”) Although ministry is essential to the Christian life, remembrance of Christ himself has to be at the heart of it.
There’s more, but I need to track down my paper…
Heroin, whores and lots of McDonalds.
I have no idea what Jesus would have spent His money on, but here are the passages that ResIpsaLoquitor was referring to:
The Rich Young Man or The Rich Ruler
"[sup]16[/sup]Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” [sup]17[/sup]“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” [sup]18[/sup]“Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, [sup]19[/sup]honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’” [sup]20[/sup]“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” [sup]21[/sup]Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your posessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” [sup]22[/sup]When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. [sup]23[/sup]Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. [sup]24[/sup]Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” " – Matthew 19:16-24
Other Versions
"[sup]17[/sup]As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” [sup]18[/sup]“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good – except God alone. [sup]19[/sup]You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” [sup]20[/sup]“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” [sup]21[/sup]Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack.” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” [sup]22[/sup]At this, the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. [sup]23[/sup]Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” [sup]24[/sup]The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! [sup]25[/sup]It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” " – Mark 10:17-25
"[sup]18[/sup]A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” [sup]19[/sup]“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good – except God alone. [sup]20[/sup]You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’” [sup]21[/sup]“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. [sup]22[/sup]When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” [sup]23[/sup]When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. [sup]24[/sup]Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! [sup]25[/sup]Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” " – Luke 18:18-25
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
"[sup]6[/sup]While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, [sup]7[/sup]a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. [sup]8[/sup]When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. [sup]9[/sup]“This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.” [sup]10[/sup]Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. [sup]11[/sup]The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. [sup]12[/sup]When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. [sup]13[/sup]I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” " – Matthew 26: 6-13
Other Versions
"[sup]3[/sup]While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. [sup]4[/sup]Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? [sup]5[/sup]It could have been sold for more than a day’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. [sup]6[/sup]“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. [sup]7[/sup]The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. [sup]8[/sup]She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. [sup]9[/sup]I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” " – Mark 14:3-9
"[sup]1[/sup]Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. [sup]2[/sup]Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. [sup]3[/sup]Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. [sup]4[/sup]But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, [sup]5[/sup]“Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” [sup]6[/sup]He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. [sup]7[/sup]“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. [sup]8[/sup]You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” " – John 12:1-8
(Note: The Mary referred to in this passage was not the mothe of Jesus, not was she Martha’s sister. She was another woman named Mary, possibly Mary Magdalene; I’m not quite sure.)
I thank the 2 of you for your informative answers.
On some walkin’ shoes.
Bagels and Manishevitz, and some Band-Aids. Maybe a schvitz.
I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have bought candles with his picture on them, Amy Grant albums, or a turquoise sweatshirt featuring two praying toddlers with the caption “Happy Birthday Jesus.”
I’m positive he wouldn’t send it to some TV-haired televangelist to buy another Rolls Royce.
Oh! On a bumpersticker:
“Jeez if you love Honkus”
or “Honk if you ARE Jesus”
“Did Jesus own anything?” used to be a major issue which divided the catholic church during the middle-ages. The movie “The Name of the Rose” briefly refers to it (the movie characters are holding a meeting to debate about it). Believing that Jesus owned nothing sent some people to the stake. I believe that at some point, the church edicted that any painting of the Christ (or the apostoles, can’t remember) had to depict him with a purse…
How about spike-proof gloves and socks?
Actually, he probably would spend it on taxes, since tax collectors were the scourge of mankind back in the day (thankfully THOSE days are over). Whatever was left would have gone to some poor lepers or something. He literally may have given the money to prostitutes (with nothing in exchange, that is).
A very, very good publicist.
What money?
When Peter wanted to borrow half a shekel, the Lord sent him to a fish!
If your Chief Financial Officer is a trout, you don’t have much money to spend on stuff. 
Tris
“Pull the string, and it will follow wherever you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all.” ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower ~
He would have lost it all on internet start-up stocks. 
Jesus, much like Einstein, knew the value of compound interest. He spent nothing, but saved.
You never heard a hymn titled “Jesus spends!” did you?
Nuff said.
He’d have been one great wildcattin’ partner to have. Even if all he brought to the party was royalties. After all, his Dad built the place, and presumably knows where all the grease is stashed.