Sermon on the Mount: Who Wants to be Poor?

Matthew 5:3: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."              

"In a word, the wise man was the God-fearing man; his wisdom lay not just in a static attitude of reverence, but rather in the conscious development of the mind toward wisdom in the context of reverence." [1]

Choosing to be Poor

I doubt becoming "poor in spirit" was on anyone's New Year's resolution list. 

"Poor in spirit" does not describe financial poverty or low self-esteem. Jesus was not saying, "Blessed are the pathetic people or the wimps of the world." To be "poor in spirit" is to recognize our personal moral lack, our spiritual poverty apart from God.

"Poor in spirit" is not a confession of insignificance or personal worthlessness; both are untrue. Rather, it is a confession that apart from Christ, our problem is that we are sinful and rebellious. We are spiritually impoverished.

The first step on the road to spiritual recovery is to admit you are powerless—that you have a problem you can't solve. You can't deal with all the harmful habits, hurts, behaviors, and problems in your life with good intentions alone. You need a power beyond your own. If we don't realize our need and repent, we will never enjoy the blessings God has for us. Healing, hope, and salvation start with recognizing that we have a problem.

We must become like the tax collector who was praying in the temple (in stark contrast to the self-righteous Pharisee) and, according to Jesus in Luke 18:13b, "Would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'"

Conviction precedes conversion. Shatter the illusion that you are sufficiently righteous to please God.

Until you see your own poverty, you cannot see God's riches.

Expose yourself to the full glare of this Beatitude. Nothing is more uncomfortable than discovering that what we thought would pass muster doesn't even get us in the front door. The second Beatitude will be discussed next week.

[1] Elwell, Walter A., and Barry J. Beitzel. "Wisdom, Wisdom Literature." Baker encyclopedia of the Bible 1988 : 2149–2150. Print.

[i]. David L. Turner, Matthew: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008), 76.