To Bring good news to the poor
Luke 4:14-30
I often ask myself how we might know that God is at work among us as a church family. I have listened to the way people talk about local churches over my years as a Christian and I usually hear people in America say that the main way we know that God is at work is when the church gets bigger, or when new buildings are being built, etc. But, I know that such things are not necessarily evidence of God’s work. Jesus didn’t see those things happening in his ministry when he was among us. And many things in our world – like social clubs, businesses or sports enterprises – could grow in numbers or facilities without seeking God.
So, this past week, I was reading Matthew 11 and was struck in a new way by words from Jesus about how we know that God is at work. At the time, John the Baptist was in prison. Remember that John was the one who earlier had declared that Jesus is the lamb come from God to take away the sins of the world. But, later, John seemed to be having second thoughts about this and sent some people to Jesus to ask whether he really was the one sent from God. And Jesus basically says in vv. 4-5, “These are the evidences that show us God is at work.” Jesus said: “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” Jesus was saying that when God is at work, those kinds of things happen.
Let me ask you: When Jesus said we should look for these kinds of miracles when we ask whether God is at work, is Jesus talking about spiritual things or physical things? I’m convinced that Jesus was speaking of both. In these words in Mt 11, Jesus was taking us back to the places in the OT, like Isaiah 65, in which God declared what he is going to do in this world he made, a world broken by sin.
“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth…
Never again will there be in it
infants who live but a few days,
or older people who do not live out their years…
People will not labor in vain,
nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;
for they will be blessed by the LORD…
The wolf and lamb will feed together,
They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” declares the LORD. (from Isaiah 65:17-25)
I sometimes pause to try to imagine the kind of world God promises in Isaiah 65. We’ll have no more droughts. We won’t complain at work – our work will be fulfilling. Children will play outside without fear of abuse or threat of kidnapping. We’ll have no need for prisons. No need for protests – for all will be just. It will be a world without crime or hate or prejudice. The wolf and lamb will “do lunch” together – so I suppose the law enforcement officer will have table fellowship with the protestor. And all this, according to the prophets, was to be launched with the coming of an “Anointed Servant”, the Messiah.
In Matthew 11, Jesus was saying to John the Baptist that when God is at work, things happen that further that promises of God. Everything will be made right. That “everything” includes both spiritual and physical things. Spiritually, those who are blind and deaf to the reality of God will come to see him as he is and hear his Word speaking to them. Spiritually, those who are unclean in their minds and souls will find their sin and guilt washed away. Those who are dead to God will be born again and come alive to God.
And, physically too: When God has finished his work, there will be no more people without sight or hearing. There will be no more debilitating diseases. No addictions. There will be no more dying. Jesus said, “When you see things like this beginning to happen, you can be sure God is at work.”
How God’s Renewing Work Was Launched – a Synagogue Service in Nazareth (Luke 4:16-20)
With that promise of God making everything right in mind, we turn to a very dramatic day at a worship service in Jesus’ hometown. Jesus had already been doing some Spirit-filled ministry in and around Galilee (see 4:14-15). But, in v.16, Jesus went to the town of Nazareth “where he had been brought up.” Here, then, was the local boy “made good” who was going back home. The people had surely heard the reports about their native son. They quite likely were proud of him.
In the synagogues of Jesus’ day, the preacher stood up to read Scripture and then delivered a sermon based on it. Jesus was asked to read that day. Jesus read from the great prophet Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
Because he has anointed me…
-- This was a passage about the promised Messiah. The people there that day knew this. The words “anointed me” pointed to the Messiah, God’s “anointed one”. Jesus went on:
To proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
And recovery of sight for the blind,
To set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)
Of course, this text Jesus chose came from the prophecies I told you about speaking of God’s promise to make all things new. Don’t miss this point: Jesus was speaking that day to a group of people who studied the Bible. And they were convinced that this promise of good news was for them because they viewed themselves as being the oppressed. They viewed themselves as the ones who were going to be set free by the Messiah. And truly, there were many among Jesus’ people who were physically poor. There were many sick and blind people. There were Jewish people imprisoned by the Roman government. Their entire nation felt it was under the political oppression of Rome. But, the faithful synagogue attenders thought, “When Messiah comes, he will change things! The prophets of Scripture say so. He will come to bless us!”
So, Jesus reads this Scripture. Then, he sat down for the sermon. What did Jesus say? Apparently, the synagogue sermons were usually quite long. But, Jesus’ sermon was only one sentence: “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing!”
In the most dramatic way possible, Jesus declared that he was the one sent in flesh to bring the good news of God into the world. Just like Isaiah had said and just like Jesus later said to John the Baptist -- when God’s good news breaks into people lives, those in bondage of any kind will be released, those who cannot see or hear will be healed, and those who are oppressed by injustice will be set free. As I said before, this good news of God will be both spiritual and physical because, as Isaiah had promised, “All things will be re-created and made new.”
“God’s Spirit has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor (Jesus in 4:18).”
Today, the one part of the message that I want to focus on is that when God is at work, good news is proclaimed to the poor. So, let me ask you again: Is Jesus speaking about spiritual poverty or physical poverty? Let’s let Jesus himself teach us what he means.
After Jesus’ sermon was done, the people in general were positive. In v.22, they were all speaking well of him. “This is Joe’s son! Amazing. We never expected it but maybe he really is the Messiah.”
But, Jesus clearly knew that they did not understand at all what he had come to do and what it meant to bring good news to the poor. So, in vv.25-27, Jesus said, "Let me give you two examples from Scripture of how this works." When God’s good news comes it comes to people like 1) a destitute Lebanese, Gentile widow in Zarephath (in 1 Kings 17) and 2) a materially rich, leprosy-filled, Syrian Gentile man like Naaman (in 2 Kings 5).
Jesus is saying, “Unless you understand that I came for the poor, you will not understand me – and these are to examples of what I mean by poor people!” Notice that these two were not both physically poor. One was materially very poor but the other was very rich. So, it’s clear you don’t have to be poor to receive God’s salvation. And at the same time, simply being poor doesn’t mean you will accept God’s good news either. What these two people share is that both of them are absolutely hopeless and helpless without God stepping in and entering into their lives.
The widow was a Gentile – an outcast. She would have been an idol worshipper. So, in the minds of the people in the synagogue that day, she didn’t believe the right things and she didn’t live the right way.
And Naaman was the same. He had money but, in his past, he had been a murderer. He had oppressed people in his lifetime. He too would have been a man who worshipped idols.
But, Jesus declared that it’s when people who are poor like these meet God and they begin to be changed, rescued and made new, you can know that God has come and that God is at work. What does this say to us? I’ll summarize it with three statements:
- God’s gospel is received only by those who acknowledge we are spiritually poor.
- God’s gospel is received especially by those who are materially poor.
- God’s gospel comes through once poor people willing to enter into the lives of other poor people.
#1: God’s gospel is received only by those who acknowledge we are spiritually poor.
By Jesus first quoting, “The Spirit of God is upon me to proclaim good news to the poor” and then telling these two stories, he was saying, “The only people who receive my good news will be those who know they are spiritually poor and without hope apart from the forgiveness, grace and mercy I have come to bring.” Note that Jesus emphasized the point that although there were many in need in Israel when the woman of Zarephath was blessed, only she received God’s rescue. And, there were many sick people in Israel, but only Naaman received cleansing. I believe he was making the point that, although all of us are spiritually poor and in desperate need of God, only those who fall in complete faith on God actually find God.
All this reminds me of a sermon I heard in Cambridge, England in which the pastor spoke of “the peril and pretense of being spiritually middle class.” He said that he feared for those who go to church like these people in Nazareth went to synagogue and think that others need God’s grace more than we do. It’s easy for a churchgoer to think: “Well, of course, I’m not perfect. I need forgiveness for some things. But I’m not like many terrible people in our world. I’m not like those who were looting the CVS store in West Baltimore. I’m not like those accused of savagely killing Freddie Gray. I’m not like the gang leaders there and in our city. I go to church. I read my Bible.” Jesus makes it clear that the one who truly falls upon him in faith never thinks like that. We only say, “Lord, without you I have no hope. I place my trust in you.”
How can you know you are “spiritually middle class”? 1) You can know it when you think you deserve to have God give you a good life – or to answer your prayers. And, if he doesn’t, you give up on him. You get angry with him just as these people in the synagogue did with Jesus.
2) You can know when you don’t want to be around those who are the physically poor, the imprisoned, and the foreigners – like the widow and Naaman. These synagogue attenders became angry even at their names. They hated the thought that the Messiah would include people like those people among his people.
Listen carefully: There is no spiritual middle class! We are all helpless before God. We sing as a personal calling: “Come, ye sinners, poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore; Jesus, ready stands to save you, full of pity, love and power.” We sing as a personal testimony: Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling; naked, come to Thee for dress; helpless, look to Thee for grace. Foul, I to the fountain fly; wash me, Savior, or I die.
#2: God’s gospel is received especially by those who are materially poor.
Jesus is certainly speaking not only of being spiritually poor. He’s giving the hope of good news to those who are materially poor and physically oppressed and needy too. Read the life of Jesus and you’ll see how he fed the hungry, healed the sick, and welcomed the outcast. In fact, when I read the whole of the Bible, I cannot ignore the fact that when the person who has success and lots of resources is in the same Bible story as a person with no prestige and no resources, it is almost always the one who is poor who seems to understand God and receive his blessing. For example, in Luke 5, the leper Jesus meets in Capernaum is blessed and not the authorities who tried to keep him out. In Luke 7, Jesus received and blessed the prostitute and not the powerful Simon who owned the house. Jesus blessed the disregarded children in Mark 10 instead of the men who said Jesus would have no time for them. It happens over and over again.
I must also tell you today that I so glad there is some hope for those who have experienced the privileges of a good education, or financial success or jobs with influence. Jairus the synagogue leaders received good news from Jesus – but only after he fell in faith upon him because he daughter was dying. Nicodemus, the influential religious leader was blessed – but only after he could own up to the fact that he was dead to God and had to be born again. Paul the Apostle received God’s salvation – but only after he was blinded physically so that he could see that he was, using his own words, “the chief of sinners.” Nothing is impossible with God!” Jesus said. The rich can sometimes also fall in faith and dependence upon Jesus.
Still, it’s always been that when God is at work, there is good news proclaimed that seems to be received especially by the poor. When Jesus was here, those who were materially poor or in need also received good news. Jesus cared both about their spiritual and material needs. And he still does.
Now I have a very practical question: How does God bring good news to the poor now that Jesus is not physically present in the world? I believe he does it by planting churches in real communities. Those of us who follow Jesus are to bring good news to those in need. When Jesus is our Lord, we care for the poor.
#3: God’s gospel comes through once poor people willing to enter into the lives of other poor people.
Every Christmas season, we stop to remember that Jesus was the channel of God’s good news for the poor because he was willing to become Joseph’s son. Joseph and Mary were poor. Many things point to that. The clearest is that when Mary and Joseph went to the Temple to dedicate their infant Jesus, the offering they brought according to Luke 2:24 was a pair of pigeons. That was the rock-bottom smallest offering that could be brought. Only those on the bottom of the rung economically brought pigeons.
Heaven’s son became Joseph’s son. “Though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9).”
In our passage, when the Spirit of God was on Jesus, the Spirit sent him out to bring good news to the poor. Then in Acts 2, when the Spirit of God came upon people at Pentecost, he sent Spirit-filled people out to meet the needs of people. (See Acts 4:31-32.)
It is always this way: When we own up to the fact that we are spiritually poor and then we find the grace of God through faith in Jesus, the Spirit comes on us – and he sends us out to care for the needs of people as Jesus did. John the Baptist asked, “How do I know that Jesus is from God?” Jesus said, “Good news is coming to the poor.” One of the surest signs that God is at work in your life and in our church is that we will become radically caring about the needs of people and radically generous in seeking to meet them. This generosity is both toward the spiritually and physically poor. You will be so grateful for God’s grace to you that you will want to use whatever he gives you to meet both the spiritual and physical needs of people. Christians, if we have some success and resources, we know it’s all God’s grace. So, we can never feel superior to the homeless person or simply look down on those in need. We are beggars who have found bread telling other beggars where it’s to be found, i.e., in Jesus.
This is one of the reasons God established a tithe in the Bible, a foundational standard of giving 10% of what God has entrusted to us, to meet 1) the spiritual needs of people through giving to church and 2) the physical needs of those through giving to ministries of compassion and justice. All we have is by God’s grace. But, the tithe is just a good starting point for us. If money that doesn’t last can be used to bring God’s blessing to people, then a true follower of Jesus knows it’s a fantastic ROI (return on investment) to give what doesn’t last to bring about what lasts forever.
One of the beautiful things about the gospel is that it just turns money back into money. It so easily becomes a god – and it’s a terrible god that doesn’t satisfy as a god and doesn’t last forever. But, what a blessing it can be when we use what we have as Jesus did – to bring good news to the poor – both to the spiritual poor through evangelism and discipleship ministries and t church and the materially poor though practical works of compassion.
John the Baptist asked, “How do I know that God is at work through you Jesus? Jesus said, “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and good news is proclaimed to the poor.”
“Are you speaking about spiritual or physical things, Jesus?” Jesus: “Yes.”
And, God has placed us here in this part of the world he loves – a world filled with spiritual and physical needs – and tells us, “My Spirit has come to you and anointed you for a reason. You will know that I am at work in you and through you when you bring good news to the poor.”
To His glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2015, Lake Avenue Church