JESUS LOVES POOR FOLK!!

SCRIPTURE: (Luke 4:18-19, NKJ)

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

TEXT: (v.18)
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor.”

As I read this passage that phrase jumped out at me. Didn’t Jesus come to preach the good news to everyone? Why does the prophet Isaiah only mention the poor? Don’t we all need good news?

And then another question. Who are these poor that Jesus preached to?

Well, I learned that there are two types of poverty mentioned in the New Testament. In the Greek they are:

• Penes – those poor who can help themselves through their own labour; and
• Ptochos – those in abject poverty, who have no other means of support than to beg – the ones who need someone else to lift them.

And it is interesting that it was to this second group that this prophecy was addressed. These are the poor that we see images of in third world countries. These are those who do not seem to have any hope. This is to whom Jesus came to preach good news. Oh, how He loves poor people, and how He wants to deliver them! Our natural reaction would be to turn a blind eye as those images we see are far too disturbing. But let us stop and look. See them as Jesus did.

So what is it that causes one to be in this sorry state? If we look at the following verses and we notice four different groups of people.  They are the abused, the prisoners, the blind, and the oppressed.

And what did Jesus come to do for these people? Did He come with government hand-outs and relief aid? Did He come with oodles of money to pay their debts? No!! Those are only band-aid solutions.

INSTEAD, Jesus came with ANSWERS!! He came to heal broken hearts, to proclaim liberty from bondage, to bring recovery of sight, and to set the oppressed free.

Here is how He did it:

“Though He was rich, He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”  (2 Cor. 8:9, NKJ)

Yes!! He became destitute, as poor as a beggar, so that we might become rich. This is the GOOD NEWS!! Jesus went to the cross, stripped of all so that He would be OUR ALL.

So that is why He came with good news for the poor beggars. They were desperate. They are the ones who recognized their need and most willing to receive.

For those of us who have some wealth or substance, and even for the battlers, we can depend on our own resources. We do not have the same desperate need of a Saviour. Well, we don’t see it. But all that outward wealth can camouflage our real need, and that is, without Christ we are in dire need spiritually. That is why Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Each one of us needs to come to the point of recognizing that spiritually we are like a poor beggar. We need to cast aside our independence and call on Him for mercy and favour.

So now can we understand why the gospel is flourishing in poor countries, while in the west we are in spiritual famine? Really, who are the rich and who are the poor?

“Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” (James 2:5, NKJ)

“The blessing of the Lord make one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22, NKJ)

So let us come to His feet and sing with the hymn writer:

Jesus see me at Your feet,
Nothing but the blood can save me;
You alone my need shall meet,
Nothing but the blood can save me.

No, no, nothing do I bring,
But by faith I’m clinging
To the cross, O, Lamb of God,
Nothing but the blood can save me.

The photos are from a crusade in Uganda that Evangelist Evard was involved in just before Christmas.  He preached about Jesus who came as the Light of the World, and that people no longer need to grope in the darkness of despair.  Many received Christ!  We thank God!!

You can visit  his site, “God’s Mercy to the World“.  You will see more photos there, and can contribute to the work of this ministry by clicking on the PAYPAL button in the right-hand column.  You will be helping him to preach the GOOD NEWS to the poor.