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Prohibition of Interest
[Bible]The prohibition of interest is an Old Testament legal provision that forbade charging interest when lending money or food to a poor neighbor. It appears in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy and reflects the law's concern for protecting the vulnerable.
Sermon on the Mount
[Bible]The Sermon on the Mount is the collection of Jesus' teachings recorded in Matthew 5–7, delivered on a mountain to His disciples and the multitudes. It contains the Beatitudes, the Lord's Prayer, and the Golden Rule.
Zacchaeus
[People]Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector of Jericho who appears in Luke 19. He climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see Jesus and, after Jesus called him, welcomed him into his home. He then declared that he would give half of his goods to the poor and repay fourfold anything he had taken by fraud.
Matthew 19:16–26
[Bible Verses]In this passage a rich young man asks how to obtain eternal life, and Jesus answers that he should sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow him. It is frequently cited in discussions of wealth and salvation and of the relationship between law and grace.
The Love Chapter
[Bible]The Love Chapter is the name given to 1 Corinthians 13 in the New Testament. In this chapter Paul describes, in an almost hymnlike manner, the necessity, character, and permanence of love as a more excellent way than the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah 61:1–3
[Bible Verses]A passage in which one anointed by the Spirit of God proclaims liberty and comfort to the poor, the brokenhearted, and the captives. It is frequently cited because Jesus read it in the synagogue at Nazareth and declared that it was fulfilled in him.
Matthew 25:40
[Bible Verses]Matthew 25:40 is the verse in the parable of the sheep and the goats in which the King says, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." It is the passage most often cited as a basis for serving the poor, and interpreters differ over who "the least of these" are.
Luke 7:22
[Bible Verses]Luke 7:22 is the verse in which Jesus answers the imprisoned John the Baptist's question of whether he is "he that should come" by pointing to acts of healing and to the preaching of the gospel, works that recall the prophecies of Isaiah. The verse is frequently cited in discussions of Jesus' messiahship, divine healing, and the gospel preached to the poor.
Chang Kee-ryo
[People]Chang Kee-ryo (1911–1995) was a Korean surgeon and Christian social worker. He served as the first director of Gospel Hospital in Busan, and in 1968 he founded the Blue Cross Medical Insurance Cooperative to serve the poor.
Rich Young Ruler
[People]The rich young ruler is a man in the Synoptic Gospels who asked Jesus how to obtain eternal life. When Jesus told him to sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow him, he went away sorrowful. His name is not recorded.
Beatitudes
[Bible]The Beatitudes are the eight blessings that Jesus Christ proclaimed at the opening of the Sermon on the Mount. They are recorded in Matthew 5:3-10, and similar sayings appear in Luke 6:20-23.
Gleaning
[Bible]Gleaning was an Old Testament legal institution requiring that fallen ears of grain and leftover fruit be left at harvest for the poor and the stranger to gather. It is best known from the Book of Ruth, where Ruth gleans in the field of Boaz.
Psalm 10
[Bible]Psalm 10 is a lament over the reality that the wicked oppress the poor and powerless while God seems far away, and a plea for God to arise and judge on behalf of the fatherless and the oppressed.
Job 29
[Bible]Job 29 is the chapter in which Job looks back with longing on his former days, when he lived under God's protection, was held in honor, and helped the poor. It opens Job's final extended defense (chapters 29–31).
Proverbs 22
[Bible]Proverbs 22 contains the final portion of the collection of Solomon's proverbs (10:1–22:16) and the opening of a new collection, "the words of the wise" (22:17 onward). Its teachings include training children, protecting the poor, and avoiding becoming surety for another's debts.
Proverbs 28
[Bible]Proverbs 28 belongs to the collection of Solomon's proverbs compiled by the men of Hezekiah. Its 28 verses are brief sayings that contrast the righteous and the wicked, the poor and the rich, and rulers and the law.
Amos 8
[Bible]Amos 8 announces the "end" of the northern kingdom of Israel through the vision of a basket of summer fruit, indicts those who cheat the poor, and foretells a day of judgment when the sun goes down at noon, along with a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.
Leviticus 19:18
[Bible Verses]Leviticus 19:18 is a precept of the Mosaic Law: "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Jesus named it, together with the command to love God, as the greatest of the commandments, and both Paul and James cited it as a summary of the Law.
Proverbs 22:9
[Bible Verses]Proverbs 22:9 is a proverb declaring that the one with a "good eye" (KJV: "a bountiful eye"), that is, a generous person, is blessed because he shares his bread with the poor. It is frequently cited as a key verse encouraging almsgiving and sharing.
Luke 19:8–9
[Bible Verses]Luke 19:8–9 records the declaration of Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector of Jericho, that he would give half of his goods to the poor and restore fourfold whatever he had wrongfully taken, and Jesus' response that salvation had come to his house. The passage is frequently cited in discussions of the fruit of repentance, salvation, and wealth.