Jesus the Advocate for the Poor
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Jesus had a special sense of mission to poor and oppressed people. At the outset of his ministry, sometimes referred to as Jesus' mission statement, Jesus stood up in the synagogue at Nazareth and read from the prophet Isaiah:

"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." (Luke 4:18-19)

The biographies of Jesus depict him repeatedly reaching out to those at the bottom of the social pyramid--poor people, women, Samaritans, lepers, children, prostitutes and tax collectors. Jesus was also eager to accept people who were well-placed, but he made clear that all, regardless of social position, needed to repent. For this reason, he invited the rich young man to sell all of his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor. (Matthew 19:16-30, Luke 18:18-30, Mark 10:17-31)

Jesus commanded, "Love your neighbor." When asked to define "neighbor," Jesus expanded the traditional meaning of the word--defining our neighbor as anyone who is in need, including social outcasts: "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed." (Luke 14:13)

In his portrayal of the day of judgment, Jesus pictured people from all nations gathered before him, separated into "sheep" and "goats." (Matthew 25:31-46) To the "sheep" he says, "Come you blessed of my Father, for I was hungry and you fed me..." In their astonishment they ask, "When did we do that?" And he answers, "When you did it to the lowliest of my brothers (and sisters)." Conversely, to the "goats" he says, "Out of my sight, you who are condemned, for I was hungry and you did not feed me..."

Jesus himself cared for those in need by feeding the hungry. Crowds of four thousand (Mark 8:1-13) and five thousand (Mark 6:30-44) had assembled to listen to Jesus. They soon became hungry. When his disciples suggested that Jesus send the people away to buy food, he responded by saying "I have compassion on these people..." and "you give them something to eat." He proceeded to perform miracles to feed these large crowds of hungry people.

Adapted from J. Bennett Guess, "Biblical Foundations for Justice Advocacy," UCC Justice and Witness Ministries.



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7 entries for this category:

Mother Theresa discusses Jesus on the Poor
Mother Theresa's great passion for poor came from her great passion for Jesus.



By: Vipool Patel
Category: Jesus the Advocate for the Poor
Comment Helpful? Favorite Violation
thought of God for you happiness.
My Jesus as an advocate for us is not a destination but a journey of nappiness not for tomorrow, but it's for now. happinness is what he had made us to be i love my Jesus, do u?



By: godgift royal
Category: Jesus the Advocate for the Poor
Comment Helpful? Favorite Violation
In The anointing at Bethany,Jesus said,
You have the poor with you always,and you can be kind to them whenever you wish.



By: Takao Ogawa
Category: Jesus the Advocate for the Poor
Comment Helpful? Favorite Violation
Jesus,please distribute the technology of distribution to you too.



By: Takao Ogawa
Category: Jesus the Advocate for the Poor
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Official Development Assistance(ODA)in your country
ODA in your non-christian country continues supplying a large amount of cost to developing countries and peoples of the world for infrasructure of salvation of the poors.But Jesus said,how happy are you who are poor:yours is the kingdom of God(Luke 6:20).



By: Takao Ogawa
Category: Jesus the Advocate for the Poor
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Love?
    I think our Lord Jesus Christ set an example for us to walk on, "Love your neighbor" when asked to define neighbor He expanded to anyone who is in need
,including social outcast:



By: thomas akanvese
Category: Jesus the Advocate for the Poor
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Who are we?

I believe that Jesus tells us to "love our neighbour" and not to condemn, because this is the only way for us to treat eachother as equal. 

If we consider ourselves worthy to judge others and place ourselves in a position where we consider our own needs above those of all others, then we are behaving like the world and not like the people of God.

You see it is our duty to set an example for those who do not know the Lord. If we say we are of God, and treat the poor and needy as though they are below us, then we are hypocrits.  If we place ourselves in their shoes, then we will give without reservation.



By: Paul Hersee
Category: Jesus the Advocate for the Poor
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