“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 preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18, 19). These verses give us a summation of who the gospel is for: the poor, the brokenhearted, the captives, the blind, the bruised (oppressed). Jesus is not referring to those who lack financial resources when He speaks of the poor. The word means “meek, humble, lowly” and refers to the “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3)—the blessed ones to whom the kingdom of God belongs. The poor are those who know that they are destitute of righteousness. The brokenhearted refers not to unhappy people who have been jilted by a sweetheart, but to those who, like Peter and Isaiah, are contrite and sorrowing for their sin. Matthew Henry wrote of Jesus, “For He was sent to heal the brokenhearted, to give peace to those that were troubled and humbled for sins, and to bring them to rest who were weary and heavy-laden, under the burden of guilt and corruption.” The captives are those “taken captive by [the devil] at his will” (2 Timothy 2:26). The blind are those whom “the god of this world has blinded...[to] the light of the glorious gospel of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:4). The oppressed are those who are “oppressed of the devil” (Acts 10:38). The gospel of grace is for the humble, not the proud. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). The Scriptures tell us, “Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 16:5). He sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety (Job 5:11). God looks on the man who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at His Word (Isaiah 66:2). Only the sick need a physician, and only those who are convinced of the disease of sin will appreciate and appropriate the cure of the gospel.
Posted on: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 19:00:31 +0000
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