Luke 4: Good News to the Poor

Luke 4 reveals the mission of Jesus on earth. He communicated that he was a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy he had just read in the synagogue at Nazareth. The prophecy read:

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

We often find ourselves trying to figure out why Jesus came, complete with theories more complex than the timeline of LOST. But Jesus made his mission clear.

Good news for the poor. Freedom for prisoners. Sight for the blind. Freedom for the oppressed. Communicating the year of the Lord’s favor.

If we are to be like Christ, our lives would naturally be focused upon his priorities. Fighting poverty, healthcare, restorative justice, ending slavery, and communicating the good news that Jesus is Lord.

We don’t have to pick and choose which one of these areas to care about. Jesus cared about them all and gave his life to help change the lives of many. May we be passionate about the things that moved the heart of Christ. Then we will truly be good news to the poor.

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Dillon Burroughs has written, co-written, or edited over 60 books, including the upcoming devotional work Thirst No More (October 2011). He served as an associate editor for The Apologetics Study Bible for Students and is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary. Find out more at DillonBurroughs.org.