Understanding God's Heart For The PoorSample

Jesus Shows His Heart for the Poor and Broken

When a political party begins its campaign, they launch a manifesto setting out their priorities. It helps people know what is important to the party. At the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, he used the words from Isaiah 61 to describe what priorities would shape his ministry: 

“The Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.” 

In reading the Gospels, it’s obvious that Jesus spent the majority of his time releasing people from captivity. He healed the sick, the crippled, the deaf, and blind. He delivered people tormented by demons. He touched the untouchables, the lepers, and made them whole. He spent time with those that others considered scum—the tax collectors and those with dubious lifestyles. 

Reflection

In every one of Jesus’ interactions we see kindness. That is, until he is arguing with the Pharisees and teachers of the law. Then we see another side of him. When we examine his life, one thing is certain: He had a beautiful bias toward the poor and the downtrodden.

Prayer

Father, we pray for the church across the world. We ask that you would revive in us a passion for the things on your heart and protect us from the distraction of mundane issues. Amen.