Sermon on the Mount
The Christian Character
Matthew 5:3 - 7:27
(Cf. Luke 6:20-49)
Part 2 – Beatitudes – the poor in spirit
This is Part 2 in a 14-part series of studies I call “The Christian Character” as described by Jesus to a crowd of people on a Galilean hillside as he delivered what is more familiarly known as the “Sermon on the Mount.”
The 14 parts are as follows:
Part 1 – Introduction
Part 2 – Beatitudes – the poor in spirit
Part 3 - Beatitudes – those who mourn
Part 4 - Beatitudes – the meek, and those who hunger and thirst
Part 5 - Beatitudes – the merciful and the pure in heart
Part 6 - Beatitudes – peacemakers
Part 7 - Beatitudes – the persecuted and insulted
Part 8 - Salt of the earth and light of the world
Part 9 - Righteousness exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees; divorce, oaths
Part 10 - Eye for eye, loving neighbor and hating enemy, being perfect
Part 11 - Three things to do, not to be seen by men and a model prayer
Part 12 - Laying up treasures, eye is the lamp of the body, serving two masters
Part 13 - Do not judge, do not give what is holy to dogs and pigs
Part 14 - Ask, seek, and knock; the narrow gate; false prophets; building on the rock
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Part 2 – Beatitudes – the poor in spirit
Review
Last week we began this series on Jesus’ sermon on the mount with an introduction to the sermon and some broad observations about its context and content. We saw that the first thing listed by the prophet (Isaiah) in his statement of Jesus’ mission was that Jesus was anointed by the Spirit to preach the gospel of the kingdom. In Luke 4 Jesus himself quoted that passage from Isaiah 61 while speaking in the synagogue in his hometown, Nazareth. He followed that reading by saying that he was the one who would do those things Isaiah prophesied. In the sermon on the mount, we find Jesus doing exactly that – preaching the gospel – in the preamble to the sermon on the mount (Matthew 24:23-25).
Jesus was anointed to preach the gospel of the kingdom. Last week we concluded that – although the good news of salvation had not been fully inaugurated, and the kingdom in its present form did not appear until weeks after Jesus ascended to heaven - the teaching in this sermon is part and parcel with the gospel as we commonly use that word.
There is a discourse (or sermon) in Luke 6: 20-49 that has some similarities to Matthew 5-7, but I believe that is another occasion, not a separate account of this one, for reasons I explained then.
I mentioned that Jesus’ teaching – here and elsewhere – penetrates directly to the innermost person, rather than what we may present to others as evidence of the goodness we want them to see. The human heart is the fountainhead of our actions. Jesus wants our hearts right so that which flows from it will be pure and true, not pretended.
I said that the teachings of Jesus in this sermon, form the nucleus of all Jesus’ teachings and in fact, the bible…
…and that in turn, the beatitudes form the nucleus of this sermon. There are threads that tie the teachings throughout the sermon to the beatitudes. We will point out some of these connections as we go along in the series.
The beatitudes present a value system that is completely upside down from natural human impulses. Some examples are:
Matt 5:3 – If I am poor (not rich) in spirit, I am blessed.
V4 - If I mourn, I am blessed.
V10 – If I am persecuted for righteousness’ sake, I am blessed.
V11 – If people insult me and say false things about me, I am blessed.
End of review
THE BEATITUDES
A beatitude begins by saying someone in a certain condition is blessed, and specifies why or in what way the blessing occurs. Blessedness is not something we produce by effort, or by simply saying “Let’s all be happy.” Blessedness is the product of the “be” state described in the beatitudes. Happiness, joy, and being right with God are all on the same road as blessedness.
Jesus begins the sermon with the first beatitude.
BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT, FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
“Poor” from the word in the original language is defined by Strong as a beggar, who relies chiefly or exclusively on charitable donations to live. In literal terms, that’s not the kind of life we would usually chart for ourselves.
“Spirit” is from the word pneuma¸ which, according to Strong, means a current of air, that is, breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively a spirit, that is, (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc.
Poverty of spirit, then, means that those so blessed are those who depend entirely on the charity of another for their spirits’ sustenance. In this beatitude, those blessed ones are beggars – paupers – completely dependent on the Lord’s charity - and nothing will ever change that.
It involves humility but goes beyond it.
It involves subjection/obedience but reaches beyond it.
It is involved in worship (bowed down before the Sovereign) but is not only bowing down in adoration.
Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 64:5-6 NASB “You meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways. For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”
Notice - it is not our unrighteous deeds that are like a filthy garment – our RIGHTEOUS deeds are like a filthy garment (KJV filthy rags). When we present our righteous deeds to God as the justification for our hope of eternal life, are we poor or are we rich?
We are poor. We stand before God with NOTHING to offer for our sins but the righteousness that comes from Jesus’ charity.
We are not rich by our own doing, any more than the Laodicea church.
Revelation 3:17 (to Laodicea) "Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'; and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked..."
We like Charlotte Elliott who wrote in the timeless words of the familiar invitational song:
Just as I am without one plea but that thy blood was shed for me.
To such, Jesus says, belongs the kingdom of heaven.
The kingdom is referred to in several ways:
• kingdom of heaven
• kingdom of God
• kingdom of light
• kingdom of the Son he loves
• the kingdom
• etc.
What is the kingdom of heaven, and can it be possessed?
It is common among the churches of Christ to say that the kingdom is the church – that they are identical as to time, characteristics, purpose, and population. I have no great argument with that, but I want to offer some biblical clarification about the kingdom.
First, the case for the proposition that the church is synonymous with the kingdom:
Daniel 7:13-14 - In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass in Luke 4 away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
Daniel 7:27 - Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.'
Matthew 16:18-19 - And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
Mark 9:1 Some standing here who will not taste of death till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.
Luke 24:49 wait in Jerusalem till you are endued with power from on high
(it would happen in Jerusalem and would be within a time one could wait for–very soon)
In answer to a question from the disciples about whether Jesus, having been resurrected, would now restore the kingdom to Israel, He answered:
Acts 1:8 - you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Acts 2:1-3 They were in Jerusalem, and the Holy Spirit came upon them with power, enabling them to speak in languages they had not learned.
Acts 2:1-4 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (or, empowered them)
Acts 2:38-41 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call." With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (At this point, they had a group identity.)
Acts 2:47 …praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (“their number” in the original is ekklesia, which means “a calling out, as in a popular meeting or community of members. It was in earlier translations often translated into our English word “church.”
According to this perspective, the first beatitude means:
“To the poor in spirit belong the kingdom, or the church.”
The church is our kingdom--not instead of belonging to the King, but our relationship with the King places us within the kingdom.
The other – and broader - view of the kingdom:
The idea that the church is identical in every way to the kingdom does not satisfy every passage of scripture about the kingdom and all that is under God’s sovereignty.
About 1,000 years before Pentecost, this was written (by David, it is believed):
Psalm 103:19 - “The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.”
(In this Psalm the Psalmist considered the Lord’s kingdom to exist in his time.)
Matthew 11:11 - John the Baptist was said by Jesus to be equal to the greatest of those born among women; yet “he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
(Jesus shows that the kingdom belongs to little children.)
Luke 10:1, 9-11 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go…vs9-11 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’
(Jesus, sending out the seventy to the places he would go later, wanted the people to which the seventy were sent to know that - whether they accepted the message or not - the kingdom of God had come near to them.)
It might be suggested that all these references to the kingdom, all the way back to David and possibly earlier, were in anticipation of the coming kingdom as Daniel’s prophecies are.
Decide for yourself what these pre-Pentecost passages alluding to the kingdom as then existing mean in our thinking. To me they suggest that God has always been sovereign over his people and from before the time of Saul as their king.
That is why it offended God when the people demanded a king like other nations had:
1 Samuel 8:5-7 NASB and they said to him, "Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations." But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the Lord. The Lord said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.
With the sole exception of the literal earthly kingdoms of Israel and Judah, which God granted to the people over his own objections because he himself was their king and wished to be so honored with their fealty – with that single exception, the kingdom, whether alluded to as the kingdom of God, of Christ, of heaven, or any other description, is the same kingdom. Otherwise we must account for multiple spiritual kingdoms throughout the times covered in the foregoing scriptures.
The kingdom is a subject that deserves much study. I encourage you to pursue a clear knowledge of the kingdom of heaven, of which you are a part, in your private or family studies. We will return to it from time to time in this series as the kingdom is mentioned in other contexts.
A large part of Jesus’ teaching was in parables, many of which he began by saying, “The kingdom is like…”
For our purposes, it is enough to know that the poor in spirit are present-day citizens in the kingdom of heaven, and are in subjection to Jesus Christ, our king throughout eternity.
