Day 237, Year 1

The Humble Man who has Nothing

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn.”(Isaiah 61:1-2 NKJV)

“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 brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” (Luke 4:18-19 NKJV)

The word “poor,” ‘anav in Hebrew in the first passage, translated as ptochos in Greek in the second, meaning “begging, asking alms, destitute of wealth, influence, position, honor, or lowly, afflicted, helpless, powerless, needy, lacking in anything.” In the New Testament, ptochos refers to poor people who lack in body and mind, even in sickness, or are oppressed by the devil. The first thing Jesus did when he was anointed by God’s Spirit was to preach the good news to the poor because they accepted His help.

There are several descriptions in the passages that can serve as footnotes to “the poor,” which are brokenhearted, captive, blind, imprisoned, or oppressed. The Hebrew of “brokenhearted” in the first passage, shabar, means “to be broken, be maimed, be crippled, be wrecked, or be crushed.” The word “bind” in the first passage, ‘asar, also means “to tie, harness, or to bind (with cords).” “Captives” are those who have become prey and have left their homeland by force. Many believers feel that they are being taken captive in this world. But Jesus proclaims the good news to bring about solid changes through His Word in us. Thus, we who humbly rely on God’s Word will be transformed by Jesus’ salvation and deliverance.

Being humble or poor, as mentioned in the passages, refers to believers’ self-perception or self-evaluation before God on our status of brokenhearted, captive, blind, imprisoned, or oppressed. In other words, if you feel one of the above problems physically, mentally, or spiritually, you can call upon Jesus and receive His healing and deliverance. He will deliver you from the bondage of sin and evil spirits. Like Jesus’ disciples in the past, even if they were from wealthy families, when they humbly followed Him and learned spiritual truth, they relinquished everything and became His servants. 

Reflection questions:

1) Do you feel like a humble person before God who has nothing? Why?

2) Do you need to seek Jesus’ healing and deliverance from being “brokenhearted, captive, blind, imprisoned, or oppressed”? If you do, how would you ask the Lord to heal and liberate you?