We begin today on a multi-week series on the beatitudes of Christ. There is much to be learned from the sermon on the mount and the various lenses we can look at it with. But first we must look into the background of the text. Chapter four of Matthew we see Jesus tested in the wilderness. The chapter is a battle between Jesus and satan to prove he is ready for the challenges he will face ahead. Then we have the beginning of his ministry and the calling of his disciples. I feel this chapter was almost Jesus training for the disciples. Giving them the base concepts of the ministry. Our verse today is prefaced by verses one and two saying:
1Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. (Matthew 5:1-2 NIV)
Jesus had turned on teaching mood as was ready to share with those who will listen what God has called him to say. We are to do that ourselves. As Christians or ‘little-christ’ we are called to share what God desires us to say. Not what we want to say or what others want to say or even what we thing we should say but what God desires of us.
Our first be attitude is
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Now there are several layers to this simple statement. But first we must ask ourselves some questions in order to understand such a simple but profound statement. What is being poor in the spirit and who is poor in the spirit? Well being poor in the spirit is vastly different than being poor financially. Poor in spirit is kind of difficult to explain so follow with me here. To be poor in spirit means we are always striving to have our metaphorical cup filled by Christ. It is a desire to grow deeper and closer to God in your relationship. It is a thirst that is never satisfied or a hunger that is never silenced.
These statements contrite how Christ calls his love a ‘living water’ and how he gave his body for us because he is ‘the bread of life’. We are satisfied because we have these things but we should always strive for more with God.
We should not simply be satisfied with just having a relationship with God we should desire to know God more closely and more intimately each day. Once we are satisfied with our relationship with God we hould be scared because then we are no longer searching for him in our lives. Now to answer the question of who is the poor in spirit? The poor in spirit who want to know god deeper themselves, not for their parents sake, spouses sake, children’s sake, or even their pastors sake but their own. They search the word of God they communion with God. They know that until we reach eternity we are never close enough to be truly satisfied with knowing God as we do. Because We have not joined God and Jesus in eternity we are not ever close enough.
The third question we need to ask is where is the kingdom of heaven. There are nineteen different metaphors for the kingdom of heaven in Matthew’s gospel. But what they all boil down to is this. We are the kingdom of heaven. We as Christians and our relationship with our one true holy God. The kingdom of heaven is all the believers united and in worship of almighty God.
I believe this was the first beatitude spoken to us for a reason. It is the base of how the rest of our faith should work. A deep and striving faith for God should be at the very core of who we are as followers of Christ,
ms. preacher lady 