Was Jesus a Socialist?

Interesting thing to think about on the heels of yesterday's election. Obama's name is closely associated with the word socialist it seems. You could say that Jesus held socialist ideals. One big idea of socialism is equality and giving to the poor. A sort of Robin Hood idea - steal from the rich to give to the poor. So here are some verses in which someone could make an argument that Jesus would be okay with socialism -

- Galations 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. "

- Luke 12:33 - Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

- Luke 18:22 - When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

I'm sure you could find more, but you get the point. However, even if you could find 100 more verses supporting a socialist thought in the New Testament, you are failing to see the heart behind the matter. Jesus doesn't force anyone to give to the poor. He doesn't make anyone do anything that they don't want to. Jesus gives us the freedom to give to those less fortunate then ourselves. And another thing, though there are many verses that speak to being generous with one's possessions, the focus on Jesus's ministry was on spiritual matters, not material. He also made it quite clear what his true priorities were. For instance, when asked if he had come to abolish the law that was set in the Old Testament, he replied:

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt 5:17-19).

And how about what he wanted us to do with our lives?:

"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Mark 28:18-20).

He wanted and wants us still to spread the Gospel, give to the poor because we know it is the right thing to do, not because someone forces you to do so. And another thing, true socialism, since it wants to erase classes and differences would take away your freedom.
As Pope Benedict XVI has written:
"Let us recall the fact that atheism and the denial of the human person, his liberty and his rights, are at the core of the Marxist theory...Moreover, to attempt to integrate into theology an analysis whose criterion of interpretation depends on this atheistic conception is to involve oneself in terrible contradictions. What is more, this misunderstanding of the spiritual nature of the person leads to a total subordination of the person to the collectivity, and thus to the denial of the principles of a social and political life which is in keeping with human dignity."