Jesus Came to Help Hurting People

By Rick Warren

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19 NIV).

You can’t read through the Gospels without seeing how much Jesus cared about hurting people.

Just look at how he preached. He always started with a hurt—poverty, blindness, brokenness, imprisonment. You can tell a lot about a preacher by how he addresses pain.

Jesus addresses it constantly. Why? Because he came to share the Good News with hurting people.

When people approached Jesus, they always came for one of three reasons: a need, a hurt, or a question. Jesus didn’t blow them off. He never told them they should’ve come for more doctrinally correct reasons. He just met their needs.

In fact, he declared in his very first sermon, as he started his public ministry, that’s why he came to earth.

Notice the last line of that Scripture: “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” It’s easy to miss, but it’s critically important to understand God’s heart for hurting people.

When God created the nation of Israel, he established the “year of the Lord’s favor,” which is also called the “Year of Jubilee.”

It was a year when every debt would be canceled, every prisoner would be let go, every slave would be freed, and all land that had been bought in the previous 50 years would revert back to its original owner.

But here’s the interesting part about the Year of Jubilee. In the entire history of Israel, the children of Israel never followed it—not once.

This angered God. In the book of Jeremiah, God told Israel he was sending the whole nation into captivity because the people hadn’t obeyed this. While they were in captivity, Isaiah wrote the words above that Jesus preached in his first sermon.

So as Jesus read Isaiah’s words in the synagogue of his hometown, he was boldly proclaiming this: “I’m the Day of Jubilee when everyone’s sin and debts are wiped out.”

Jesus came to help hurting people—whether they’re in debt, in bondage to sin, imprisoned, or all three.

Those same broken people God came to heal 2,000 years ago are still here today. And Jesus wants us to serve them.

Jesus says, “I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you” (John 13:15 NLT).

Are you following Jesus’ example by helping hurting people?

PLAY today ’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!

$50,000 Matching Grant DOUBLES your gift!

Too many people are running on empty — overwhelmed with worries and burdens.

That’s why we want to send you Pastor Rick’s Re-Energize Your Life interactive guide and journal to help you reconnect with God to be renewed and refreshed. It’s our thank-you for your support today.

And a $50,000 Matching Grant will DOUBLE your donation to help more people connect with Jesus — and re-energize their life!

Re-Energize Your Life will help you . . .

• Lighten your load and re-activate your passion
• Make space for what matters most
• Take 5 steps so you can be used by God

Get yours today when you support Daily Hope and your donation will be DOUBLED by the $50,000 Matching Grant!

*The USA IRS code permits you to deduct the amount of your financial gift to Daily Hope that exceeds the fair market value of materials you received from Daily Hope.

You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.

Jesus Came to Help Hurting People - Daily Hope with Rick Warren - June 17, 2019

$50,000 Matching Grant DOUBLES your gift!