Luke 4:14-30
Jesus Brings Good News to the Poor and Others
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read,17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
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.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”
24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
Jesus helped and often worked with the poor and the outcasts...There were basically five groups He was often teaching about and helping...The groups not only included the poor, the outcasts of society, the racial groups that the Jewish people were out of favor with, women, and the unclean...
Jesus blessed the poor in His Sermon on the Mount, an worked with them to forgive and to help them...He said blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven...Jesus said that the Spirit of the LORD was upon Him, because God had anointed Him to proclaim good news to the poor.”...He also said to His Disciples “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”...
Jesus helped the outcasts and oppressed of the Israeli society...He helped Zacchaeus the tax collector and asked him if He could eat with Him one night...When Jesus saw Zacchaeus one day, He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately...I must stay at your house today.”...So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly...All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”...But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the LORD, “Look, LORD!...Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”...Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham...For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”...
Jesus helped racial groups marginalized by society...He helped the Samaritan women at the well, Zacchaeus about the tax collector, and He helped a Roman Centurion...Rome occupied the country of Israel while Jesus lived...And some people did not like this occupation...Once a certain Roman centurion sent some Jewish elders to request that Jesus come to heal his dying servant...Jesus could have easily avoided him, but He did not...He does not show contempt of the Roman in any way...While Jesus is travelling and on His way to help the sick servant, the centurion dispatches friends to tell Jesus that he’s not worthy to have the Teacher in his home, but if Jesus would simply say the word, he knows his servant would be healed...Jesus understood the centurion's faith in Him...And Jesus went with them...When He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “LORD, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof...Therefore I did not presume to come to you.. But say the word, and let my servant be healed...For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”...When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd told them something very proactive, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”...And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well...
Jesus helped woman...It wasn’t normal for men to speak directly to women...But He spoke and helped the Samaritan woman at the well...Jesus’ once encountered a Canaanite woman...The Jewish people were not in the best relationships with the Canaanites...Jesus seems to put her off and is slow in helping her, but she is persistent...In a tough way the Canaanite woman whose desperate plea for her daughter’s healing touches the heart and Jesus listens to her...He seems to demean her by calling here a dog...So this Canaanite woman looking for Jesus' help comes to Him...She says, “LORD, Son of David, have mercy on me!...My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”...Jesus did not answer a word...So His disciples came to Him and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”...He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”...The woman came and knelt before Him....“LORD, help me!”...He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”...For the third time she calls Him LORD (and this is important) and says, “Yes it is, LORD,”...“Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”...Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have Great Faith!...Your request is granted.”...And her daughter was healed at that moment...
Jesus helped the unclean...Lepers were considered unclean, but He helped them...Many were disfigured and had this terrifying disease...One day Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds were following Him...A man with leprosy came and knelt before Him and said, “LORD, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”...Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man....“I AM willing,” he said...“Be clean!”...Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy...Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone...But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”...Jesus helped a woman who was bleeding for twelve years...She needed more than a physical healing, because of her uncleanliness she was spiritually unclean...The woman had fallen into a state poverty...She was alone...No doctor could help her...People regarded her as an outcast because her constant bleeding made her ritually unclean....So she was poor both spiritually and emotionally spent...
Jesus helped many others who were sick, He gave sight to the blind, or others who had some other need...He is there for us...The Spirit of the LORD is upon Him, because He is the anointed One from God...He proclaims the good news to the poor...God has sent Him to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour, and to help those in need...