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The Poor in Spirit
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Luke 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.
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Download audio fileSome of the most profound truths in this world can sound a bit … well, odd when you first hear them, especially when Jesus speaks them. When you read about Jesus’ life on this earth, His public ministry, in one of the Gospel account – Matthew, Mark, Luke or John – the thing that strikes you is that He was coming from a completely different place, a completely different perspective if you will.
And that upset a whole bunch of people. It was the profoundly counter-cultural nature of what Jesus said and did, that ultimately got Him crucified. It upset the entrenched, comfortable religious leaders of the day so much that, they conspired to kill Him. So sometimes, when words roll off His tongue, they come across, sounding, odd, confusing. Like this one:
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3)
If I were to ask you, would you like to be poor in spirit, what would your answer be? Yeah, I thought so. On the surface of things, it doesn’t sound like a place where you really want to be. We want to be happy, successful, confident, living on easy street as it were. Poor in spirit? Ahh, no thank you!
But let’s get back to what Jesus said here for a minute. Blessed are the totally, spiritually bankrupt because they’re the ones who own the kingdom of heaven. Really?
On different day, Jesus explained Himself. He told a story, a parable, about two men who went up to the temple to pray. One was a self-righteous religious leader who prayed along these lines:
God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income. (Luke 18:11-12)
The other was that tax collector, an outcast reviled by his fellow Jews for colluding with the occupying Romans and extorting his own people through unjust taxes.
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ (Luke 18:13)
And yet, Jesus said of this second man:
I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted. (Luke 18:14)
Humbling yourself, admitting to yourself and to God that you’re a sinner, recognising your own deep spiritual poverty before God, asking for God’s forgiveness … that’s where the blessing is.
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3)
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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