Good News for the Poor: What the Bible Teaches

Selected Passages

March 5, 2006

Dr. Rich Peterson

Emily Griffith and her sister Florence were found early on the morning of June 19, 1947, by their sister Ethelyn and her husband Evans Gurtner. Each had been shot in the back of the head.

No one ever figured out who shot the sisters. But everyone knew Emily Griffith, the teacher internationally famed for establishing Denver’s Opportunity School. Back when many Coloradans were joining the Ku Klux Klan to persecute poor immigrants and others at the bottom of society, Emily had a better idea. Why not teach them English and job skills and welcome them to be useful citizens?

Emily dreamed of making Denver the first city in the world with free universal adult education. She pestered politicians and bureaucrats, businessman and school officials with her plea:

“I wonder if you will let me tell you of a hope I have for the boys and girls, their parents, too, whose education has been limited? I want to establish a school open from morning til midnight…where anyone who has an hour or two to spare may come to study whatever he or she wants to learn to make their lives more useful…I already have a name for that school. It is ‘Opportunity.’”[i]

There was obviously something different about Emily compared to others who may have wanted to reach out to the poor and oppressed of her day. Something in her passion and resolve that brought about a reality that none before her had been able to accomplish.

Emily’s dream came true in 1916, when Denver Public Schools converted Longfellow School to Opportunity School. This adult education center at 14^th and Welton streets has evolved into the full-block complex of the Emily Griffith Opportunity School.[ii]

When this ordinary teacher began to share her dream for assisting the disenfranchised, many doubted if such a thing could ever come into focus, but it did and that was good news for the poor.

In Jesus’ first sermon he was given the text from Isaiah 61 from which to preach. “And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

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

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, and he began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing’” (Luke 4:16b-21).

The words from Isaiah were certainly well known by those in Jesus’ audience that day, but there must have been something in the way Jesus said them that transfixed the people’s attention on him. There must have been something about the person of Jesus himself that “amazed” the people present with “the gracious words that came from his lips.”

The words had been spoken before; the difference this time was the person speaking them. The words were in and of themselves old news, the difference was with Jesus stating them as present realities, they became good news.

Good News for the Poor: What the Bible teaches is our topic this morning and next week as well. Since it is impossible to do (in the time allotted) a detailed examination of all the biblical references pertaining to the Scripture’s teachings regarding the poor, the attempt this morning will be to paint a sweeping (and admittedly broad) portrait of those teachings by surveying a number of Old and New Testament passages and pointing out a few themes pertaining to God’s love for the poor.

Next week the intent of the message will be to more specifically focus on some of the available positive responses that we as the “more-fortunate” may graciously extend to those “less-fortunate.”

Together, these messages are in no way intended to be “manipulations of the guilt-ridden” to do more in the effort of caring for the poor and oppressed, they are offered to you as invitations to engage yourself in and be blessed by those things that move the heart of God. As His children we are not only compelled by God’s love to assist our Saving Lord in his message of good news to the poor, we are encouraged and empowered by His Spirit as we do so.

We begin with the basic questions: Who are the poor? What constitutes poverty?

Poverty is notoriously difficult to define, which should not be a surprise since it is a purely relative term, existing in a real way on a variety of levels.

In a political sense, poverty is the lack of power or ability to influence the political processes. At another level, one can be psychologically or spiritually poor in the sense of lacking emotional or spiritual resources for coping with problems of everyday living. Most often, poverty is viewed in its economic sense; the lack of money or material possessions. Socio-economic situations vary from place to place and from time to time.[iii]

Or as John Stott has pointed out, “There is no absolute poverty. My little kitchen not only has running water but constant hot water. That would be regarded as the height of luxury in some parts of the world, yet we don’t regard it as that, and comparatively speaking, in this country it isn’t.

In the Old Testament, there is often a fundamental association between material and spiritual poverty. Often, you are not sure what is meant by “the poor.” But they tend to be those who are materially poor and who on account of that poverty need to put their trust in God with a greater strength than if they were rich and self-dependent.”[iv]

In the New Testament, especially in the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said both “Blessed are you poor” (Luke) and “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” (Matthew). Both versions of the sermon begin with the beatitudes, and the beatitudes begin with Jesus declaring the ‘poor’ to be blessed. The Greek word (ptochos) used in both sermons is the term that referred to someone not just below the poverty line but utterly destitute. One theologian described them by saying “They are the desperately poor, wretched creatures who are fighting for their survival.”[v] In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) ptochos often translates the Hebrew ‘nawim; those both materially and spiritually poor.[vi]

So then as John Stott summarizes, “The kingdom of God is a blessing to the materially poor because it affirms their dignity and relieves their poverty; it is also a blessing, a free gift, to the spiritually poor. So, there is a sense in which poverty is an aid to faith and riches are a barrier to faith.”[vii]

This may be why the author of Proverbs 30, prayed, “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread” (Proverbs 30:8). “But,” as Craig Blomberg argues, “since most of us already have riches, we need to be praying more often, ‘and help me to be generous and wise in giving more of those riches away.”[viii]

For our purposes then, a working definition of “the poor” may include those persons whose basic needs (e.g. food, shelter, livelihood, health and education) are unmet. As a result of these unmet needs these same persons experience severe limitations regarding life choices and a real lack of power and control.

From this definition regarding the poor, I am intentionally implying that there is more to being ‘poor’ than simply lacking certain material resources. Does the Bible support this conclusion?

I believe it does as the Bible is filled with material pertaining to the importance of social justice which is, of course, the larger issue.

Professor Danny Carroll offers a marvelously brief biblical survey of social justice when he writes:

The first sin after the Fall is fratricide, Cain murders Abel, whose blood cries out to heaven. God condemns the killing (Gen 4:8-12), but violence spreads unchecked (6:11). In the midst of this rebellious world, epitomized by the arrogant construction of the Tower of Babel (11:1-9), Yahweh calls an individual, Abram. Through this man and his descendants, Yahweh would bless the families of the earth (12:1-3). A study of the rest of the book of Genesis reveals that this blessing is both spiritual and physical, ranging from the building of altars and the proclamation of the name of God to Joseph’s helping Egypt avoid starvation. The justice of the patriarchs was to be a light to all nations (18:18).

Centuries later, Yahweh responded to the suffering of his people and freed them from oppression (Exod. 2:23-25). In the Law given at Sinai and repeated before the crossing of the Jordan River into Canaan (Exod. 20-40, Deut.), God revealed the foundations of a new kind of society, different from the cruel sociopolitical arrangements of the rest of the ancient world. Debts were to be periodically forgiven (Lev. 25, Deut 15) and a series of mechanisms were stipulated at family and community levels to aid the poor, widows, orphans and the destitute foreigner. Kings were to operate with a set of values that contradicted the ideologies of power and wealth accumulation so common then…and now (Deut. 17:14-20; Ps. 72)

The importance of justice to Yahweh is especially evident in passages that deal with worship. Worship without justice is unacceptable, because it does not concern itself with what is vital to the heart of God (Ps. 15, Isa. 1:10-20; Am. 5:21-24; Mic. 6:1-8). The Messiah, whom the prophets predicted was to come in the “fullness of time,” would reign in the Spirit and establish justice on the earth (Isa. 11:1-9; 42: 1-4). One day wars would cease, and humanity would finally enjoy peace and abundance (Mic. 5:1-4).

In the synagogue at Nazareth at the start of his ministry, Jesus quoted a messianic passage full of social concerns (Lk. 4:16-30; cf. Isa. 61:1-2). His ministry was marked by compassion for women, the hungry and the sick. This was proof that he truly was the long-awaited Messiah and that the kingdom of God had come (e.g. Lk. 7:20-23, cf. Isa. 35:5). He called his disciples to follow his example (John 20:21). The early church took that mandate seriously. They shared with those in need and organized themselves to take care of widows (Acts 2,4,6). James speaks sharply against those who show prejudice according to social class and do not pay workers a just wage (Js. 1, 5).

In sum, from Genesis to Revelation, the Bible emphasizes that God is committed to social justice and that he expects his people to be, too. [ix]

What then are some of the biblical themes related to these issues?[x]

1. God’s people are to seek justice for the marginalized.

A recurring theme throughout the Prophets calls on God’s people to treat with justice the poor, oppressed, fatherless, widow and alien in the land (Isa. 1:17; Jer. 22:13-17).

Isaiah thunders, “learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”

Jeremiah warns, “Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his countrymen work for nothing, not paying them for their labor…did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me? Declares the Lord. But your eyes and your heart are set on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion.”

2. God’s people are not to boast in riches but be generous in giving them away.

This is what the Lord says: Let not the wise man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the Lord (Jer. 9:23-24).

Here the prophet calls for the wise not to boast in their wisdom, or the strong in their strength, or the rich in their riches, but to boast that they understand the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness, and reminds them that ‘in these I delight.’

3. God’s people are to ‘seek the welfare of the city.’

Jeremiah 29:7 commands the Israelites to seek the good of the Babylonian oppressors among whom they will be exiled: ‘Also seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.’

Professor Blomberg points out that unique among all the prophetic literature this verse is nonetheless recognized by most biblical scholars as crucial to God’s social ethic. Jeremiah commands the people ‘to abandon hope in a “holy revolt” against Babylon, which had been inspired by the false prophets’ promises that God would bring the exiles back in a short time and to place their hope instead in the Lord and a new way of life. Jeremiah is not just being realistic but is giving a small, vulnerable community a large missional responsibility. One recalls New Testament texts such as Romans 12:20-21. “If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink,’ and ‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.’[xi]

4. God’s people are to avoid the intolerable extremes of both wealth and poverty.

The Bible affirms that there have always been and there will always be those who have been abundantly blessed with material resources. The Bible also acknowledges that material possessions are a good gift from God meant for his people to enjoy. But, the Bible is also clear that material blessings are simultaneously one of the primary means of turning human hearts away from God. An extremely important indication therefore of being redeemed is the transformation of our lives in the area of stewardship.[xii]

Our entire life is to be dedicated to God, but a tell-tell sign of our commitment has to do with our ability to generously share with those in need.

From the Old Testament patriarchs and kings who shared generously with the poor and needy and otherwise destitute; to the prophets who repeatedly remind us of God’s concern for the widow, fatherless, alien and poor, always urging God’s people to be looking for ways to meet the genuine needs of the marginalized and to address the causes of their misery; to the New Testament evangelists and authors of the epistles, who instruct generous almsgiving ‘without expecting to get anything back’ (Luke 6:35), remind us that someone who is aware of his Christian brothers’ or sisters’ material needs, is in a position to help, and fails utterly to do anything, cannot be truly saved (Jas. 2:14-17; I John 3;17-18).

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

The message is clear: the people of God are responsible (or better for most of us, “response-able”) to care for the plight of the poor.

5. God’s people are to proclaim good news to the poor.

What is this ‘good news’? It is simply and only that while God rules universally, he reigns through his Son, Jesus Christ and by the operation of the Holy Spirit in those who have accepted his mercy and authority. To experience this reign, in the language of John’s Gospel, is to experience ‘life.’ To know Jesus is to know ‘life’ because he is ‘life.’ Jesus did not say ‘this is the way’ to life, but instead ‘I am the Way’ to life. Good news to the poor cannot be reduced (as some Liberation theologians have done) to merely caring for the material and social needs of the worlds disenfranchised. The kingdom of God can never be reduced to a way of living that does not need to have anything to do with the person of Jesus Christ as Saving Lord. The kingdom of God is and will only be where Jesus is worshipped, honored and obeyed.

What does this mean for Christian ministry among the poor? It means that all such work and ministry (and even the motivation for such work) must be focused on the person of Jesus Christ. After all, it is he who is able to transform our life so that we move from being self-centered to being God-centered; it is he who is able to forgive our failings and who makes possible a life of joyful obedience to him, and of service to our fellow human beings.[xiii]

Dewi Hughes says it well:

Christians working with the poor need to keep their vision strongly on the ultimate goal for humanity which is the kingdom of God. It is good if individuals and communities are transformed from powerless victims of circumstances to purposeful controllers of their own lives. However, this development must point people to a far deeper need for salvation from the tyranny of Satan and self. While it is good that people are enabled, perhaps for the first time, to enjoy God’s creative provision for them, it is ultimately inadequate if they do not experience the riches that are in Christ Jesus for those who accept his forgiveness and lordship. Christians must always keep a biblical perspective of God’s ultimate vision for human beings, which is, that through redemption they come to know him in Jesus Christ. [xiv]

This is ‘good news for the poor.’ Anything less short-changes them.