Why do only the poor have the gospel preached to them?

"Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me."

Who are the poor mentioned here? If it refers to those who don't have much money or wealth, does that mean wealthy people don't have the gospel preached to them? It seems to say that the poor are the ones who have the gospel preached to them.
If, on the other hand, it means those who are poor spiritually, does that mean that the other traits mentioned (blind, lame, lepers, deaf, and dead) are spiritually meant? Blind spiritually, etc.

Blessings,

I have found in John Gill commentary some explanation(s) personally i thing the text in blue is the right explanation as i was thinking this before reading his commentary;

and the poor have the Gospel preached them; by "the poor" are meant, either the preachers of the Gospel; for so the words may be rendered, "the poor preach the Gospel": and such were the apostles of Christ; they were poor with respect to the things of this world; they were chiefly fishermen; and, with respect to human literature, they were unlearned men, had no stock or furniture of acquired learning, and were mean, abject, and contemptible, in the sight and opinion of men; and yet Christ called, qualified, and sent them forth to preach the Gospel. Or else, the hearers of it are designed; who were also the poor of this world, made a very low figure in life, and had but a small share of knowledge and understanding, and so were despised, and reckoned as cursed by the Scribes and Pharisees: or they were such, who were poor in spirit, or spiritually poor; who saw their spiritual poverty, bewailed and acknowledged it, and sought after the true riches of grace, and glory in Christ. Now these, as they had the Gospel preached to them more fully and clearly, with more power and authority, and so as it never was before or since, so they "received" it, as Tremellius from the Syriac reads the text, readily and willingly, joyfully and gladly, with faith and love; and were, as it may be also rendered, "evangelized" by it, or thrown into a gospel mould and frame: which may be said to be done, when a man has a spirit of liberty, in opposition to a spirit of bondage; when he lives by faith on Christ alone; when his comforts do not spring from his works, but from Christ; when the love and grace of God influence his repentance and obedience; when a man has a spirit of meekness and of love to the saints, is of a forbearing and forgiving spirit: when he is desirous of performing all duties both to God and man, and yet depends upon none of them, but upon Christ alone, for salvation.

Peace,

JF

The Spiritually poor which we all are -----until we receive Jesus in our hearts ------then we are Spiritually rich -----we are all born spiritually poor ------that is ---we are away from God -Spiritually ----

the poor are open to it. What do they have to lose?

What exactly was preached to the poor? The death, burial, and resurrection for their sins?

Because the poor are usually neglected by the religious elites. So the fact that Jesus proclaimed the good news to the poor speaks of purity.
That's my opinion.

With the recognition of patterns, we see the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the deaf hear...so if the gospel is preached to the poor, it likely has to do with an otherwise impossible feat if it also follows this pattern. If this is so, then we must ask what is so impossible about preaching, the gospel, to the poor. I think the key to the answer lies not in preaching to the poor but in preaching 'the gospel' to the poor. As all these others were 'naturally' blind, lame, deaf, and are delivered, the poor cannot receive the 'good news' of their deliverance from debt since their funds are naturally insufficient to pay them, except that the promised 'supernatural,' which supersedes the natural, had come. Remember the initial question posed to Jesus, "Art thou he that should come?"

It is not about the poor versus the rich - it is about someone caring enough to present the gospel to the poor versus the 'normal'/'usual' of the poor being ignored/neglected.

(I believe Dirtman has the right idea. )

The poor are those who tend to be most receptive to the gospel. If I have to choose knocking on the doors in a trailer park, the projects, or an upper class neighborhood, I'll l start with the projects and the mobile homes. Far more will get saved. It's easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than a rich man to get into heaven...to paraphrase. However, it's the same message to all walks of life.

The materially poor are more receptive to the Gospel. As Christ already told us, it is very hard for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God. The reason being that the rich are self-sufficient and delude themselves into thinking that their wealth is their security, while not giving much thought to eternity. On the other hand, the poor see hope and salvation in Christ. And Christians are to minister to the poor and needs, particularly widows and orphans.

Jesus was preaching the coming kingdom of God and teaching about the commandments, and also healed the sick ( mostly poor people) . you can find many references in john, matt, luke and mark. I will gladly give you the verses if you want, I do not know them by heart but will gladly list them for you.

BLessings,

Jf

The poor were the outcast of society. The beggers, the widows, orphans and such.
As you read on through the gospels you'll come to the story of the man that was born blind.
The apostles ask jesus what sin made this man blind his or his parents.
Back in the day it was believed that if one had fallen on hard times or a sudden illness had happened that they were being punished from GOD.
The story of job also reflects this. Leprosy also was considered a curse from GOD.
The jewish people are and were a very close knit society and knew there neighbors or knew a neighbor that knew the person in question. There were also those who were shuned and considered dead by family members and friends.
Jesus and the sermon on the mount addresses these issues and how they were to relate to such people.
Im sure jesus was also addressing the poor in spirit those that were depressed and without hope.

I believe there is another reason for the separation of the class's referred. Most folks of affluence spend time in the Bible and many other type of books and are self informed. Also, they tend to have higher energy level for self advancement of knowledge rather than b a follower of a ......Joel Osteen. type.

So you agree Jesus and his disciples were not preaching the message of the cross, the d,b,r for sins.

Why do only the poor have the gospel preached to them?


They are humble. They are the thirsty ones with listening ears.

Isaiah 55
1Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

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Jesus taught many times about his Death Burial and Resurrection.

John 14:29 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
29 “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe

He only prophesied it to his disciples a couple of times who had no understanding of it because God hid it from their minds. This is not the message Jesus and his disciples went around preaching. Their message was a kingdom message, the promised kingdom for Israel. Signs and wonders accompanied the message for signs are for the Jews. Today, we do not go around saying, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Matthew 10
5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

in essence yes, Jesus pand his disciples preached the good news of the kingdom of God and through his teachings, how for us to get there. the messiah was inviting or calling people to join him in the Kingdom of heaven. He mentionned that he would prepare a place for those who believe in him and do his father's will.

Blessings,

JF

the question is what is good news for the poor? for India? for the blind it is that they can see, the deaf that they can hear, the lame that they can walk.

God willest above all things that we mayest prosper and be in health, even as our soul prospers.