MATTHEW ASHIMOLOWO MAMMONIZES JESUS’S PARABLES

By Akin Ojumu

As an avid fan of detective movies, riveting police procedurals and crime-investigation dramas are right up my alley. Binge-watching criminal-investigation series is how I spend many of my weekends. Law & Order, Monk, CSI, Blue Bloods, Longmire, and Unforgotten – name the show, and I have probably watched it more than once. For me, a truly great weekend consists of lying on the sofa and binge-watching six seasons of Longmire.

Besides the vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and witty sayings I pick up from these shows, I have also learned about what may be called the criminal-investigation trinity: means, motive, and opportunity. Although these are not necessarily formal elements that prosecutors must prove in every criminal case, investigators frequently use them to determine whether a suspect could have committed a crime.

The perpetrator must have possessed the necessary resources or ability to commit the crime – the means. He must have had a reason or intention to commit it – the motive. And he must have had an unobstructed chance to carry it out – the opportunity.

Although means, motive, and opportunity are most commonly associated with criminal investigations, motive also features prominently in everyday life and relationships. We instinctively assign intentions to the actions and behavior of others. Connecting conduct with motive is part of human nature.

This tendency is especially difficult to resist when listening to people preach the Word of God. With so many individuals promoting bizarre theologies and doctrines that are entirely foreign to Scripture, one cannot help but question what motivates them. Everywhere you turn, you are struck by the toxic blast of erroneous teachings coming from the mouths of prominent and highly respected pastors. Inevitably, you begin to wonder why they say the things they say.

A case in point is a video clip from a message Matthew Ashimolowo preached at the 2023 Greater Works Conference, organized by the International Central Gospel Church and hosted by Mensa Otabil. Preaching on the subject of “Wealth Creation,” Ashimolowo began his sermon with the following remarkable claim:

“And em… Jesus spoke thirty-seven parables. Twenty-three out of the thirty-seven parables had to do with wealth creation…it had to do with finance. Mostly those parables we used to make altar call when we want souls to come forward. Em…the parable of the prodigal son is about wealth, it is about wealth.”

Whenever I hear a highly respected preacher make a statement like this, it is difficult to resist the urge to infer an ulterior motive. Why would a self-described minister of the Gospel—a man who has spent decades in Christian ministry and whom one would expect to know better—make such a demonstrably false assertion?

Does he sincerely believe what he is saying? Has he misunderstood the text, or is he deliberately misleading his audience?

You do not have to be a Bible scholar to understand the basic nature and purpose of biblical parables. The word parable refers to something “cast alongside” another thing for the purpose of comparison. Jesus employed parables as teaching instruments—extended analogies and inspired comparisons drawn from everyday life. They were earthly stories used to communicate heavenly truths.

Jesus used parables to illuminate the truths of the Kingdom so that those who believed might receive greater understanding. At the same time, the parables concealed divine truth from those who had rejected Him and hardened their hearts against the message of salvation.

Matthew 13:10–16

“Then the disciples came and said to him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ And he answered them, ’To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

“You will indeed hear but never understand,

and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

For this people’s heart has grown dull,

and with their ears they can barely hear,

and their eyes they have closed,

lest they should see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and turn, and I would heal them.’”

Mark 4:11–12

“And he said to them, ’To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that “they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.”’”

Luke 8:9–10

“And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that “seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.”’”

In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the compassionate and forgiving father represents God. Through this story, Jesus reveals God’s gracious disposition toward lost sinners, symbolized by the younger son. The elder brother represents the self-righteous—the person who believes his outward obedience entitles him to God’s favor and places God under obligation to him.

The Parable of the Prodigal Son is one of Scripture’s most beautiful portraits of divine grace. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

In that sense, we are all prodigals. We have wandered from God, pursued our own desires, squandered His gifts, and wallowed in sin.

Yet God stands ready to forgive the repentant sinner. He saves, not because of human merit or religious works, but entirely by grace through faith. Salvation “depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.”

Romans 9:16

“So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.”

Ephesians 2:8–9

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

That is the heart of the parable.

Like the other parables of Jesus, the story of the prodigal son reveals something about God, His Kingdom, and His gracious work of redeeming the lost. It is the story of a loving Father receiving a wretched and repentant sinner. It is a magnificent portrait of divine compassion, forgiveness, reconciliation, and unmerited favor. 

It is not a lesson on financial management. It is not a seminar on investment strategy. It is not a blueprint for wealth creation.

To transform this parable into a message about finance is not merely to offer an alternative interpretation. It is to replace the meaning Jesus intended with an idea imposed upon the text by the preacher.

The question, therefore, remains: Does Matthew Ashimolowo genuinely not understand the meaning of this parable? Is this careless interpretation, theological ignorance, or a calculated attempt to force Scripture into the service of a prosperity-driven message?

We may not be able to establish Matthew Ashimolowo’s motive with certainty. We can, however, evaluate his words by the objective standard of Scripture. Whatever his motive may be, the result is the same: the meaning of the biblical text is distorted, the message of divine grace is obscured, and the story of a loving Father receiving a repentant sinner is reduced to yet another sermon about mammon.