The Way Up is Down
Pastor Dave Monreal, Lead Pastor
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3-10
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.”
These, of course, are the “Beatitudes.” They are statements of blessing to those who are in the Kingdom of God. Over the centuries Christians have struggled to understand and apply the entire Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and the opening Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12). Some read these words and see an impossible task. In part that is true. What Jesus often does is highlight the impossibility of fully obeying God and somehow earning eternal life. He tells us to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. Who of us has done this for one minute in complete purity let alone for a sustained period? But to earn our way to heaven we would have to do it uninterrupted our entire lives! If we think that God’s moral commands are meant for us to earn eternal life, we will find ourselves in the depths of despair.
I cannot unpack the entire sermon or even all of the beatitudes but I think that there are indicators of the Gospel and the proper heart attitude of someone who is in a place to receive grace. Notice he says, for instance, “blessed are the poor in spirit…” What does this mean? Human poverty, which he uses as an analogy, means that a person has absolutely nothing. Someone who is destitute cannot supply his own clothes or food or lodging. He is completely helpless and unable to change his circumstances. So, by comparison, what does it mean to be “poor in spirit”?
To be spiritually poor is to realize that you have nothing to offer God which would cause him to overlook your sin, forgive you, or love you. Spiritual poverty means that you are destitute of your own means of salvation. A spiritually poor person does not think that he is better, smarter, or more worthy than others. Remember the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector found in Luke 18:9-14? If you don’t, go ahead and read it, I’ll wait for you. Okay, good. Notice the Pharisee was full of himself and thought that he was a cut above everyone else. He looked down on the tax collectors and sinners since he was so much more religious. It says of the tax collector, “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!’” (Luke 18:13)
Jesus then says, it was the Tax Collector and not the Pharisee that went to his house justified. The Tax Collector knew he didn’t deserve God’s forgiveness and love. He knew that there was nothing in him that would merit eternal life. He was a humble, broken man before a holy God. He knew he needed grace and all he could do is hold out his hand like a beggar and hope to receive a gift from the king. In other words, he was poor in spirit. This is what Jesus is saying in the beatitudes. It turns normal expectations on it’s head. It is not the those who think they have it all together that receive the kingdom of heaven, it is those who are honest enough with themselves and God to know that they don’t deserve it.
This is good news! From the opening words of this sermon Jesus is saying that the kingdom of heaven is not reserved for the great and mighty. It is not for those who are well to do or try so hard to do well. The kingdom of heaven is for those who are poor in spirit realizing they have nothing to give but cry out to the Father to receive the riches of the Jesus’ death on the cross. That is why Paul could exclaim, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” (1 Timothy 1:15)
