1483. The Attitude of Christ Toward the Poor

The Attitude of Christ Toward the Poor

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor" (Luk_4:18).

Next to the ultra-rich, perhaps the ultra-poor are the most neglected.

When Solomon said, "Give me neither poverty nor riches," he must have seen that the middle classes really had the best of life.

The very poor are as a rule despised and forsaken. They are neither sought nor wanted. The churches themselves seem built and equipped in a way to exclude the impoverished. If a poor man comes to church, he seems to be shoved to one side, some one says to him, "Stand thou there, or sit under my footstool."

Let us see how our Lord treated the impoverished.

1. The case of Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus was very poor, for he was a beggar. He was not only poor, but he was blind. There was nothing in this man to commend him to Christ save the fact that he was needy.

When Bartimaeus cried out by the Jericho highway, the people shoved him aside; they commanded that he should hold bis peace. The poor man, however, was not to be thus quieted, he cried out the more, a great deal, "Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me." Then Jesus stood still, He commanded them to call the blind man, and he, casting away his garment, arose and came to Jesus. The Lord said unto him: "Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way."

He may not have been an honored follower of Christ, so far as the world counts, but he was welcomed by the Lord.

2. The case of Lazarus. We think that Lazarus was a real character, and that the scene described in Luk_16:19-31, is a real occurrence.

Lazarus in his poverty, covered with sores, sat, desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table.

There are many men of this class who have been touched and reached by the Gospel. Lazarus was despised of men, but he was welcomed of God.

When he died, he was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom.

The church needs to acquire the heart of the Master toward the ultra-poor.

One of the signs that Jesus gave to John, emphasizing that He was the Christ, was embodied in the words; "The poor have the Gospel preached to them."

Our key verse, which was taken from the prophecy of Isaiah, and which was quoted by Christ in the Nazareth synagogue says: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor." Those words were literally fulfilled in Christ's ministry. May they be equally fulfilled in ours.

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR