Reply #42: But the word doesn't mean 'tax' or even 'tithe', but [View All]

[Igel]

'gift'.

An appreciation for the differing importance of the two gifts is there, but Jesus doesn't take it any further. The piety behind the gifts was his concern, giving all that you could, till it hurt.

He didn't address whether or not the poor and rich should tithe differently--and that's left ambiguity for the tithing community, some of which expect the poor to tithe even if they receive a different tithe--nor did he address whether or not the poor should be exempt from the (secular) poll tax. I suspect he'd have argued that even the poor should tithe--tithing was part of being righteous--and said that the secular tax was not his concern. But since he didn't say, well, it means he didn't say.

He did say that the Pharisees were right to be scrupulous in their tithing. But not all Pharisees were rich, nor were all the rich Pharisees.