Are you Poor in spirit?

Matthew 5:1-3

“Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.  And 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 ESV)

What does “the poor in spirit” mean?  Often in our culture we have a bad connotation of the word poor, as in the under resourced are people getting government assistance.  But is Jesus implying that this is a social class of people who do not have wealth, and I believe the answer is no way, not even close to what he is saying.  Then we must ask what is the meaning of “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”?

First and foremost is this; “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” and it is in the present tense, these poor in spirit already have the kingdom of heaven, it is not something they are trying to obtain, not something they are looking forward to.  It might help us to explore the relationship of a child coming to Jesus, to help us grasp the understanding of “the poor in spirit.”  Do you recall Jesus saying the following: “And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:2-4 ESV)  The poor in spirit already have the kingdom of heaven, and Jesus tells us we must become like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven, and how do we do that?  “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Did you get what Jesus said, it was not how much education or how little, it was not Jew or Gentile, it was not rich or poor, it was “whoever” humbles themselves like a child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

In the Old Testament a person comes to God as one who is needy or poor, who seeks God’s help and depended entirely on Him for their needs, with this exception, they were looking foreword to Christ coming.  These people had a broken and contrite spirit before God.  Jesus is telling us that when we get to the point of understanding we are broken, that we have come short of God’s requirement, that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  That is when we come to the point of depending on God and His grace to buy us out of sins control then we are becoming poor in spirit.

As we look at Matthew 5:4-9, in the days to come we find these verses are in the future tense, but Matthew 5:10 is also in the present tense.  When Jesus came so did the fulfillment of the kingdom of heaven, but verses 4-9 are promises that are yet to be fulfilled.

For anyone to enter the kingdom of God, it requires a death to all that you have, and humility to the point of acknowledging that you are a sinner in need of a Savior.  This is how Jesus put it; “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3 ESV)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice