“And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them (Matthew 4:23-24).

“When he came down from the mountain [after the sermon], great crowds [here are the crowds again] followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed” (Matthew 8:1-3).

“The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost [ἀπόλλυμι] you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them” (Ezek 34:4).

And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed [apollymi], the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble (1 Corinthians 8:11-14).

For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy [apollymi] the one for whom Christ died (Romans 14:15).

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost (apollymi) one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost (apollymi), until he finds it (Luke 15:4).

And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost (apollymi)” (Luke 19:9-10).

​“Show me what kind of association you have with those living with the effects of poverty, and I will tell you what kind of god you worship.”​

“An etymologically based proclamation-centered evangelism is insufficient to reflect the reality of the presence of the kingdom of God, and, as well, disconnects evangelism, not only from the full life of the church, but also from the public and social implications of the kingdom. True, it might be anachronistically incorrect to jump completely from Jesus’ deeds straight to social action, but it is equally wrong to turn Jesus’ parables into mythic stories that affirm ‘traditional’ American values, limited government, and a political and legal agenda that seeks to promote ‘our way of life.’Although leaping from the text to ‘Christian humanitarianism’ is an over-simplification, we cannot ignore that Jesus engaged social institutions, nor overlook that Jesus had immense theological conflicts with temple leadership that reached back to Exodus stipulations and their social implications regarding the vulnerable.”
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“Show me what kind of association you have with those living with the effects of poverty, and I will tell you what kind of god you worship.”​

As far as biblical revelation is concerned, “Idolatry [is] the Big Lie about reality.”

​“And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:29-32).