Poor in Spirit

 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. 

Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. 

Blessed are the meek. For they shall inherit the earth.

 
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, For they shall be filled with mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called Sons of God

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake, Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."   

        

                                        Matthew 5:3-12

    

    Jesus begins his message that has come to be known as the Sermon on the Mount with a list of Blessings, commonly referred to as the Beatitudes. Let's jump right in a look at the first one.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (vs3)

    What does it mean to be poor in spirit? The word Blessed means to confer or invoke divine favor upon; to ask God to look favorably on. When we say that someone is poor in spirit, it is not saying that person is without or lacking. To be poor in spirit means to we as human finite beings recognize we need something more than ourselves to provide the grace and mercy that we need to make it though our daily life. What Jesus is saying right out the gate is that when we acknowledge our need for a savior, we are on the right track to receiving all the Father has for His children. In this case, our inheritance is the Kingdom of Heaven

"The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those such as have a contrite spirit" 

Psalm 34:18

"But on this I will look; on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word." 

Isaiah 66:2b

    The word Contrite here means to be in a state of deep sorrow and repentance, typically from a soul who is exercising a state of humility. I believe what Jesus is emphasizing here is that until we come to the Father in pure humility, we will not be fully blessed, and therefore not receive the promises God has for our lives. 

    Jesus is very intentional when it comes to what He says and when He says it. The fact that this is how He starts the Beatitudes is important, because until we decide to come poor in spirit to the feet of the Father, our hearts won't be open to hear anything he has to say. It reminds me of Pharaoh back in Egypt, refusing to let the Israelites go free. His heart had become so hard that the only way God could get through to him was to kill his firstborn son and leave his nation in desolation and ruin. I don't want my life to end up in the same way because I refused to lay down my pride and pick up a spirit of humility. But rather, I want everything God has for me, to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven as a blood-bought, sin-forgiven Son of God. Who wants to join me?

Adam Semple- A Young Man on a Journey into the Sermon on the Mount