The Sermon on the Mount may be Jesus’ most famous message. Great crowds of people came from all over to see this new “prophet.” They wanted to hear what He was saying but especially many were seeking healing. The Sermon on the Mount is found in Matthew chapters 5-7. It begins with the section that we call The Beatitudes.What is a beatitude? Some preachers like to play on words with this and say these are the “attitudes” we should “be”— we should “be” these “attitudes.” In this whole Sermon Jesus is giving us an “attitude adjustment.” But that is not really what this word beatitude means.The Greek word here is “makarios” which means “happy,” “fortunate,” or “blessed” and it is that word “blessed” which begins each of these statements. So the people who exhibit these characteristics are fortunate and blessed recipients of God’s grace and favor.Let’s look at the first Beatitude in Matt. 5:1-3, “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.’” What was Jesus trying to tell them on that day on the hillside? Was he talking about people who are physically and monetarily poor? Well, yes and no. Often those who are “poor” are “poor in spirit.” But Jesus is talking to everyone, rich or poor. He will say later in the Sermon that chasing after wealth isn’t going to benefit your spirituality. This is the good news of Jesus’ message that it is for everyone who believes and becomes poor in spirit.The poor in spirit have a humble and contrite spirit. They realize that they need God. They need His help. The poor in spirit are those who don’t have everything figured out; they don’t have the perfect life. So they rely on God.The poor in spirit are what we see in Luke 14:11 “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” They are the opposite of the proud, conceited, and arrogant. Much like the tax collector who when praying, “would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ (Luke 18:13).The poor in spirit does not rely on possessions or wealth—but sees a deep ...
