“The Beatitudes” series: (post #1)

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:1-3, N.K.J.V.)

Christ’s most famous sermon is the one we call The Sermon on the Mount. That word “Mount” comes from the fact that Jesus was on a mountain when He gave this teaching to His disciples (Matthew 5:1). It seems clear, though, that He preached either the entire sermon or selected parts of it at least twice. I say this because Luke 6:17-49 gives us the record of a shortened version of the sermon, a version Jesus preached “on a level place” (N.K.J.V.) or “a plain” (K.J.V.) with not only His disciples in attendance but also a great multitude of people.

Furthermore, there are slight differences in the two accounts of the sermon. For example, in the Matthew version, Jesus promises the kingdom “of heaven,” but in the Luke account He promises the kingdom “of God.” While it’s true that both descriptions refer to the same kingdom (compare Matthew 5:19-20 with Matthew 6:33), it’s also true that the word “heaven” brings a different image to mind than the word “God.”

Another example of certain differences in the accounts is found in the sermon’s opening. Whereas the Matthew version quotes Jesus as saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (N.K.J.V.), the Luke version omits the words “in spirit” and cites the quote as, “Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God” (N.K.J.V.). It is from the word “Blessed” that we get the word “Beatitude,” which refers to a state of blessedness.

Evidently, Jesus changed the wording of the first Beatitude in order to accommodate the two different audiences for the two occasions He preached this sermon. Up on the mountain, it was just Him and His disciples in attendance. Down on the level place, they were joined by “…a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon” (Luke 6:17, N.K.J.V.).

And why had that multitude sought out Jesus? They had come “…to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits” (Luke 6:17-18, N.K.J.V.). It isn’t hard to understand that people who were either diseased or demon possessed were poor. Just as diseased people had trouble holding steady jobs and had to spend large amounts of money on doctors (Luke 8:43-44), demon possession could also take a major toll on a person’s finances.

Of course, the fact that Jesus would say to a crowd of such people, “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” offers us a glimpse into why He was so popular with the common people. In large part, the Jewish people still lived under the Old Testament mindset that wealth was evidence of the blessing and favor of God. Poverty, therefore, was considered akin to being under God’s judgment, disfavor, or curse. Jesus, though, was a teacher who flipped that mindset completely on its head. According to Him, the kingdom of God belonged to the poor rather than the rich. That was mind-blowing news if you were a poor person in that culture!

Even before preaching the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had preached a sermon at Nazareth in which He had referenced Isaiah 61:1-2 in saying, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor” (Luke 4:18, N.K.J.V., emphasis mine). Later, He would have word sent to the imprisoned John the Baptist, telling John, “…the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Luke 7:22, N.K.J.V., emphasis mine). Clearly, Jesus wanted poor people to realize that the kingdom of God wasn’t just for the rich.

Still, we must understand that the Sermon on the Mount is not the gospel. No one goes to heaven just because he or she is monetarily poor. One must be spiritually born again by believing in Jesus as Savior and thereby becoming indwelt by God the Holy Spirit (John 3:1-18, Romans 3:10-26). Even those who were in attendance to hear Jesus preach were not saved simply by virtue of their poverty. No, they had to place saving belief in Him as Savior.

To apply this first Beatitude correctly to yourself, think of being “poor in spirit” as being a deliberate choice you make rather than being a natural personality trait you either innately have or don’t have. To be “poor in spirit” is to walk in a constant realization of your utter spiritual helplessness without God. It is to abandon any and all attempts at creating self-righteousness for yourself and throw yourself completely upon the divine righteousness (Titus 2:5-6, Ephesians 2:8-9) God imputes to the one who places saving belief in Jesus (Romans 4:1-8; Galatians 3:6-9). It is to truly grasp the teaching of Isaiah 64:6 — that all your supposed works of righteousness are, in reality, like “filthy rags” in the sight of an infinitely holy God.

Furthermore, to be “poor in spirit” is to be humble in nature. It is to approach God as a lowly servant (Matthew 8:5-8), a respectful child (Matthew 18:4), or even a pitiful beggar (Matthew 15:21-28). The person who struts toward God and thinks, “He’s lucky to get me” isn’t “poor in spirit.” Neither is the person who says, “I’m going to allow God into my life, but I’ll be bringing as much to the relationship as He does.” The Greek word translated as “poor” is ptochos and it refers to abject poverty. The one who is this “poor in spirit” knows that he brings nothing to God because, frankly, he doesn’t have anything to bring.

So, tell me, is this you? Do you think of yourself as such a spiritual beggar? Or do you pull back from having such a degrading opinion of yourself? Since Jesus (God the Son) thought you were valuable enough to die for in payment for your sins, it’s obvious that God places immeasurable value upon you. But with that understood, He expects you to see yourself as nothing in comparison to Him.

You see, God doesn’t necessarily want you to be monetarily poor as you live upon this earth — even though He doesn’t promise that you will be rich, either — but He does want you to be “poor in spirit.” This will allow you to have the attitude that will make it easy for you to not only experience salvation by believing in Jesus but also to look to Him each day to meet all your needs. That is, after all, what beggars do. They look to someone else to take care of them. And Jesus will be that person to you in regards to not only your eternal existence but also your earthly one if you will allow Him to be.