Series: The Sermon on the Mount
Title: The Poor in Spirit
Text: Matthew 5:3
When two people who love one another come together on the day of their wedding, there are traditional vows which are often spoken to one another.
I, take you, to be my wife... for better and for worse... in sickness and in health... for richer and for poorer.
And it is implied within these vows that you are expressing the two extremes of life.
Things are either good or the are bad.
The good things are expressed by “health and richness”
The bad things are expressed by “sickness and poorness”
Culturally, we understand that a person’s situation could be called “bad” if they are experiencing times of either physical sickness or economic distress.
Most people believe that it is good to be healthy and rich.
And it is bad to be sick and poor.
And our wedding vows demonstrate this by exposing these extremes to those who are getting married - that they are committing to be with each other through the good and the bad.
So, as a society we have concluded that being poor is akin to being sick, in that it is undesirable - it is NOT good.
Yet, the very first of the Beatitudes of Jesus expresses the blessed value of poorness.
This morning, as we continue our series with the Sermon on the Mount, we are going to examine Jesus’s words regarding the poor.
We are going to see that this often quoted beatitude is just as often misunderstood.
And we are going to seek to understand just what Jesus meant when He pronounced the blessing of the Kingdom of Heaven upon the “poor”.
READ: Matthew 5:3
One of the things which Jesus does in the sermon on the mount is that He seeks to clear up misunderstandings about the Law of God.
Throughout his discourse, following the beatitudes, He deconstructs commonly held beliefs about the Law and demonstrates the underlying truths of them all.
He says, “You ave heard it said... BUT I tell you...”
Well, beloved, this morning I plan to follow in the footsteps of my Lord.
In the same way that many people had misunderstood the Law of God, many people have also misunderstood the teachings of Jesus.
And one of the places of misunderstandings is in the Beatitudes.
In particular, this first statement of blessing, wherein Jesus mentions the “poor”.
This morning, I plan to demonstrate three things from Scripture regarding this beatitude:
The term “Poor” does not necessarily refer to economic poverty
The term “Poor” refers to being absolutely destitute of our own self-reliance
The term “Poor” is in direct opposition to the modern gospel of self-esteem
The term “Poor” does not necessarily refer to economic poverty
Although it is a very popular belief held among Roman Catholics, neo-evangelicals, modernists and socialists, the truth is that economic destitution does not necessarily make someone right with God.
There are many people who are in financial crisis who are at the same time opposed to Christ and opposed to the Gospel.
And to proclaim them righteous simply because of their poverty is not biblical, nor is it a right understanding of Jesus’s words in this beatitude.
In fact, Jesus’s words here provide for their own appropriate interpretation.
He does not simply say that the “Poor” are blessed.
He adds the qualifier, “Poor in Spirit.”
This shows us that He is not referring necessarily to economic poverty, but a different kind of poverty which is blessed by God - a poverty of the spirit.
Furthermore, throughout the Bible we find that some types of poverty are actually condemned by God.
The poor person who is poor because of his laziness is not blessed, but rather called down for their wickedness.
Proverbs 6:6–11 ESV “6 Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. 7 Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, 8 she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. 9 How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, 11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.”
You see, in this passage the poverty experienced by the lazy person is not a virtue, but a cursed consequence of his own unwillingness to work.
There are also those who are poor because of frivolity and excess, and the Bible condemns them too.
Proverbs 28:19 ESV “Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.”
So, it is clear that simply being in poverty is not necessarily a condition of those who are blessed by God - in fact, sometimes poverty is the result of God’s judgment.
In contrast to this, we also see that there are those in Scripture who were blessed with great material wealth, and yet were also in the grace of God.
Abraham and David were both men of wealth.
Abraham was called the friend of God.
David was referred to as a man after God’s own heart.
They demonstrate that it is possible to have material wealth and still be in a positive relationship with God.
QUOTE: On this point, Brian Schwertley has written, “There is no virtue in being poor economically. The unregenerate poor are no closer to God than are the unsaved rich. There is no spiritual advantage of living in economic poverty. If poverty guaranteed spirituality, the poorest sections of cities and the large third world slums would be the safest places to live. However, everyone knows they are by far the most dangerous.”
NOTE: The Roman Catholics have interpreted this passage in such a way that it has led to the belief that there is a virtue in taking a “Vow of Poverty.”
This means to purposely live a life of economic destitution.
And the result has actually been negative, as it leads to a people who do little to nothing productive and feel virtuous in their lack of accomplishment.
Even the famed Mother Teresa had a very unbiblical view of poverty and suffering, believing that more poverty and suffering led to a closer relationship with God - as a result, those who were in her shelters were often kept in horrid conditions, devoid of proper medical treatment, although she had access to a fortune which could have brought some comfort.
This is not to say that all she did was bad - but rather that she was led by a very destructive and unbiblical false doctrine of the virtue of poverty for poverty’s sake.
It is clear that this beatitude is not speaking of the economically poor, necessarily.
As we have noted, there are poor people who are rebellious and have no desire to follow Christ.
And there are those who have plenty whom God is their sole delight.
But, if this is the case, why is it that Jesus does not add the qualifier “in spirit” in the Gospel of Luke?
It seems in Luke that Jesus simply gives a blessing to the poor - and it is compounded by the fact that He then says that the rich are condemned.
Luke 6:20 “And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”
Luke 6:24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.”
This is one of those times wherein we must allow Scripture to interpret Scripture.
Just because the qualification, “in spirit” is not in the passage from Luke, does not mean that it is not implied.
It is a necessary consequence of comparing scripture with scripture to conclude that it is, in fact, implied in Jesus’s words.
But there is more that we can draw from this.
There is a very real sense which the Bible expresses that being rich can keep people from the Kingdom of Heaven.
Not that it has to, but that it has a propensity to.
People of great economic wealth have the tendency to love their money, to trust their money, and to put great value in their money.
As such their wealth becomes their God.
This is why Jesus said, “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24)
And that is is impossible for a person to serve both God and money. (Matthew 6:24)
So, there is no salvation in being poor.
But there is a part of being rich which can keep us from understanding of own spiritual poverty and turning to Christ as the Savior.
Thus Christ decries the rich who trust in their riches.
Which is why He makes the point to tell the story in Luke 16 of the rich man who would not share of his riches, who died and ended up in Hell.
This is a picture of all those who love their money more than God and more than their fellow man.
Noteworthy: Before moving on, it is important also to mention that there is a large portion of Scripture devoted to expressing God’s concern for the “pious poor”.
The “pious poor” are those who are poor because of oppression and subjugation of the unrighteous.
God promises to deliver such throughout the Scripture, and promises of deliverance are found in the books of:
Exodus
Deuteronomy
2 Samuel
Psalms
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Amos
Zecheriah
This Bible is clear that God warns the rich to never oppress the poor.
Zechariah 7:10 “do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”
QUOTE: Brian Schwertley comments: “If all these passages are carefully studied one does not see that God is exalting economic poverty. But rather, God is looking out for believers who are weak and vulnerable because it is the weak (the poor, homeless, widows, orphans, sojourners, etc.) that are most often exploited
and treated unjustly. That was true during the Old Covenant administration, in Jesus’ own day, and it is still true today. These passages do not teach that God thinks economic poverty is wonderful or that Jehovah favors socialism, which is based on theft and statism, but that God will defend and avenge the righteous poor who are oppressed.”
So, it is safe to conclude that the “Poor” which Jesus refers to in the beatitudes are not necessarily the economically impoverished.
But, if this is so, who then is He referring?
We have examined what He did NOT mean...but what DOES HE mean?
Who are the “Poor in Spirit”?
II. The term “Poor in Spirit” refers to being absolutely destitute of our own self-reliance
The person who is ‘Poor in Spirit” is the person who acknowledges and understands their own spiritual bankruptcy before God.
They understand that when it comes to righteousness, they are not only “poor” they are “FLAT BROKE”.
They have nothing - no righteousness - which they can bring to God and show Him as a testimony of their goodness.
They know what it means when the Bible says all our righteousness is like a polluted garment - a filthy rag (Isaiah 64:6)
Consider King David.
We have already noted that he was economically rich.
He had a kingdom with vast wealth, servants, and many material blessings.
But, what did he say of himself?
Psalms 86:1 ESV “Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.”
Psalms 40:17 ESV “As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!”
Psalms 109:21–22 ESV “21 But you, O GOD my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name’s sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me! 22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me.”
So, while we know David was welthy materially, how did he speak of himself before God?
As poor and needy!
That is spiritual poverty.
And it is the very definition of what Jesus meant when He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
QUESTION: What is the opposite of spiritual poverty?
ANSWER: Pride
A heart that feels self sufficient, proud of its own accomplishments, and boastful of its own goodness is the opposite of spiritual poverty.
And it is the very type of heart which God rejects.
“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the Humble” (James 4:6).
This is expressed most powerfully in one of Jesus’s parables:
Luke 18:9–14 ESV “9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayedthus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
If ever we needed a picture to go along with Jesus’s first beatitude, this man is it.
His lack of self-sufficiency and utter dependency on God’s mercy demonstrates the reality of his spiritual poverty.
And what does Jesus say of Him?
He was justified before God - He was right with God - He is an inheritor of the Kingdom.
CONCLUSION: I want to conclude by making a few observations regarding the third point which I gave you at the beginning of our lesson today.
The term “Poor in Spirit” is in direct opposition to the modern gospel of self-esteem
It has become the norm among modern evangelicals to spend their sermon times being uplifted by words of personal encouragement.
Sermons entitled, “Why you are good just the way you are” and “The virtue in being yourself” have become very popular.
And there has becomes a sense in which the Gospel is no longer about telling people about the perils of sin and the glory of the Savior, but rather it has become about uplifting their own feelings of self-worth.
There are men (and women) who are right now taking on the mantel of authority, standing in the pulpit, and telling every last one of their hearers unconditionally and without qualification that God loves them, accepts them just as they are, approves of their hopes and dreams and aspirations, and wants nothing more than He wants for them to be happy and fulfill their desires. God will initial all their aspirations, and back them up all the way. (Ref: teampyro).
And people are eating this stuff up.
Never are the words uttered that we are called to “die to ourselves”
That we are admonished to “take up the cross and follow Him”
That instead of having a sense of self-sufficiency and self-worth, that we are to instead find our worth in Jesus Christ.
QUOTE: John Calvin “Humility [is]. . . a real annihilation of ourselves, proceeding from a thorough knowledge of our own weakness, the entire absence of lofty pretensions and a conviction that whatever excellence we possess comes from the grace of God alone”
I want to leave you with this thought.
The secret to true self-esteem is understanding who you are in Christ.
You are a sinful person.
You are unworthy of God’s love.
You bring nothing to the table in regard to righteousness.
You are spiritually destitute.
And yet... Christ loves you.
That is where we understand our true worth.
And where we get our most proper understanding of self-esteem.
Blessed are the poor in Spirit - for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to them.
