<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Robert Lupton is a longtime Christian community developer in inner-city Atlanta. In a 2005 presentation titled \u201cAnd you call yourself a Christian\u201d (Christian Community Development Association) he recalled speaking to upper-classmen at a Bible college. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He asked their perception of the number one mandate for followers of Jesus. \u201cEvangelize!\u201d they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lupton pressed, \u201cBut what did Jesus say<\/em> was top priority?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n After a pause, some responded, \u201cMake disciples.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lupton pressed harder: \u201cBut what did Christ actually say<\/em> was that most important mandate for his followers?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a moment or two of puzzled silence, a student in the back of the classroom ventured a hesitant response:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou mean, \u2018Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, mind, soul and strength and thy neighbor as thyself?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIs this what he said was number one?\u2019 Lupton continued to push. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There were head-nods, and another student added: \u201cOn this hang all the law and the prophets.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lupton observed, \u201cThese young people had their scripture down well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jean-Paul Heldt, as quoted by Christopher J. H. Wright in \u201cThe Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible\u2019s Grand Narrative\u201d (Mission Frontiers, <\/em>Vol. 29, No. 5, September-October 2007), said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Proclamation alone, apart from any social concern, may be perceived as a distortion, a truncated version of the true gospel, a parody and travesty of the good news, lacking relevance for the real problems of people living in the real world. On the other end of the spectrum, exclusive focus on transformation and advocacy may just result in social and humanitarian activism, void of any spiritual dimension. Both approaches are unbiblical; they deny the wholeness of human nature of human being created in the image of God.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the realities of doing justice and addressing poverty is that it has a lot to do with evangelism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOnce we recognize the identification of Jesus with the poor, we cannot any longer consider our own relation to the poor as a social ethics question; it is a gospel question,\u201d said David Bosch in Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission<\/em> (Maryknoll, 1991).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe can build on the strength of individual soul freedom to join Jesus in caring for the world, for the community, for the common good, for the Kingdom of God,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most misused statements of Jesus is the quotation about the poor always being with us. Rather than a statement of resignation, it\u2019s a reminder of the responsibility described in Deuteronomy 15:11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSince there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, \u2018Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.\u2019 \u201dVerses 7-11 emphasizes the need for generosity even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Matthew\u2019s account of Jesus\u2019 statement regarding the poor (26:6-12) follows the passage in chapter 25 in which Jesus identified with \u201cthe least of these.\u201d It\u2019s likely that Jesus was challenging his disciples to be truly attentive to the poor on an ongoing basis, rather than their expressing frustration with the extravagance of the special occasion the woman was commemorating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus condemned those who oppressed the poor.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c<\/strong>Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows\u2019 houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.\u201d (Luke 20:47)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus warned that following him might lead to poverty<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age–houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions \u2014 and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” (Mark 10:28-31)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus encourages his disciples to identify with the poor. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Luke has Jesus addressing the disciples with “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money–not even an extra tunic\u201d (Luke 9:3) and \u201cThen he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.\u201d (Luke 6:20-21)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus warned against the dangers of wealth. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.\u201d (Matt 6:19-21) <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus acknowledged the expressed generosity of wealthy persons.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus affirmed transformational opportunities with the rich. He was pro-generosity, and he his confrontation with Zacchaeus is an example of a personal transformation affecting the poor: \u201cZacchaeus said to the Lord, \u2018Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.\u2019 Then Jesus said to him, \u2018Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.\u2019\u201d (Luke 19:1-10)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Love of God and love of neighbor, said Jesus, is the primary call to those who wish to follow him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tom Prevost, who served as a pastor, missions administrator and advocate for those experiencing poverty, lives in Chattanooga, Tenn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Robert Lupton is a longtime Christian community developer in inner-city Atlanta. In a 2005 presentation titled \u201cAnd you call yourself a Christian\u201d (Christian Community Development Association) he recalled speaking to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-perspectives"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jesusworldview.org\/resource-library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jesusworldview.org\/resource-library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jesusworldview.org\/resource-library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jesusworldview.org\/resource-library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jesusworldview.org\/resource-library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1455"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jesusworldview.org\/resource-library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1455\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1614,"href":"https:\/\/jesusworldview.org\/resource-library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1455\/revisions\/1614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jesusworldview.org\/resource-library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jesusworldview.org\/resource-library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jesusworldview.org\/resource-library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}