Free Markets (25) - Good News

The gospel is good news for the poor. What does that mean? One possibility is that Jesus wants people facing poverty to have “peace in their heart” while their belly is empty. I do not think so.

Jesus expected that the gospel to produce a great flood of wealth from the rich to the poor. This started, as soon as the Holy Spirit was poured out.

Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need (Acts 2:45).

The gospel was good news for the poor at the beginning. And the church carried on as it has started.

There were no needy persons among them (Acts 4:34).

Two things were essential for the success of the gospel: caring for the poor and healing the sick. The gospel really was “good news to the poor” and “recovery of sight for the blind”.

The only good news the modern church has for the poor is God will multiply their seed if they tithe. The inequality that pervades the modern world is not a sign of market failure. Rampant inequality represents the failure of the church to proclaim and produce good news for the poor.