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Jesus began His hillside sermon with, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3). Jesus was not talking about material poverty here. He wasn’t saying there is something particularly blessed about being financially poor.
When Jesus said “the poor in spirit,” He was talking about those who are impoverished spiritually. The Greek word translated as “poor” (ptochos) means “to cower, cringe, or crouch like a beggar.” Applied to spirituality, it characterizes a person who is bankrupt of spiritual resources, which accurately describes each of us.
Isaiah put it like this: “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6). And Paul wrote, “There is none righteous, not even one . . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:10, 23).
In Luke 18, Jesus illustrated what it means to be “poor in spirit.” In this parable, two men went to the temple: a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisee prayed, “God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector” (v. 11). However, the tax collector prayed with his head hung low and beat his chest, saying, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” (v. 13).
That’s what it means to be “poor in spirit.” The tax collector approached God in a spirit of utter dependence and found the doors of the kingdom flung open. But the doors were slammed shut in the face of the prideful Pharisee.
Do you feel like you’re not succeeding in your Christian life? You know you ought to pray more and read the Bible more, but you just can’t do it, and you wish you could be better than you are? Jesus said, “Be joyful. Because one day that struggle you have in your Christian life is going to be satisfied.”
To the poor in spirit, Jesus gave this promise: “Theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3). When we come to God with nothing in our hands to offer but our spiritual bankruptcy, He gives us the key to heaven, not only for our salvation today but also for the right to rule in His kingdom tomorrow.
Why would God call us to come to Him with empty hands?
About this Plan
In the face of loss or fear, we might wonder how we could ever be joyful. Jesus told his disciples about eight key attitudes that lead to joy, no matter our circumstances. This passage in Matthew, called the Beatitudes, includes some of the most familiar but misunderstood verses in the Bible. These verses can teach us to experience a joy unlike any other!
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