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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 4:18-19)
Today I want to offer some help and hope, and the best way I can do this is by introducing you to the Person who can truly help you, and His name is Jesus Christ. He is amazing! The focal point of the devotion today is the person and work of Jesus Christ or the doctrine of Christology. Oftentimes we exacerbate our hurts and problems by focusing more on psychology, sociology, or anthropology, and while each discipline has an important role, they cannot meet our deepest needs.
As a pastor, nothing gives me more joy than teaching on the Person of Jesus, and our focal text today is one of my favorites. Dr. Luke became a dedicated and passionate follower of Jesus Christ, and he recorded for us in accurate detail who Jesus is and what He came to do.
If you have a heavy heart and need a touch from God, I highly recommend you read Isaiah 61:3, which speaks of how God gives us beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, and praise for heaviness. Wow, what an encouragement, and I pray that God does this for you today. May you be blessed and encouraged by our great God and changed so that you too "may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."
The word preach or proclaim is used three times in verses 18-19. There are two separate Greek words used, however: euaggelizo, to share the good news, and kerusso, a herald. Webster defines a herald as "one who makes proclamations, one who announces significant news."
This word euaggelizo is where we get our English word evangelize or evangelism, which simply means to share good news. Jesus shared good news, and I am sharing good news with you today, and it is the best possible news I can share. For those with hurts, 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 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.
The opposite of proud in spirit is poor in spirit. The word "poor" can refer to the physical or economic poor, those who are historically more receptive to the Gospel. They more readily see their need for the Savior. The word "poor" refers primarily in this text, I believe, 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 the rich and poor, but only those who humble themselves and recognize their poverty of spirit are the ones who receive the Gospel or 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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