Tag Beatitudes

Poor in Spirit #3: Give Up Your Lists

Todd R Leave a comment

Today is part 3 of a Monday-Friday series on the first Beatitude from Matthew 5:3 – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  Monday covered how the statement could make both the “proud” and the “ashamed” humble and be blessed by God.  Tuesday was about the rich young man who was fully set on earning his own salvation to see that it was impossible, all while Christ was right before him, loving him.

Today begins with Luke 18:10-14 –
“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’  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!’  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Similar to Monday’s post, this passage is a rebuke to the proud, while comforting the ashamed, which is made clear at the end of the verses.  This passage also plays on stereotypes of the Pharisee as one who would have been perceived as religiously superior, versus the tax collector, who was under the ban, or that time period’s rabbinic version of excommunication[1].  At the end of the first sentence, the audience would have been expecting the Pharisee to pray well – after all, they were the “experts.”  But as an “expert” in the law, the Pharisee prays (and thinks) in terms of lists of good things and lists of bad things.  As a result, he is able to credit himself with all good things and the tax collector with all bad things.

The only way to manage this level of pride in spiritual accomplishment is to narrow down your list of “sins” to “things that other people do.”  He also excluded more subtle or internal manifestations of sin from his lists.  For example, at other times, Jesus said Pharisees “devour widow’s houses,”[2] which may have been a form of extortion.  Also, in his heart he may have been unjust and an adulterer just by making this prayer.  God’s justice on the tax collector was poured out on Jesus – who was this Pharisee to say who that justice applied to?  Also, in over-emphasizing the law, the Pharisee was “cheating” on God by idolizing the law as a way to salvation.

By narrowing the list of sins to “what others do,” and reducing those sins to the external evidence of them, rather than the heart level, this Pharisee blinded himself to his own need, and therefore missed the blessing.  The only way to feel rich in spirit before God is to lower the standard, or to humbly accept Christ’s righteousness in place of your own.

King David in Psalm 51, writing of his repentance after committing adultery with Bathsheba and having her husband Uriah killed, declares in verses 16-17:

“For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
            you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
            a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

This broken spirit and contrite heart recall the first Beatitude’s promise of blessing and the ability to follow God’s will, which David prayed for back in verse 12 of Psalm 51:

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
            and uphold me with a willing spirit.”

We can’t have a record of our sins and the sins of others if we want to receive God’s blessing.  Doing so is only likely to destroy our ability to love those who God loves and to whom He offers His grace, including ourselves.  We are poor in spirit, but we only realize it when focusing on Him, and we only are blessed when we decide His standard and opinion are the ones that matter.  If we are Christians, the standard is Christ and through our adoption as children of God, He sees Christ’s righteousness when He gives His opinion of us.

Humbly knowing this, we can go to our house justified, and in eternity be exalted by Him, the only one we should compare ourselves to and the only one whose judgement matters.  For now, it will enable us to love God and love others as we love ourselves.

To find love and joy, give up your lists and replace them with Christ.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 5:3

This post continues a series on the Beatitudes. To start at the beginning, click here, and for the next post click here

[1] See an earlier post, Found! A Man in Need of an Ally, for an explanation of the ban as applied to tax collectors, and for Jesus’ striking decision to forgive Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector.
[2] Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47

Poor in Spirit #2: It’s Not a Matter of Degree

Todd R 2 Comments

Today is part 2 of a Monday-Friday series on the first Beatitude from Matthew 5:3 – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  Today’s post highlights that seeing our spiritual condition as a matter of degree or magnitude, rather than as absolute poverty, keeps us from seeing, accepting, and experiencing Jesus as He is.

“And as He was setting out on His journey, a man ran up and knelt before Him and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.  You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”  And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”  And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”  Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”  – Mark 10:17-22

Did Jesus tell this man that he only needed to do more, to work harder, to earn eternal life?  Was this man rich in spirit, nearly blessed, and just shy of the kingdom of God?  The first Beatitude and yesterday’s post would suggest not, but how then does this story make sense?

A key to this is Jesus’ first response to the man, which questioned the man’s own premises, and revealed he was not “negotiating in good faith.”  After Jesus’ response, instead of saying “if only God is good, why am I chasing eternal life in my own work?” this man persisted in seeking to earn his way.  Jesus knew the man’s heart was set, and in a way was saying “you know the law, what do you need Me for?”  The man did not see Jesus for who He is – the One who offers Himself.

The man was looking for help on the way he had predetermined for himself; he was not looking for the Way that Jesus offered.  He wanted a God who helps those who help themselves, but that’s not who God is.  In the same way that Jesus does not want us to literally cut off a hand or foot, or gouge out an eye, to avoid sin (Mark 9:43-47), neither does He mean that selling all his goods will save this man.  He “went away sorrowful.”

To quote Warren Wiersbe: “Of all the people who ever came to the feet of Jesus, this man is the only one who went away worse than he came. And yet he had so much in his favor!”  Because he did not know he was poor in spirit, he left without either the kingdom of God or the blessing of Christ.

Entering eternal life requires infinite righteousness, but this is exactly what Christ achieved and offers.  Only one person ever earned the title of Christian; everyone else gets it by His merit, given to us by His grace, through faith.  99.9% righteous does not count if infinity is the target and insisting on working for it only keeps us from accepting the gift.  Also, it follows that if we think our 67% righteousness is better than someone else’s 66% righteousness, we misunderstand what righteous is. Conversely, if our 67% righteousness makes us miserable compared with someone else’s 75%, we misunderstand grace.   It’s not a matter of degree so much as a matter of type, “so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:9)

Any time we ask, “what must I do to inherit eternal life”, we are thinking that what we have, plus some more, is the answer.  Sometimes we are not immediately rebuked but allowed to pursue our own way and eventually realize we’ve become lost.  Sometimes, like this man, we are gently rebuked but refuse to listen.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 6:23
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 5:3

All this man needed to do was accept the work of Christ on his behalf, but he could not admit his poverty.  And it’s all you need to do.

This post continues a series on the Beatitudes. To start at the beginning, click here, and for the next post click here

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit #1

Todd R Leave a comment

Today I’m beginning a new approach with a series on the Beatitudes, the series of statements at the beginning of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount that each begin with “Blessed are…”  One Beatitude per week, Mon-Fri, a different way each day.

The first Beatitude is from Matthew 5:3 –

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Today’s angle on it is how the statement addresses different people’s needs in such a simple way with only a few words.  This was the opening of a speech to great crowds that had followed him, crowds with all sorts of people.

The Greek word for “poor” here is a word suggesting one who has been reduced to begging.  They have nothing of their own and are entirely dependent on others.  Some (“the proud”) would have been rebuked, thinking their own works made them blessed, and might have been shocked to be compared with a beggar.  Those “ashamed” of their own works would have been comforted that they are blessed since they didn’t feel they measured up to the achievements of the proud.  They knew they were poor, but not blessed.  The proud think they’re ok because of what they’ve accomplished; the ashamed think they aren’t ok because their accomplishments seem smaller. The “proud” and “ashamed” were both in need of good news.

Note that I did not contrast “proud” with “humble”, because I don’t think these are opposites.  Instead, humility is contentedness in our proper place before God and others.  The “proud” become humble when Christ rebukes them so that they can experience His blessing.  The “ashamed” become humble when Christ reassures them of His love and acceptance so that they can experience His blessing.

The first beatitude reminds everyone in that crowd that acknowledging their spiritual poverty is the first step, but also that being poor is not incurable.  Knowing we are poor in spirit may actually be desirable, but only when paired with knowledge of His provision[1].  The more we realize our need and beg Him for the solution, the more He can, and will, bless us.  The crowds coming to hear Him needed to hear this Beatitude first of all because if anyone refuses to be humble before Christ, the rest of His speech won’t matter.  The kingdom is not for them (yet).

In Christ, we are blessed because He is infinitely rich in spirit.  However, sometimes our pride or our shame prevent us from knowing that we are blessed!  Then when we lack hope in that blessing, we miss our King’s will for us in His kingdom.  We can’t be good enough, and don’t have to be good enough, and we don’t have be better or worse than anyone else.

Today the Great Physician waits to cure you if you will come and be humbled by Him.  Seek His blessing and His will. Tues – Fri I’m planning to cover ways people Jesus met failed to realize their spiritual poverty across 4 dimensions: Degree, person, activity, and scope.

This post begins a series on the Beatitudes. For the next post click here

[1] I recently posted a song about this idea, “Once I Prayed” by Phil Keaggy, here