In Luke 4:18, we read:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me.
He has chosen me to tell the good news to the poor.
He sent me to tell prisoners that they are free
and to tell the blind that they can see again.”
The first verse establishes the context: Jesus feels the presence of God and he is inspired to share spiritual truth by telling the “good news” to the poor.
The words ‘the poor’ are generally understood to refer to an indigent population. But Jesus meant something else.
The “Good News” Message:
What would Jesus intend to achieve by telling the “good news” to the poor?
Poor people would expect from Jesus some miraculous relief from their material lack. But since it was not what Jesus had in mind, indigent folks would be disappointed.
The “good news” is a message of salvation. It demands of the listeners to think differently about who they thought they were. The core of the message is to remind the listeners of their spiritual heritage — their spiritual nature and individual relationship to God.
The message from Jesus to ‘indigent’ people is to achieve a change of self-perception. Jesus wanted them to stop seeing themselves as inherently lacking. Jesus wanted them to realize that they already have the fulness of Divine love. A love that does not punish. A love that does not hold back any part of Its bounty.
Jesus wanted them to rise in consciousness. He knew that a higher state of consciousness would transform their lives and provide for their needs.
But were they capable of such a transformation? We can only assume that some folks were receptive and embraced the spirit of the message. But it is likely that a number of them could not grasp the import of the message and were disappointed because they were not given material goods.
A Different Interpretation:
What if Jesus, when referring to “the poor,” was not simply speaking of the materially poor, but of men and women poor in spiritual awareness? Then his teaching of individual salvation would make sense. And the core of his message would be the same regardless of the wealth status of his audience.
Whether materially rich or materially poor the message is one of rising to the awareness of our spiritual nature.
“Ears to hear”:
Jesus went on to say:
He sent me to tell prisoners that they are free
and to tell the blind that they can see again.”
Jesus was not going around Palestine literally opening prison doors. With his message about our true spiritual identity, he was working at raising the consciousness of the prisoners. But prisoners of whom?
I believe that Jesus was referring to the ‘prisoners’ of false ideas and erroneous dogma.
Likewise, wasn’t Jesus speaking of ‘the blind’ to refer to a blindness to spiritual truth?
In Matthew 11:15 Jesus said:
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear and heed my words.”
Jesus was fond of using allegories. He told us that his teaching was for those who have “ears to hear.” In other words, for people who can understand the higher meaning of his words and apply them in their way of living.
Confirmation:
We did not need a reminder from Jesus that one hears with one’s ears. Therefore, we must strive to understand what Jesus meant. Again, the words in Matthew 11:15 force us to go beyond what a first reading might communicate.
None of the words, ‘poor’, ‘prisoner’, and ‘blind, were meant to be taken literally. Jesus used these words allegorically.
The intended meaning given by Jesus is confirmed by the fact that he lumped all three groups, the poor, the prisoners, and the blind as needing the same message.
The message of our true spiritual identity applies to all humans. It is well adapted to the intended audience of Jesus.
Those who are unaware of the spiritual truth contained in the good news are indeed poor. Prisoners of false ideas cannot make room for the truth. And people blinded by false dogma are not open to receiving new truth. Those are the hard cases that only the Master of Nazareth could address.
Implication:
We encounter many passages in the New Testament about Jesus addressing or being concerned about “the poor.” And we are misled if we assume that he was thinking exclusively of the indigent population.
Many Christian denominations have focused their efforts on emulating Jesus by helping the poor materially and helping the sick physically or mentally.
These charitable acts are commendable and useful. And of course, it might be necessary to address the needs of the stomach before being able to address the needs of the soul. However, these charitable acts would fall short if they are not accompanied by proper teaching that will raise the awareness of one’s own spiritual identity.
The Greater Lesson:
In Matthew 13:11–12, Jesus said:
“To he who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
Anyone who takes this lesson literally cannot reconcile these words with Jesus declaration that “God is love” (1 John 4:7). Therefore, here again we cannot take the quote literally. We need to rise to a higher level of spiritual awareness to understand the allegory of Jesus in Matthew 13:11–12.
Our prior reflection on the meaning given by Jesus to the words, ‘poor’, ‘blind’, and ‘prisoner’ should help us understand this allegory.
Again, Jesus is not referring to material goods, but to the knowledge of one’s true spiritual identity. “He who has” such awareness will have an openness and an urge to receive more truth and more spiritual revelation.
It follows that “he who has not” any spiritual awareness has no incentive to change and will likely not rise in consciousness. This does not mean that the indigent will lose their meager material possessions. They will lose the opportunity to rise by hanging to their false perception of self as limited and lacking.
The truth about “he who has not” is that, by default, he/she will remain in the lower levels of consciousness with the negative emotions of fear and anger which engenders a negative cycle of emotions-reactions. They will repeat the cycle until and unless there is a change of beliefs, values, and intent to seek spiritual truth.
Ultimately:
Ultimately, Jesus knew that we live harmoniously in proportion to our awareness of spiritual truth and of the application of that truth in our daily life.
Salvation from human suffering comes from a rise in consciousness with the awareness that our true essence is divine. That realization changes our perspective and our mindset. It favorably affects how we feel about ourselves and about others.
Regardless of our environment and circumstances, we are no longer poor. We are no longer prisoners. We are no longer blind. We have heard not simply with our ears but also with our conscious soul.
Inspired by the work done while writing the recently published book, Religion, Politics, and Reclaiming the Soul of Christianity: A Spiritual Imperative for Our Time and Our Nation, by Jon Canas. Available at: https://Reclaimingthesoul.info
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