Gospel News — Jun-Aug 2012

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parallels "the poor" with "the brokenhearted... the captives... the bruised". The whole mission of Jesus was to bring good news to the poor (Is. 61:1,2 cp. Lk. 4:18–21; Mt. 11:5). This doesn't mean that the materially rich are outside the scope of the Gospel. It means that we are all "the poor". You don't need money in your pocket to be generous to "the poor". Paul could say that although he was poor, he made many rich (2 Cor. 6:10). In saying this he clearly perceived his connection with his Lord, who although rich became poor for our sakes (2 Cor. 8:9). Seeing Jesus was never materially rich, we are to understand this as meaning that despite His spiritual riches, the Lord of glory identified with us in our spiritual poverty to the extent that He became as it were "poor", on the cross. He felt as a sinner, although He was not; He felt "forsaken" by God (Mt. 27:46), alluding to the many OT passages which speak of how God will forsake the sinner but never forsake the righteous. "Riches" are the spiritual blessings in Christ (Rom. 2:4; 9:23; 2 Cor. 8:9; Eph. 1:7,18; 2:4,7)- those without them are therefore the "poor" (Rev. 3:17,18). David during the time of his kingship could describe himself as "poor and needy [because] my heart is wounded within me" (Ps. 40:17; 70:5; 109:22).

The Greek word translated "poor" means literally "the crouchers"- those in desperate need. The common word for "the poor" is that also translated "beggar" (Lk. 16:22). People are in urgent need spiritually- crouched on their haunches, begging for it. Hence Prov. 19:17; 28:8 Heb. speaks of those who "bow down" to the poor [AV "pity the poor"]. We are to come down to their level in seeking to empathize with their position. Note how the opposite of having pity upon the poor is to despise them: "He that despises his neighbour sins; but happy is he that has pity upon the poor" (Prov.

14:21). If you don't crouch down to their level and identify with them, then you are despising them. And such spiritual elitism and snobbery is reprehensible to the Father and Son who have `come down' to us in our utter desperation. He humbles Himself to behold the things of Heaven and earth, and then goes further and lifts up the poor on this tiny planet (Ps. 113:6,7). The Psalms are full, as our own prayer life should be, of requests for God to "have pity" upon us; we are to respond to those who likewise beg us to "have pity", not ignoring them nor pretending we didn't notice. For God didn't act like that to us. Only insofar as we perceive our own desperation, and God's very real response to it, will we find strength to respond to "the poor".

Truly, the poor are always with us in this sense. People are living lives of quiet desperation, and are crouching down begging for our help. The Hebrew word translated "poor" means simply to be in need- there isn't the idea that they are financially poor. The unfulfilled, childless woman is in need, the lonely businessman, the blind woman... And we are the ones who can come alongside and help. Their need is itself their call for help.

Practical Response to the Poor

One reason why we don't respond to the poor is because we realize that poverty is, in some cases, because people have themselves made bad decisions, and they may misuse our assistance. It's true that often, although not always, poverty is partly due to poor decisions and mismanagement, and any aid given is often poorly used. And it's true that the materially poor are partly poor [in many cases] exactly because of that. And yet the Bible teaches generosity to "the poor". There is no attempt in Bible teaching about "the poor" to subdivide them into the genuinely poor, and those who