What does it mean to proclaim good news to the poor (Isaiah 61:1)?

“He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor”

Preaching glad tidings to the poor was part of the mission for which the Lord was anointed, and how perfectly was this carried out. It was not yet His time to “reprove with equity for the meek of the earth,” or to judge the poor with righteousness, as He will in the coming day; but He preached to them God’s disposition of grace, and a great salvation, not from the Roman yoke, but from the power of sin and Satan. His words to Simon the Pharisee about the creditor and the two debtors, manifest the character of His message, as do also His words to the poor woman who came uninvited to Simon’s house, “Thy sins are forgiven,” and “Thy faith has saved thee; go in peace.”

God’s care for the poor, or for the meek, is told out in the mission of Christ. If the poor have been denied the best that this world affords, His Son was preaching to them things that were infinitely better, and they were available for all who had faith in God and in His Son. The rich man may be suddenly deprived of all his goods, like the man in Luke 12; or after having enjoyed them, be cast into hell, like the rich man in Luke 16; but the poor, who accept the glad tidings preached by Jesus, although as poor as Lazarus, and as miserable in relation to his circumstances, can look forward to a heavenly home, where all is bliss.

God has approached us in Christ. How near He has come! I could not speak to an angel, but I could to a man; and it is in a Man that God has drawn near to me. They wondered at the words of grace that proceeded out of His mouth. He says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19). This is very different from the old covenant. This is glad tidings to the poor. It is the Creditor coming out to the debtor in a very different disposition than at Sinai. It is the grace of God preached by Him who was full of grace and truth. Christ has come to tell man that God was favourable to Him, to tell him of forgiveness, to tell him that if he has no righteousness for God, God has righteousness for him; to tell him that God has got bread for the hungry, and clothing for the naked. Who could not listen to this?

In the presence of that display of Divine majesty and terror that accompanied the demand of God, Moses exceedingly feared and quaked; but to hear the words that fell from the lips of Jesus, even the publicans and sinners could draw near without the least evidence of perturbation. The Word spoken by angels was condemnation, that spoken by Jesus was salvation. He says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19). The Creditor was there with forgiveness for the debtor, not to enforce the payment of the debt. Instead of demanding love from the people, God was there seeking to occupy their hearts with His love to them. Jehovah was there as Saviour instead of Lawgiver. Hence He was attractive to every heart that felt its need of the grace of God.

But when we come to the new covenant, we are face to face with a very different order of things. The word spoken by the Lord was very different from that spoken by angels. In the synagogue at Nazareth He opens the book of the prophet Esaias, and finding the passage in which was recorded beforehand the grace in which He came, He reads: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19.) How different all this was to that uttered from the midst of blackness and darkness at Sinai! This was glad tidings to the poor. It was not the Creditor demanding payment from the debtor, but forgiveness was breathed in every utterance of His lips. He had come to tell men of the grace and compassions and love of God. His presence there in their midst was the witness of all this to them. God had drawn near to them as a Saviour. There was bread for the hungry, clothing for the naked, deliverance for the captive and light for those who had long sat in darkness. It was the acceptable year of the Lord, and it was being preached as glad tidings. And the people wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of His mouth. It was all so different to what their ears had been accustomed to hear.

(1) This part begins with a foreshadow at Nazareth of what is soon to be fulfilled in Israel's history. The Lord is seen in the place where He was brought, up and according to His custom He enters the synagogue on the sabbath day. There He stands up to read, and the book of Isaiah being given Him, He opens at the sixty-first chapter, and applies the words of the Man anointed with the Spirit of Jehovah to Himself. It is clear how accordant with the character of Luke the quotation is. It is the "Mediator between God and man; the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5), whose voice is heard here; and it is as come up out of Jordan; where He has pledged Himself to a baptism to death far different, that the Spirit has come upon Him for His work. He declares here in the first words of His ministry, as Luke gives it to us, the purport of that anointing. The preaching of glad tidings to the poor comes first, and gives character to all the rest. When man is in the place of need he can receive the gospel. When he is consciously a sinner, captive to the sin which he cannot, when he will, renounce, the gospel brings him release. The blind receive their sight. Those bruised in fetters liberty. It is in fact "the acceptable year of the Lord"; the jubilee of God; fuller and more blessed than the law ever proclaimed in Israel.

The poor also are invited to “come,” for the invitation is, “he that has no money: come ye, buy, and eat; yea come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” Like the prodigal of Luke 15, the remnant of Judah in Isaiah’s day were in a impoverished condition, and God offers His blessings to them “without money and without price.” This is not only true of that remnant, it is true of all men, for none have the means to buy the wonderful blessings of God. When the Son of God was on earth the poor had a special place in His ministry, for He came “to preach the Gospel to the poor” (Luke 4:18). It is not until a man realises that he is poor that he is in a fit state to receive what God offers in His wondrous grace.

We learn, first, that the classes represented by these four words (the poor, maimed, lame and blind) are the special objects of God’s heart in the seeking activities of His grace in the gospel. Who, then, are these? By the poor is meant not exactly those who are so denominated in this world but rather the poor in spirit (Matt. 5:3), those who are conscious of poverty before God — whatever their position or earthly circumstances. The largest numbers of these, it is quite true, will be found amongst the class known by us as the poor (see Luke 4:18; 1 Cor. 1:26–29); but thanks be to God, whose grace is sovereign in its operation, there are such in every rank and station of life. The true meaning of the term is found in the contrast made by our Lord Himself: ‘Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. … But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation’ (Luke 6:20–24). It is seen again in Abraham’s address to the rich man in torment. He says, ‘Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things’ (Luke 16:25). These are the poor who have nothing for their possession, satisfaction or enjoyment in the things of the world — those who have been made to feel that they have nothing for, and can bring nothing to, God. It should not, at the same time, be forgotten, that the really poor have ever been, are and will be the special objects of God’s care and love (see e.g. Lev. 19:9, 10; 23:22; Ps. 72:12–14; Jas. 2:5).

We learn, first, that the classes represented by these four words (the poor, maimed, lame, and blind) are the special objects of God's heart in the seeking activities of His grace in the gospel. Who, then, are these? By the poor is meant, not exactly those who are so denominated in this world, but rather the poor in spirit (Matt. 5:3), those who are conscious of poverty before God — whatever their position or earthly circumstances. The largest numbers of these, it is quite true, will be found amongst the class known by us as the poor (see Luke 4:18; 1 Cor. 1:26-29); but thanks be to God, whose grace is sovereign in its operation, there are such in every rank and station of life. The true meaning of the term is found in the contrast made by our Lord Himself: "Blessed be ye poor; for yours is the kingdom of God. … But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation." (Luke 6:20-24.) It is seen again in Abraham's address to the rich man in torment. He says, "Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things." (Luke 16:25.) These are the poor who have nothing for their possession, satisfaction, or enjoyment in the things of the world — those who have been made to feel that they have nothing for, and can bring nothing to, God. It should not, at the same time, be forgotten, that the really poor have ever been, are, and will be, the special objects of God's care and love. (See, for example, Lev. 19:9-10, Lev. 23:22; Psalm 72:12-14; James 2:5, etc.)

Whether the Lord came to Nazareth again before or after this Jerusalem visit we cannot say, for Luke is not interested in fixing the time of events, but in their moral significance and order. In the Lord's home city He entered the synagogue and stood up to read the Word of God. It is not said that He asked for the book of Isaiah, but this was handed to Him, certainly by divine guidance. He opened the book to Chapter 61:1-2, a most lovely prophecy of the Messiah (vs.17-19). It was in Judea that the Spirit of God had publicly come upon Him, anointing Him for the marvelous service of grace: now when He returned it was the perfect time to read this Scripture. He was first to preach the gospel to the poor, and "the common people heard Him gladly." He manifestly came for the help of those in need, not to seek the patronage of the rich. The broken hearted, the captives, the blind, those who were bruised -- these were the subjects of His gracious ministry. The bruised speak of those suffering under oppression.

We are not to be allowed to forget, however, Who was the divinely appointed Introducer of the glad tidings of these good things. It was the Spirit of Christ in Isaiah which said, “The Spirit of the Lord, God is upon Me; because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek” (Isa. 61:1). About six centuries after these wonderful words were written, a young Man, a humble Preacher was heard in the regions of Galilee: and His fame spread abroad. O’er hills and dales, through cities and villages, the joyful sound from His lips was heard. “And He came to Nazareth where He had been brought up.” There He stood up for to read; and finding the place where it was written in Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor,” He said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:14-21). This was our Lord Jesus Christ. He was the divinely appointed and anointed Preacher. The immense and immediate importance of this introduction in despised Nazareth may not then have been seen. Nevertheless, though they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” yet all bare Him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. Before them stood the Preacher, proclaiming that which was prophesied long centuries before.

Nor are we to forget to whom He brings such glad tidings. Isaiah says, “to the meek”; to bind up “the broken-hearted,” to proclaim liberty “to the captives,” and the opening of the prison “to them that are bound.” Again, the Holy Spirit sets the truth in Luke; but, as we have noticed before, not in the literal words. There we read it is “to the poor,” for such “the meek” were in the condition of things which then obtained in sinful Israel. Jesus Himself was “meek,” and He was also “poor.” Giving of sight to “the blind” is added in Luke, for this Preacher is also the Servant upon whom the Spirit is put in Isaiah 42—the Covenant and the Light; given “to open the blind eyes, to bring forth the prisoners” (v. 7). What a confirmation this small addition is of Isaiah’s authorship of chapters 41 to 66, for it was from the book of Isaiah that the Anointed Preacher read that day; and He “unrolled the book” till He came to the second part. It is that part which has “the meek” specially in view; the first part showing the outward and political position more, the second the inward and moral.