No one has the right to put words in the mouth of Jesus or the prophets.
Social justice gibberish about Luke 4 does this to the extreme. It is as bad as the misapplication and misappropriation of Matthew 25 to the homeless and illegal immigrants. At the same time, this Luke 4 error is an even more apparent projection of human philosophy upon the Scriptures and Jesus.
While all efforts to help the helpless and assist people in escaping dead ends in economic condition are valid and valuable, the agenda of social justice that empowers tyranny is obviously not Christ-like. If you want to do this, or if you really feel a call and assignment to help people, do it. Don’t try to make yourself and others believe it is a kingdom mandate when it is so
Jesus never did it what the social justice agenda demands. Jesus never taught the principles social justice teaches. Jesus never authorized economic tyranny. Jesus taught the opposite.
We never have a license to appropriate phrases and words from Scripture to use the Bible in a way that makes it seem that God supports our agendas.
The use of “poor and oppressed” from Isaiah and Jesus to hammer them into a social justice crusade is completely wrong. It is too obviously wrong for us to flippantly accept the premise. We can only do so when we ignore the most basic of Bible principles for understanding and applying the Scriptures.
We know this is true because Jesus did not fulfill the Scripture as a social justice crusader. He never did what the social justice agenda demands Him to do if He is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. He did not establish a social justice ministry, train disciples to carry it on, or build it into the kingdom culture.
It is fun to force God to say what you want Him to say to justify your humanistic heroism. It is also wrong. It is blasphemy. (Look up the meaning of that word.)
It is silly to make Jesus mean what He did not say.
The word “poor” does not refer to any economic income measurements consistent with or answering to the economic measuring sticks of social justice. The leap in logic and jump to conclusions is enormous, and those that make the move do so to recruit God to their agendas. They have no right to do so.
Luke 4 prophetically anticipated Messiah.
Messiah would reset His kingdom in spite of Israel’s failure to establish and live kingdom culture. He would reset that kingdom and its culture in a very different group of chosen people.
In doing so, He would not establish any social justice agenda, support socialism in any form, or deny the capitalist principles of private property and private ownership of the means of production.
He would not mention economic policies that answer to a theory (that never works) of income or wealth redistribution. He would offer no taxation plan or expanded government involvement in the economics of nations. He would not justify generational unforgiveness for previous oppression. He would not justify dysfunction as a reason for a bail
Jesus did not attack or confront Roman tyranny. He did not provide a political plan that depended upon human “polis.” He established a much strong power and authority for influencing cultures toward His kingdom norms.
To confront a poorly functioning system is patriotic. To replace a free nation’s economic system with tyranny is treacherous.
If you demand that Luke 4 are the words of a social justice agenda, you also condemn Jesus for failing to provide that agenda, lead it, train leaders to lead it, and teach any of its principles.
Jesus taught capitalism, inequality of wealth based upon productivity, and was convinced that the economic elements of poverty were part of the social reality of nations. Jesus did not offer a panacea for society. Jesus offered spiritual revolution as the influence that disciples cultures.
“Justice” is not measured in false equality. When we say that God is impartial, we also say that God has favorites. The entire concept of favor assumes that God has favorites.
God is not the Source of false entitlement, false equality and the false expectations these deceptions produce. The enemies of God’s agenda love to use social justice errors to bring division, distraction, and discussion. It always moves people away from God’s strategy into destructive frustrations about things that kingdom culture alone can address.
It is so easy to find examples of injustice when you begin with the wrong agenda and point of view about justice. It is much simpler to obey God’s Word about giving than to attempt to establish some legal authorization or power upon a society, providing tyranny and piracy as a norm for the success of your agenda.
The Bible reveals God provides government to be a terror to them that do evil, using a sword of violent enforcement against evildoers. It never presents government as God’s source of social justice or economic success. While being a terror to evildoers certainly includes economic evil, God never assumes that rich people are the reason there are poor people. God always expects that government protects all people imperfectly, but that government protection for private property provides for equal opportunity to produce and thrive personally.
So, you cannot start with socialism, Malthusian economics, and communist principles to interpret the words of Jesus.
Luke 4 Fulfilled in Kingdom Ministry, Not Social Justice
Luke 4 is not a discussion of Jesus, the Social Justice agenda champion. He was not then, and is not now, involved in social justice movements.
So, just stop with the obvious misdirections about Luke 4. Go help some people who need help. Do so in private, as Jesus teaches, and stop blowing a trumpet when you help someone who cannot give something back. Stop enabling people who refuse to change. Focus upon the authentic poor who have no opportunities to work, like children and the elderly, neglected because of the destruction of marriage and family. They are victims of another problem, not economic injustice.
You cannot properly blame others for the struggles of a subculture that has no family foundations. Once you remove the family and fathering failures as factors for poverty, and the mental health and self-destruction issues for homeless, you are actually talking a very different agenda in addressing the problems of poverty.
No redistribution of wealth will fix a culture plagued by dysfunction family and lifestyles.
Giving money to people who have no desire to become producers is just plain dumb. You always enable their poverty instead of easing it.
Expecting someone who cleans houses to be paid the same as someone who does surgeries is just plain stupid. No social injustice issues from God’s point of view in rewarding productivity and the value systems of a capitalistic economy! God loves to see a nation prosper, and He has no problem with the people who refuse to develop productivity feeling the pinch of their refusal.
If you do the hard work of getting people born of the Spirit and discipling them, you have little time to crusade for the government to do what the kingdom ministry alone can do. You will disciple people to productivity if you follow the principles, processes, and protocols of the kingdom culture. You will leave them in their present condition if you deviate from kingdom ministry to involve the government in doing what redemption and restoration alone can do.
You should be involved in politics, but you should not be involved in any agenda that gives government power or responsibility that belong to family and kingdom. You are helping hell win when you do because you are working against the Great Commission.
Socialism is always destructive.
Everyone in those systems wants out. Capitalism is a great system, but we haven’t seen capitalism since the progressives starting attacking it in the late 1800s. The progressives are still doing so today! Even so, capitalism does not redeem people from evil, and the good system suffers from wicked people. The solution for sin is not economic.
Luke 4 preaching does not redeem and restore people and cultures with economic agendas. You will not redeem and restore anyone with social justice. You preach spiritual salvation to those who are currently not hearing that message. That is what the word “poor” means in the Scripture Jesus quotes. Then, He does precisely what the Scripture says He will do.
