The Beatitudes: Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3, ESV)

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, He gives a lesson on a mountainside. There is a great crowd of people around Him, and they are all attentive to what this Messiah has to say. For the Jews, they believed that Jesus was here to free them from Roman occupation and rule, restoring them to political power and peace, and reigning over them victoriously whilst pouring out spiritual and material blessings over His chosen people the Jews.

But in Matthew 5, the beginning of what has more popularly become known as the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus sets a very different tone than what the Jewish people assumed of a Messiah for generations. Instead, Jesus lays out more of a foundation to discipleship; what daily life looks like for someone who belongs to the Kingdom of Heaven, and how His followers should ethically live. 

The sermon is long– it spans multiple chapters– but one of the more recognizable highlights to Christians is a section called the Beatitudes, where Jesus gives us a list of nine spiritual joys believers get to enjoy.

With the Beatitudes, Bible-readers and students alike can casually gloss over these short, sweet verses and take them at face-value. But the truth is, each one of these verses are rich with spiritual insight, and at their heart, are the building blocks of Christian life and mindset. 

Take the first Beatitude– and today’s key verse– Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. At face value, we might think that Jesus means that those in poverty are blessed because they don’t have material distractions that keep them from seeing who God truly is, so they are recipients of God’s kingdom. But we have to remember: at this moment, Jesus isn’t talking about material poverty. He’s getting to the core of faith and salvation. Like so many other things that Jesus talks about, we have to put aside our physical and worldly understanding and use our spiritual eyes to see the deeper implications and application.

Jesus doesn’t say blessed are the poor. He says blessed are the poor in spirit. And the word He uses for poor doesn’t denote a working class poor in the original Hebrew. It denotes a poverty so dire that one can only beg. And to be that poor in spirit is to admit that there is nothing within our power that can save us. There is no physical strength, power of the mind, charismatic persuasion, or any other human ability that can rescue us from the sin into which we are born.

And what does that mean? We need a savior that is mightier than us. It means that we are so devoid in spirit that we need to beg for salvation in order to receive it. And there isn’t any one of us that are exempt from this spiritual bankruptcy. There is not one of us who aren’t poor in spirit. There is no one who is not in need of the saving grace that Jesus extends to us. If any one of us declines that grace or thinks that we don’t need it, we will remain in our sin, unable to enjoy the irrevocable joy of belonging to God.

Because this short verse is also a promise that those who are enlightened by the Holy Spirit to see how their sin separates them from God, will be led to beg for forgiveness of their sins and become a recipient of grace. That grace marks that person to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven as a son or daughter of God the Father.

That’s a common theme that runs through all of Jesus’ teachings– that the least among this world are often in a position where they can rightly see Jesus and gain more than the wealthiest. We see this in the way that Jesus spent most of His time among beggars, the sick, prostitutes, and those that are unseen or disregarded by society. In a lot of instances, these people might seem weak, uneducated, or less worthy, but they are able to understand their need for a savior better. And they are not too proud to admit that need, and in that admission they are rewarded.

You see, the Kingdom of Heaven is not inherited by the impressive or the wealthy. It is not reserved for one race or social class. It is not reserved for people who are overly-good, nice, or hyper-spiritual. It is freely given to those who are so low in spirit that they know they have nothing to offer and nothing to leverage for their own salvation. 

So they ask for it; and in return for seeing their own sin and spiritual poverty, they are given mercy. Those that are regarded as having nothing are suddenly qualified for everything. Those that are lost and dirty with sin are now picked up, cleansed, and given spiritual riches that cannot be taken away.

That’s why we are blessed when we are poor in spirit. Not only because we have the future promise of inheriting God’s kingdom as an heir, but because even in our earthly life, we are able to enjoy a joy and peace that is untouchable and unshakeable. Once we realize that we belong to an everlasting God with an eternal, victorious kingdom, we may have troubles, but we are able to cling to hope.

The beauty of the Beatitudes is that this first spiritual blessing is something that we all qualify for and in many ways is the prerequisite for the rest of them.

Without our admission that we are poor in spirit and in need of a Savior, we won’t be able to receive the maturity of spirit to mourn over our sins. Without that, we cannot be meek or hunger for righteousness. Without receiving God’s mercy and peace, we will find it hard to give mercy and peace to others. Without God, we cannot desire the purity necessary to see Him rightly. 

So today, if you feel conviction of your sins– if you despise the spiritual filth and grime that your own strength has brought you– be encouraged that you are blessed beyond measure. Let that conviction drive you to the feet of Jesus, the only One who could ever save us from ourselves. Cling to the untouchable hope that no matter what, our salvation makes us recipients of grace, and therefore an heir to the Kingdom of Heaven. 

And that's a lot of assurance for a short, little verse that we might’ve glossed over.