"He opened the book and found the place where it was written, 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor...'"
- Luke 4:17-18
Jesus went to the synagogue in Nazareth, a place surrounded by His friends and acquaintances. This was His hometown, and it was a place He visited often.
But this was to be a special visit. This day, Jesus was handed the scroll of the book of Isaiah. After reading a passage from what we know as chapter 61, Jesus proclaimed, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
At this critical moment, near the beginning days of His earthly ministry, Jesus said that the Spirit was upon Him because God had specific things He was sent to do. And the first objective was "to preach the Gospel to the poor."
"The poor" were the powerless, those with severe financial needs, those who suffered from poverty. But Jesus also was called to rescue people with spiritual poverty, whose needs were so great that they were like beggars.
Today, this objective still is important for all followers of Jesus. We, too, should have compassion on the poor-those who don't have enough food or who struggle to pay their bills. Yet God also wants us to realize that the world is full of people who are spiritually poor and need to know about Jesus. We share the same responsibility to "preach the Good News to the poor."
Right now, there are people all around you who are like spiritual beggars. Be obedient to God to share the truth of the Gospel with them. Give them the spiritual riches found in Christ. And pray for God to bless the efforts of Inspiration Ministries as we use media to bring the Gospel to the spiritually poor around the world.
But this was to be a special visit. This day, Jesus was handed the scroll of the book of Isaiah. After reading a passage from what we know as chapter 61, Jesus proclaimed, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
At this critical moment, near the beginning days of His earthly ministry, Jesus said that the Spirit was upon Him because God had specific things He was sent to do. And the first objective was "to preach the Gospel to the poor."
"The poor" were the powerless, those with severe financial needs, those who suffered from poverty. But Jesus also was called to rescue people with spiritual poverty, whose needs were so great that they were like beggars.
Today, this objective still is important for all followers of Jesus. We, too, should have compassion on the poor-those who don't have enough food or who struggle to pay their bills. Yet God also wants us to realize that the world is full of people who are spiritually poor and need to know about Jesus. We share the same responsibility to "preach the Good News to the poor."
Right now, there are people all around you who are like spiritual beggars. Be obedient to God to share the truth of the Gospel with them. Give them the spiritual riches found in Christ. And pray for God to bless the efforts of Inspiration Ministries as we use media to bring the Gospel to the spiritually poor around the world.
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