Dr Tom Hover
February 2, 2025
Matthew 5:3 / Text: Matthew 5:4
“BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT” / “BLESSED ARE THEY THAT MOURN:”
“BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT”
WHEN BEING POOR BECOMES A BLESSING
This section of Jesus’ message is referred to as the beatitudes. The beatitudes are not a series of commands, but blessings that are described and the promises associated with the attitudes that are rewarded with these blessings. The beatitudes describe the kind of person who will receive the blessings of God. The beatitudes identify a series of qualities that produce happiness, even though happiness is not readily apparent.
Reading: Matthew 5:1-12. Text: Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount has been called Beatitudes “the attitudes that ought to be”; however, they could also be called “the keys to the kingdom”—the Beatitudes. Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. And what they are, really, is a blueprint for happiness. What they are, are foundation stones for building your home and your life. Really, what they are, they are the keys to the kingdom. The attitudes that ought to be—these wonderful Beatitudes! This is the first key to the kingdom: “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” This very first statement of his sermon is the paradoxical premise of the entire Sermon on the Mount: The only people who can truly experience the "blessedness" Jesus offers are those who know they cannot achieve it on their own. How could being "poor in spirit” be the source of Blessings? Why does Christ begin with this? What does "poor in spirit" mean? Jesus’ choice of words was no accident. The word he chose for “poor” was not the word for the working poor who scraped by and made enough to survive. The word he chose was for the beggarly poor who could not make it without outside assistance. Poverty of spirit is the foundation of all other spiritual graces. There are three basic things I want you to see with me today as we look at this passage of Scripture.
I. THE SPIRITUAL BEGGAR COMES TO GOD BANKRUPT
What does Jesus Christ mean when He says, “Blessed are the beggars”?
“Blessed are the beggars; blessed are the bankrupt”: Jesus is not talking about financial poorness here. He is not talking, either, about a person being poor-spirited. He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” but He doesn’t say, “Blessed are the poor-spirited”—that is, a person all hung over, sort of a milquetoast type of person. You know, you’ve seen them. You know: “I’m just no good. Poor me!” You know, what some people call “humility,” I call “poor posture.” That’s not what our Lord is talking about. When He says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” not the poor-spirited, He’s not talking about some outward expression. Matthew 6:16-17 What is He talking about? “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Our human nature is made of body, soul, and spirit. John 4:24 When you come to Jesus Christ, you do not strut into His presence. The very word for “beggar,” the very word for “poor,” comes from a root word which means “to cringe and to cower, to shrink back.”
Isaiah 64:6, Matthew 5:20
II. THE SPIRITUAL BEGGAR COMES TO GOD BROKEN
A. The Discovery of Our Situation
“Depart from me; for I am a sinful man.” (Luke 5:8), Isaiah 6:1-5 Example: Jesus calls a woman a dog then heals her daughter. Matthew 15:21–28
Example: Spiritually Bankrupt Naaman (Also Paul in N.T.). II Kings 5:1-27 Spiritually bankrupt—I mean, totally, totally, totally a beggar in the sight of God!
B. There Must Be the Right Dependency of Our Situation
Matthew 5:20, 5:48, Romans 3:23, Matthew 5:48
C. There Must Be the Robust Declaration of Our Situation
Blessed and bankrupt: “Blessed are the poor in spirit”—not just the impoverished; the beggars in the sight of a righteous and a holy God.
III. THE SPIRITUAL BEGGAR RECEIVES GOD’S BLESSINGS
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
(Isaiah 57:15, Matthew 18:3-4, John 9:41)
Evangelism is one beggar telling another beggar how to find bread. And, friend, that’s the way you’ll come, and that’s the way anybody will come, because it was none less than Jesus Christ who said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Conclusion: Multiple Examples
PM SERVICE 6 PM
“BLESSED ARE THEY THAT MOURN:”
Reading: Matthew 5:1-12. Text: Matthew 5:4
