By David Faust
“Neither a borrower nor a lender be,
For loan oft loses both itself and friend.”
That line comes from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, shortly before another famous line: “To thine own self be true.” These oft-quoted lines come from the lips of Polonius, a pompous old man giving advice to his son. Polonius was right, though, about the hazards of lending and borrowing money.
Proverbs 22:7 cautions, “The borrower is slave to the lender.” Another bit of wisdom warns anyone who puts up security for debts, “If you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you” (Proverbs 22:27, New International Version). Paul wrote, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another” (Romans 13:8).
Yet, do you realize Jesus sometimes borrowed things?
Christ, the Borrower
He borrowed a Bible. In Jesus’ hometown synagogue in Nazareth, an attendant handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. The Lord dramatically unrolled the long scroll until he came to the section we call Isaiah 61:1-2. Jesus read aloud messianic prophecies about the Anointed One who would proclaim good news to the poor, restore sight to the blind, and set the oppressed free. Jesus handed the scroll back to the attendant and amazed the crowd by saying, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:16-21).
He borrowed a boat. The Lord sat in a boat belonging to Simon Peter and taught the crowd gathered on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Peter’s fishing vessel served as a borrowed pulpit that day (Luke 5:1-11).
He borrowed a coin. But instead of spending it, he used it as an illustration. The Pharisees and Herodians tried to bate Jesus with a tricky question about paying taxes. In response, Jesus asked for a denarius, and he used the borrowed coin to teach, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” (Mark 12:13-17).
He borrowed a donkey—an unbroken colt no one ever had ridden. It served as his transportation for the triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Luke 19:28-36).
He borrowed a tomb, courtesy of Joseph of Arimathea, a secret believer who went public and asked Governor Pilate for Jesus’ body. The Lord didn’t need the tomb very long, though. It was vacant again three days later.
Christ, the Giver
Whatever Jesus borrowed, he used for good; then he gave it back so it could be used again.
Consider this: “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done” (Proverbs 19:17). Do you have something the Lord wants to use? You may not have a donkey or boat to lend, but could you pay for a missionary’s car, van, or truck? The Lord doesn’t need you to hand him a Bible, but could you support missions that engage in Bible translation? Instead of lending the Lord a denarius, could you provide scholarship funds so future kingdom workers aren’t burdened by student-loan debt? Can you support ministries that preach good news to the poor and set the oppressed free?
The Lord has given us far more blessings than we deserve. So let’s hold our possessions loosely and cheerfully hand over anything the Lord can use to expand his kingdom.
David Faust serves as contributing editor of Christian Standard and senior associate minister with East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is the author of Honest Questions, Honest Answers.
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