Blessed are the poor in spirit

Blessed are the poor in spirit

Scripture:

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.

Matthew 5:1-5

Observation:

After giving a general description of Jesus’ ministry in teaching, preaching and healing, Matthew now goes into the Lord’s specific teaching in the Sermon of the Mount which begins with the famous Beatitudes.

In today’s passage, we look at the first three beatitudes, which declare that blessed are the poor in the spirit, the mourners, and the meek. Blessed means “how happy” and they are happy because theirs is the kingdom of heaven, because they are comforted, and because they will inherit the earth.

Application:

What does it mean to be poor in spirit? Does God expect us to be constantly in gloom and down in heart? Certainly not! The joy of the Lord is our strength. The first three fruits of the Spirit itself, love, joy, peace give us very positive vibes. Being poor in spirit here does not refer to the state after salvation. Rather, it belongs more in the earlier state of realization when a person realizes his true lowly situation of sinfulness. It is only when we realize how sinful and wretched we are in our own selves that we can reach out to Jesus in desperation for salvation. The tax collector who beat his chest and prayed to God “have mercy on me, a sinful man” went home justified before God rather than the Pharisee who thought he was perfectly fine as he was. There are times, when Christians, after walking many years with God, may mistakenly think they have become acceptable because of their deeds and service and forget that they too are sinners saved solely by grace. Though we are joyful because of the great salvation we have, at the same time, we need to maintain that sober attitude of reverence in remembering the Lord’s great sacrifice for us. That’s why in the Holy Communion, we partake in solemn reverence.

Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. It is the repentant sinner who finds the doorway to Heaven through Jesus Christ. The self-reliant Pharisee cannot find it, not realizing that his righteousness are but like filthy rags to the Lord.

How about those who mourn? What are they mourning about? This Beatitude seems connected to the further Beatitude referring to Christian persecution. Although few of us today have really faced persecution, there are many brothers and sisters around the world today who really mourn for their Christian loved ones who have been killed or imprisoned. Early Christians were fed to the lions, sawn in two, crucified and burned alive and there would have been much mourning indeed. Despite this, Jesus promised that they would be comforted. Our God is the God of all comfort. We too, at certain times in life may encounter times of deep sadness where we mourn but as we lean on the Lord, and pour out our emotion to Him, we will find that He really comforts us.

And now, consider the meek, the humble, the lowly. Jesus chose humble fishermen to be His disciples. Jesus Himself came meek and humble. As Christians, we are encouraged to live quiet and humble lives, in submission to authority and serving each other. When Jesus Christ comes back again, and establishes His millennial kingdom, it is then that His meek ones will truly rise up and reign with Him on the earth.                            

Prayer:

Praise thee O Lord, for the greatness of thy name. You reached down from on high and raised us up. When we were overwhelmed in our sins, You forgave us, preparing the way through Your Son, so that we might be made righteous. We thank You, Abba Father, that You are the God of all comfort. In our darkest times, You are there for us, giving us comfort. Let our hope ever be in You, O Lord. Forgive us, O Lord, for the times when we have let pride overcome us. Let us learn to be humble like King David of old who declared “My eyes are not haughty, my heart is not proud, I do not concern myself with great things, of things too wonderful for me”.  Praise thee Lord Jesus, for Your great love for us. Blessed be Your Holy name. In Jesus name, Amen.