Jesus taught them

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Let’s use our imagination to go back to that day, and, as we sit with the disciples on the mountainside, to listen to the words of Jesus. Try to enter into the thoughts and feelings that filled the hearts of the men and women who were eagerly listening to the words of Jesus, understanding what His words meant to those who heard them. This exercise will help us consider Jesus’ words in new vividness and beauty, and we may also gain for ourselves deeper lessons from this powerful sermon.

Cultural context can help us gain a new appreciation for a familiar sermon. Sadly, the spirit of true devotion had been lost in tradition and ceremonialism. These are sobering thoughts for me since any faith community experiences similar dangers throughout its history. Not only had God’s people become caught up with tradition and ceremonialism, but the prophecies about the Messiah were interpreted at the dictate of proud, world-loving hearts. The Jews looked for the coming One, not as a Savior from sin, but as a great prince who should bring all nations under the supremacy of the Lion of the tribe of Judah. John the Baptist called them to repentance with the heart-searching power of the ancient prophets, but his efforts were mostly in vain. Beside the Jordan, John the Baptist had pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world. Through the ministry of John, God was seeking to direct people’s minds to Isaiah’s prophecy of the suffering Savior, but they refused to hear. (Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing 1-2).

Imagine yourself upon the green hillside, awaiting the words of the divine Teacher. The heart of the average listener was likely filled with thoughts of future glory. Remember that there were scribes and Pharisees who looked forward to the day when they should have dominion over the hated Romans and possess the riches and splendor of the world’s great empire. There were likely also poor peasants and fishermen who hoped to hear the assurance that their wretched hovels, the scanty food, the life of drudgery, and fear of going without, were to be exchanged for mansions of plenty and days of ease. In place of the one coarse garment which was their covering by day and their blanket at night, they hoped that Christ would give them the rich and costly robes of their conquerors. (ibid)

Imagine yourself sitting there, your heart thrilled with the proud hope that your nation was soon to be honored before the nations as the chosen of the Lord, and Jerusalem exalted as the head of a universal kingdom.

Now with this mindset read the words that came out of the mouth of Jesus.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- Matthew 5:3 NKJV

Blessed

The sermon on the mount begins with what has traditionally been called “The Beatitudes” from the Latin word for blessed, beatus. These blessings are common throughout the Bible.

Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
- Psalm 1:1 NKJV

Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
And the man who gains understanding;
- Proverbs 3:13 NKJV
And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
- Matthew 11:6 NKJV
I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
- Acts 20:35 NKJV

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
- Revelation 1:3 NKJV

The word “blessed” refers to people who are or will be happy or fortunate. Their happiness is related to God’s response to their behavior or situation. It is also fitting that Jesus introduces His sermon with a list of blessings since God blesses His people before He makes any demands on them. This is similar to what happened at Sinai where God delivered His people from Egypt and blessed them before giving them His law. (Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 97.

Poor in Spirit?

It may seem odd at first that out of all the ways that Jesus could have begun this sermon, He begins by pronouncing a blessing on those who are poor in spirit. I believe this caught many of His hearers by surprise, but when we consider the Bible as a whole we should not be surprised that there is a special blessing to those who are poor. This is not to say that the poor are superior, but rather that they seek and are open to receiving help. We can see this as a theme throughout the Bible.

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
- Isaiah 61:1 NKJV
“The poor and needy seek water, but there is none,
Their tongues fail for thirst.
I, the Lord, will hear them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
- Isaiah 41:17 NKJV

But I am poor and needy;
Yet the Lord thinks upon me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.
- Psalm 40:17 NKJV
But I am poor and sorrowful;
Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.
- Psalm 69:29 NKJV

Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
- James 2:5 NKJV
as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
- 2 Corinthians 6:10 NKJV

This may sound almost offensive to some. Perhaps we long to be told that we are fine just the way we are. Maybe we want God to say that we are good enough. Yet the blessing is for those who realize their spiritual poverty. That is not a good feeling. It is not something you can be proud of.

This self-emptying conviction, that “before God we are void of everything,” lies at the foundation of all spiritual excellence, according to the teaching of Scripture. Without it we are inaccessible to the riches of Christ; with it we are in the fitting state for receiving all spiritual supplies.
- Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 2 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 17.

In support of this, consider the following verses:

17 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— 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.
- Revelation 3:17-18 NKJV

12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 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 9:12-13 NKJV

This is great news since God does not require anything from us as the price for His saving gifts. We just have to recognize our universal destitution and cast ourselves at His mercy and compassion.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
- 1 John 1:9 NKJV

In other words, Jesus said the equivalent of

Happy are they who recognize their spiritual poverty and feel their need for redemption.

The proud heart strives to earn salvation; but both our title to heaven and our fitness for it are found in the righteousness of Christ. The Lord can do nothing toward the recovery of man until, convinced of his own weakness, and stripped of all self-sufficiency, he yields himself to the control of God.
- The Desire of Ages, 300.

Those who mourn

Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
- Matthew 5:4 NKJV

As Jesus continues His sermon, it continues to take unexpected turns.

One might almost translate this second beatitude ‘Happy are the unhappy’ in order to draw attention to the startling paradox it contains. What kind of sorrow can it be which brings the joy of Christ’s blessing to those who feel it? It is plain from the context that those here promised comfort are not primarily those who mourn the loss of a loved one, but those who mourn the loss of their innocence, their righteousness, their self-respect. It is not the sorrow of bereavement to which Christ refers, but the sorrow of repentance.
- John R. W. Stott and John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): Christian Counter-Culture, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 40–41.

We struggle with what Jesus means here, it must mean more than those who mourn the loss of a loved one, though I do not believe it excludes that.

This “mourning” must not be taken loosely for that feeling which is wrung from men under pressure of the ills of life, nor yet strictly for sorrow on account of committed sins. Evidently it is that entire feeling which the sense of our spiritual poverty begets; and so the second beatitude is but the complement of the first.
- Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 2 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 17.

Do we mourn and experience true heart sorrow for our sins? Sometimes we get so used to our favorite sins they don’t even feel that bad anymore.

The mourning here brought to view is true heart sorrow for sin. Jesus says, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.” John 12:32. And as one is drawn to behold Jesus uplifted on the cross, he discerns the sinfulness of humanity. He sees that it is sin which scourged and crucified the Lord of glory. He sees that, while he has been loved with unspeakable tenderness, his life has been a continual scene of ingratitude and rebellion. He has forsaken his best Friend and abused heaven’s most precious gift. He has crucified to himself the Son of God afresh and pierced anew that bleeding and stricken heart. He is separated from God by a gulf of sin that is broad and black and deep, and he mourns in brokenness of heart.
- Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing p9–10.

Meek?

Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
- Matthew 5:5 NKJV

If the first two blessings were challenging to interpret and apply this one is even more so. Once again, this is not a new idea from Jesus’ mind but rather a repetition or continuation of a biblical theme.

But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
- Psalm 37:11 NKJV

In this, Jesus is also our example, though in Matthew 11:29 the New King James Bible translates the same word as “gentle.”

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
- Matthew 11:29 NKJV

Here is what John Stott has to say about this word. (see also 2 Corinthians 10:1 and Zechariah 9:9)

The Greek adjective praüs means ‘gentle’, ‘humble’, ‘considerate’, ‘courteous’, and therefore exercising the self-control without which these qualities would be impossible. Although we rightly recoil from the image of our Lord as ‘gentle Jesus, meek and mild’, because it conjures up a picture of him as weak and effeminate, yet he described himself as ‘gentle (praüs) and lowly in heart’ and Paul referred to his ‘meekness and gentleness’.
- John R. W. Stott and John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): Christian Counter-Culture, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 42,

Dr Lloyd-Jones sums it up nicely: ‘Meekness is essentially a true view of oneself, expressing itself in attitude and conduct with respect to others … The man who is truly meek is the one who is truly amazed that God and man can think of him as well as they do and treat him as well as they do.’ (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount. The combined edition. Vol. I;II. IVP, 1977. p.68-69) This makes the followers of God gentle, humble, sensitive, and patient in all their dealings with others. If you are struggling with the idea of meekness one passage that helps provide perspective on this topic is Psalm 37.

Patience and gentleness under wrong are not characteristics prized by the world. Jesus’ sermon seems to be backward or upside down, the opposite of what everyone expected to hear. How could self-renunciation be the way to world dominion? This is the struggle of the believer, trusting that God will give them the desires of their heart when they commit their way to Him. Do you believe that Jesus is able to do this? Can you believe that the little you have is better than the riches of many wicked? (Ps 37:1–24)

Righteousness

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
- Matthew 5:6 NKJV

I had often wondered about this one, and once again there are other texts in the Bible that help clarify its meaning.

In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell safely;
Now this is His name by which He will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
- Jeremiah 23:6 NKJV (bold mine)
He shall say,
‘Surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength.
To Him men shall come,
And all shall be ashamed
Who are incensed against Him.
- Isaiah 45:24 NKJV (bold mine)

just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
-Romans 4:6 NKJV (bold mine)
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
- 2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV (bold mine)

The Bible is clear that not only does righteousness come from God but also that it is highly valued by God (Psalm 11:7; 23:3; 106:3; Proverbs 12:28; 16:31; Isaiah 64:5)

Hunger and thirst are felt deeply, to the point that we perceive we might die if we do not drink or eat. Now imagine craving spiritual blessings in the same manner!

One text that ties this in nicely with the other points made by Jesus up to now is Luke 1:53, which is part of the Magnificat or Mary’s Song.

51 He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
- Luke 1:51-53 NKJV

We experience spiritual hunger and thirst when we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. (Matthew 6:33) As you can tell by now there are several things that are included when we talk about righteousness in the realm of theology. There’s righteousness as justification or a right relationship with God. There’s also moral righteousness, which is the righteousness of character and conduct that pleases God. Expanding on this John Stott adds:

For biblical righteousness is more than a private and personal affair; it includes social righteousness as well. And social righteousness, as we learn from the law and the prophets, is concerned with seeking man’s liberation from oppression, together with the promotion of civil rights, justice in the law courts, integrity in business dealings and honour in home and family affairs. Thus Christians are committed to hunger for righteousness in the whole human community as something pleasing to a righteous God.
- John R. W. Stott and John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): Christian Counter-Culture, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 45.

There is a blessing for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness much like there is a blessing for those who are poor in spirit. Our hunger and thirst should direct our gaze unto Jesus and He will supply all of our needs.

The Holy Spirit never leaves unassisted the soul who is looking unto Jesus. He takes of the things of Christ and shows them unto him. If the eye is kept fixed on Christ, the work of the Spirit ceases not until the soul is conformed to His image. The pure element of love will expand the soul, giving it a capacity for higher attainments, for increased knowledge of heavenly things, so that it will not rest short of the fullness. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.”
- The Desire of Ages p.302.

Takeaway

Though we only made it through the first six verses of Matthew 5, a few key ideas have stood out. One of them is that Jesus was not giving out self-help advice. Jesus was not telling the multitude to simply try harder and be more disciplined, though sometimes we live as if that is what Jesus taught. Another key idea is directly related to the first, our blessings come from recognizing that we cannot do this on our own. From the start, Jesus makes it clear that our blessings come from recognizing our complete dependency on God. Our blessings come from recognizing we are spiritually poor, from mourning over our spiritual poverty and hungering and thirsting for what only God can offer us, righteousness. The good news is that God always holds up His end of the bargain. God will comfort those of us who mourn, those of us who wait for Him will inherit the earth, our thirst and hunger will be satiated by God, and ultimately, when we seek God in our spiritual poverty He gives us the kingdom of heaven.

I would summarize the message so far like this,

You need Jesus and the sooner you realize this the sooner you can receive what only He can provide for you.

(Blessed Are You - part 2 is now available here!)