Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

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Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

Scripture: Matthew 5:3 (ESV)

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Devotion

          Today we begin to look at the beatitudes in Matthew’s gospel. The beatitudes here and in Luke 6:17-23 are statements about the qualities that make for true happiness. The Greek word makarios has a meaning that conveys a deeper happiness than our English word happy.  “Blessedness is, of course, an infinitely higher and better thing than mere happiness.”[1] There is no English word that can fully convey the meaning in the Greek. However, blessed is as close as we can come.

          The saying continues with those who are the object of the blessing, namely the “the poor in spirit.” This is an idiom in the Greek. It is “pertaining to one who is humble with regard to his own capacities. “[2] Here it does not necessarily mean some one who is financially poor, but rather to someone who is humble with regard to their own abilities “In order to indicate clearly that this poverty or need is related in some way to spiritual realities, one may translate ‘happy are those who recognize their need of God.”’[3] The Pharisee need not apply for this blessing, neither anyone who is self-righteous will make the cut. Only those who can honestly and humbly recognize their skills and gifts will be blessed.

          What is the blessing that the humble person receives? The poor in spirit will occupy the kingdom of heaven. What does it mean to inherit the kingdom of heaven? “The kingdom of heaven” here means the reign of God in the heart and life.”[4] So the kingdom of which Jesus speaks here is a spiritual reality. One that exists here on earth both in this present life and in the life to come.

          The first beatitude then consists of a blessing on a people who are humble of heart and soul. A people who can accept the gift of the kingdom of heaven without feeling that they deserve it somehow. They humbly receive what Jesus offers with no covetousness in their heart. They are not striving to be better than their neighbors. Let us pray.

Prayer

O holy Lord may we be found to be poor in spirit. May we be free from the desire to be spiritually better than our neighbor. Help us to honestly appraise our gifts and talents so that we might be prepared to serve you. Help us to bring the kingdom of heaven here on earth so that all humankind can participate in it. Amen.


[1] A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), Mt 5:3.

[2] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 748.

[3] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 748.

[4] A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), Mt 5:3.

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