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"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor... to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."
(Luke 4:18)
Jesus came to preach the good news to the poor.
The word preach or proclaim is used three times in Luke 4:18-19. There are two separate Greek words used, however: euaggelizo, to share the good news, and kerusso, a herald, one who makes announcements. Webster defines a herald as "one who makes proclamations, one who announces significant news."
This word euaggelizo is where we get our English words "evangelize" and "evangelism", which simply mean to share good news. This is the word Paul used in 1 Corinthians 1:17, "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect." Jesus and Paul shared good news, and I am sharing the same good news with you today! It is the best possible news I can share. For those with hurts, habits, and hang-ups, there is hope in the Savior who cares. He cared so much that He came from heaven and lived a perfect life, took upon Himself your sins and mine, died on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins, and He arose from the dead on the third day. He is alive, and by His Spirit, He comes into our darkness, illuminates us, and gives us new life.
This is no fairy tale but the Gospel in a nutshell! Jesus preaches the Gospel. He is the Gospel! He personifies the message He preaches. The good news is that we can be forgiven of our sins through Christ and live eternally in heaven with Him.
If this is true, then what keeps us from receiving this wonderful news where we are divinely and eternally forgiven and we have joy and peace with God and our fellow man? The answer is pride. Most reject God because they refuse to humble themselves, believe in Jesus, and turn from their sin. It is the same in every epoch and age: we think if we just try hard enough or meet the right person, get the right job, have the perfect kids or grandkids, etc... but the problem remains we are sinners who need the Savior.
The opposite of proud in spirit is poor in spirit. The word "poor" does refer to the physically or economically poor, and they are historically more receptive to the Gospel. They more readily see their need for the Savior. The word "poor" also refers to the poor in spirit, those who see their destitute position spiritually and admit they need a Savior. This is the same Greek word used in Matthew 5:3, where Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God." The word is ptōchos, which means beggarly and destitute of wealth. The Gospel is for both the rich and the poor, but only those who humble themselves and recognize their poverty of spirit are the ones who receive the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ.
Whether you are "down and out" or "up and out", you are still out. But there is hope! You can be blessed; you can be forgiven; you can have abundant life today and eternal life forever when you believe in and receive God's Remedy for your salvation: Jesus Christ!
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