Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
V3-12 are the most well known verses of the Sermon on the Mount. They are known as the Beatitudes.
The word Beatitude literally means 'supreme happiness'. coming from the fact that Jesus uses the word "blessed" 9 times in this passage.
It means happy/favoured by God/prosperous
What we're going to see is that in this upside down world of sin and suffering the 9 things Jesus says here doesn't make sense.
But remember, Jesus has come to flip the world the right way up again.
So he says that the Poor in Spirit are the blessed, happy, prosperous ones - not poor but poor in spirit
- Our world says that the rich are the happy ones - Our world says that the self confident are the happy ones
Jesus doesn't.
- Isaiah 61v1 tells us that Jesus was sent to preach good news to the poor
- And Isaiah 66v2 - tells us that the one God looks upon with favour, is he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at God's word
Do you Want to know true blessedness, happiness, Do you want the Lord to look upon you with favour?
Humble yourself before God Recognise your sinful state Admit what you are without Christ
Tremble in your awareness of your desperate sinful condition Combined with his terrible holiness.
You see only this kind of person will run to Jesus for mercy and so be graciously giving the Kingdom of heaven.
There is no place for pride and arrogance in the Kingdom.
Poor in Spirit. Humble. Contrite. These are the type of citizens Jesus wants in his kingdom. These are the characteristics Jesus is forming in the people of his kingdom.
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Alan Campbell
Matthew 5:3 Sermon on the Mount Blurton Baptist Church
