Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount teaching is all about relationship. However, this relationship is impossible unless He has done a supernatural work in us. “The Sermon on the Mount is not an unattainable goal; it is a statement of what will happen in me when Jesus Christ has changed my nature by putting His own nature in me. Jesus Christ is the only One who can fulfill the Sermon on the Mount.” – Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, September 25.
The Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes are not the same thing. The Beatitudes are the opening section of the larger Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is found in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. It is the longest continuous “sermon” given by Jesus in the New Testament. The Beatitudes are found in Matthew 5:3-12 at the beginning of the sermon.
The word “Beatitudes” means “blessings”. I’m inviting you to dig a little deeper with me into the rich meaning of each of them.
#1 Beatitude ~ Blessings on the poor in spirit! The kingdom of heaven is yours. ~ Matthew 5:3
This is the opening line of the Beatitudes. It is talking about destitution, being utterly helpless to save ourselves, and being completely dependent upon God’s grace.
In the book of Isaiah, the “poor” are described as needy, with parched tongues, as they search for water. God says to them: “I will answer. I will not forsake. I live in a high and holy place. I am exalted, but I am with the contrite and lowly in spirit. I will revive the spirit and heart of the lowly and contrite. I made all of these and look on with favor those who are humble and contrite; those who tremble at my Word.” (Isaiah 41:17)
“Contrite” means being sorry for the sin that separates me from God. It is the opposite of stubbornness and self-control. It is being willing to listen and learn. It’s trembling at His word. (respect). I think of this as being “teachable.” Isaiah 66:2 reads: “the trembling of the one who lives in awe of all I say.”
Jesus talks a lot about children inheriting the Kingdom. Children are an example of being “poor” and “needy” because they are unable to take care of themselves; they are dependent upon parents to care for them, feed them, give them shelter, clothe them. They don’t worry about these things, but live innocently and totally dependent upon their caregiver. That’s what being “poor in spirit” means. “God, give me a heart abandoned. Ever after You alone. Gold and silver, You can have it. All I want is You alone.” (“Heart Abandoned” by Kristian Stanfill.)
This is an example of the “upside-down” gospel and kingdom. Instead of power, pride, earthly wealth, the spiritual “beggar” embraces dependency, humility, and lack of earthly idols. The “poor in spirit” depend upon God to step in and supply every need.
This beatitude could be called a spiritual “oxymoron”: poor in spirit = rich kingdom owner; less = more.
Oswald Chambers addresses this in My Utmost for His Highest (July 21). Oswald asks, “What good is there in telling me to be what I can never be – to be “pure in heart?” If Jesus was only a teacher, this ideal will only lead to despair. “But Jesus Christ did not come only to teach – He came to make me what He teaches I should be.” ~ Chambers
Being “pure in spirit” is not about possessions or about making decisions for Jesus, “but having such a sense of absolute futility that we finally admit, ‘Lord, I cannot even begin to do it.’ ” ~ Chambers. When we get to that desperate place of spiritual poverty, then Jesus says, “Blessed are you…for you are rich.”
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