The Upside Down Kingdom – Part 2 – The Poor in Spirit
Passage:
“Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And 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 satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive 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 others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matt 5:1-12)
Verses about Pride in Scripture:
– When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom. (Pro. 11:2
- Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud. (Pro. 16:18-19)
- One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor. (Pro. 29:23)
The Beatitude:
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 5:3)
- The word for Poor that Jesus uses here is the greek word – PTOCHES.
- It’s a word that means destitute. beggarly.Jesus says that the kingdom of God – doesn’t go to the people who take pride in the fact that they have been very good – or signed a doctrinal statement – or gone to church every single Sunday – or stacked their good works like quarters in a piggy bank thinking that each good work was a step closer to heaven.
- it goes to the people who realize they have nothing spiritually – that the balance in their spiritual bank account is 0.00 dollars. and the only thing that they have to bring to the Lord is empty hands and their need.
“He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up 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 humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)
The good news is that you don’t have to define yourself. Jesus will define you. Being poor in spirit means we come empty handed, and Jesus fills those empty hands. He specifically designed you for the day he has for you before one of them was lived. You can rest in that. – Matt Chandler