Anchor My Faith

The Poor in Spirit

Scripture: Matthew 5:3

We ended the previous lesson with everyone taking their places, preparing to hear what Jesus was about to say. He begins teaching, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).

Jesus begins his teaching with a series of short proclamations without a narrative, beginning with the word “Blessed.” If you look at the text for Sec46 you can count nine statements beginning with “Blessed,” but if you check the literature you will find that only eight are counted as beatitudes. If you look carefully you will notice that the ninth statement is a bit different than the first eight in that it says “Blessed are you” and it seems to further clarify the eighth one with specific application to the disciples.

Before we look at the individual statements, we need to determine what is meant by “blessed.” Some of the more modern translations translate the word as “happy,” but the meaning of happy used today doesn’t really describe what was originally meant. It is more than a temporary or circumstantial feeling of happiness; it is a state of well-being in relationship to God that belongs to those who respond to the teachings of Jesus. You could say it is a state of happiness that comes from the soul, which allows one to rejoice under intense persecution. “Blessed” can be seen as a pledge of divine reward for the inner spiritual character of the righteous in Jesus Christ. Therefore, to be so blessed, requires one to be in a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

In the text of Sec32, (Luke 4:14 – 21 in particular) Jesus reads from Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18a). Jesus then claims to be the one he just read about. We might think of the poor in terms of finances or possessions, but there is a spiritual side also. The passage Jesus read describes those people who were taken away into exile. They were poor in a physical sense, but they find themselves in their condition because of their improper relationship to God. As a result of not walking in obedience with him they now find themselves afflicted, oppressed, desperate, powerless, and without hope. God used an enemy to humble them and to show them that without him they will be most miserable. It is God’s intent to show them their sinful condition and their desperate need of a right relationship with him.

Once these who are poor in spirit, see their condition and thus their need of God, they are then ready to surrender themselves to God and receive the gift of salvation and thus entrance into the kingdom of heaven. Each one of us must recognize and confess our sinful condition and then humble ourselves before Jesus Christ in obedience to him as our Lord and savior to become part of the kingdom of heaven.

Prayer

Father, how important it is that each one of us become poor in spirit. Only the humble are able to surrender themselves to the Lordship of Jesus, to receive the gift of salvation and then be lifted up and seated with him in heaven. Yes, indeed, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”