Poor in Spirit

nd seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: "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 obtain 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.
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder,' and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you are thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. And if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery. Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.' But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5)

This passage was delivered to unbelievers, not to believers. Consider the context. Christ came to this earth so that people will repent and turn to Him and receive eternal life. Certainly Christ had something to say to the unbelievers.

"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."(Luke 19:10)

And so it was, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. (Matthew 9:10-13 see also Mark 2:17 and Luke 5:32)

This sermon was undoubtedly repeated many times by Christ as He traveled from town to town and taught the people.

But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth." And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons. (Mark 1:38,9)

The sermon is repeated in another form in Luke chapter 6. Many are led to believe that because the preceding verse states: "...when He was seated His disciples came to Him..." that the passage is being delivered to believers. However, is it correct to assume at this point that 1) His Disciples are the only audience? and 2) All His disciples are believers? Not at all. Judas the betrayer never became a believer. Is is highly doubtful that Thomas is a believer at this point (see John 20:27-29) It appears perhaps that Andrew and Peter were believers at this point (John 1:35-42) but it is not fair to assume the rest of the disciples were believers so early. Christ did not confront them with the gospel and their decision as soon as He met them like a good Baptist. Rather, He kept them with Him for three years and showed them the gospel with His life.
Without considering this context, that Christ is speaking to unbelievers, it is easy to arrive at an erroneous interpretation of what Christ is saying. For example, if you arrive at Matthew chapter 5 with the attitude "I know the Bible is the Word of God, so what is God saying to me today?" Then you have missed considering the audience whom Christ is addressing, and you will arrive at an interpretation that is out of context. There is a real problem for the reader with this mind set when he is confronted with the verse:

And if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. (Matthew 5:29)

Rest assured that Christ does not want you to pluck out your eye! He wants you to be confronted with the seriousness of sin, and for you to know that you need a Savior, if you haven't received Him already. Who is in the audience? The same people you would expect if a prominent religious figure were speaking today: People who are not necessarily saved but have some deference to the concepts of God and religion, and their friends and relatives who came with them. The same people who fill our Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, etc. churches, many who believe that because they are relatively good, compared to most people, that God will let them into heaven. As a new Christian I started reading the book of Matthew, and coming to the Sermon on the Mount I assumed that I should be able to understand it, after all, it's the first book in the new testament! When I read the first beatitude

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:1)

I naturally assumed I was one of those who am entering the kingdom of heaven, so how does the phrase "poor in spirit" apply to me? The phrase "poor in spirit" appears no where else in the Bible. However, the phrase "be filled with the spirit" does appear! "Be filled with the spirit" seems to say just the opposite of "poor in spirit" and from the context is plain that it is something to be desired.

And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18)

The word "spirit" is often referring to the Holy Spirit, but certainly not always.

"Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matthew 26:41)

The word "spirit" is translated from the Greek word "pneuma" in the new testament or the Hebrew word "rûah" in the old testament which means "air" or "wind". Today we are too sophisticated to associate wind with spirit since we know a molecular explanation for the phenomenon of wind. But the association is a good one because the idea is that a spirit is something that you know is there, you just can't put a hand on it!

I consulted some commentaries for the phase "poor in spirit". "Those that know their poverty before God" said one commentary. "Those who consciously depend on God" said another. Not very satisfied, I compared Luke chapter 6 for clues. It is reasonable that Luke 6 was the same overall message as Matthew 5, as a different version of the same speech.

"Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full, For you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, For you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets." (Luke 6:20-26)

The passage is so similar that I have to assume it is for the same purpose. And because different words and phrases are used, that should help decipher the meaning! Now we have "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." And " But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation." to have been written for the same purpose as "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Christ uses "poor in spirit" or just "poor" for the same purpose!

One easy thing to notice is that Abraham, though he was a very rich man, and Job, and others were rich, and they went to heaven. So, Christ cannot be telling us that we necessarily have to be monetarily poor to enter heaven (whew!) What follows from this reasoning is that one need not necessarily be "poor in spirit" as well! So I need not constrain the meaning so that it applies to me.

One often does not have to go far to have an obscure biblical passage cleared up. The second beatitude is:

The second beatitude may well have a similar meaning to the first beatitude. Notice that one does not strive to "mourn", but rather mourning is an unfortunate and undesirable condition, caused perhaps by the death of a loved one. It follows that neither does one strive to be "poor in spirit". In fact, I believe, that one who is in mourning is "poor in spirit"! In modern lingo therefore, "poor in spirit" means "feeling down" or even "having low self-esteem". So what point is Christ making? To correct an erroneous idea that the multitude has. They are in error about who will inherit the kingdom of God. Look at what the disciples are thinking in this passage:

Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. "And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." When His disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:21-26)

The disciples have the idea that if a man is so blessed by God in this life on earth that he is rich, than surely God loves him so much that he will inherit heaven! That is why they are so surprised at what Christ said. Similarly, the multitudes also have erroneous ideas about who will inherit heaven. They assumed that the prominent (i.e. not meek) and rich, and religious leaders are surely first in line for God's favor, after all they are in these positions because they are blessed by God And they think that those afflicted people who are down and out and out of luck are surely that way because God does not love them, and are under His curse! No! Says Christ, those who you think are cursed are loved by God, and He calls them "blessed". In the minds of this audience, those who are most blessed are the Pharisees, and Christ puts them in their place in this parable:

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 'I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be abased, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke18:9-14)

Now of course not every person who is poor (Luke 6:20) is going to inherit heaven, just as not everyone who is rich is doomed. Christ overstates the point. This is a literary style and a method of speech that is also common today. How many times have you said "I'm starving" when it really isn't true, or "When I heard of it, I just died" is another example of an overstatement. Here is another verse where Christ uses an overstatement.

"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple." (Luke14:26)

I purposely divided Matthew chapter 5 into 2 paragraphs, because two main points are being made. First, as I already stated, that the audience is in error about who God shines His favor on. Second is that everyone in His audience falls short of God's righteous requirement and the unstated implication is that they need a Savior. Fortunately, to help us understand this passage of the Bible, we have a record of a conversation in the home of Tychicus of Capernum and his wife Priscilla, their sons Rufus and Apelles, and the sister of Priscilla, Julia.

Tychicus: Let's have some meaningful dinner conversation this time, shall we? We went to quite an event today. What do you think of Jesus' talk?

Rufus: Unique.

Apelles: Yeah, he was different from those other guys in the synagogue.

Rufus: And not as boring.

Tychicus: What exactly did he say? Do you remember something specific?

Julia: You are the light of the world.

Rufus: Thank you, Julia.

Julia: I was not talking to you, I was answering your father's question.

Tychicus: What else did he say about that? What about the "light of the world"?

Priscilla: I took notes. He said, "You are the light of the world. A city on top of a hill cannot be hidden. You don't put a lamp under a basket but on the lampstand, so it lights up the house. Let your light shine, so everyone can see all your good works and glorify God."

Tychicus: Let's explore this some. Imagine for a moment, that we put Rufus on the lampstand, so we all can see his good works.

Apelles: OK, Rufus, get up there.

Rufus: I'd rather we just imagine it. I'm eating my dinner.

Tychicus: I've now imagined it for a second and a half, and I can say that Rufus cannot possibly be the light of the world.

Priscilla: Please, tell us why.

Tychicus: Because I have to tell him eight times to take out the garbage!

Rufus: OK, OK, I admit it. I'm not the light of the world.

Tychicus: Let's take Rufus down off the lampstand. Who wants to be put on the lampstand.

Julia: Don't put me up there.

Apelles: I don't want to be up there.

Priscilla: Not me.

Tychicus: Nor I. *

Many Christians today read the sermon on the mount and think that they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Many others believe that Christ is teaching that as Christians they ought to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. But these two verses are not given in isolation. Note that Christ gives them this warning:

"But if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. (Matthew 5:13)

"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder,' and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. (Matthew 5:21,2)

"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27,8)

"But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. (Matthew 5:37)

And then Christ says that we should love our enemies so that we may be sons of the Father who is in heaven. He then later refers to His audience as evil:

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:11)

"Do you think that you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world? Keep in mind that if salt loses it's saltiness it is good for nothing but is to be thrown out and trampled! Now note this: The law is not going to disappear, and the fact is that you are guilty of murder, adultery, and you're a liar!"

Christ came to this earth to save sinners. A first and necessary step is for those sinners to understand and accept that they "fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). People who think that they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world do not think that they need a Savior. Christ demonstrates to His audience in the Sermon on the Mount that they are far removed from what God's law commands.