Salvation Summaries

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

In Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount, He begins with nine blessings that God gives to those who live in a certain way. Each blessing is essentially a stamp of approval by God, which, in turn, should make a person happy. The blessings appear to be written in a progressive fashion. The first two apply primarily to non-Christians while the latter two are for the spiritually mature. In this post, I’ll address the first beatitude or blessing, which is to be “poor in spirit.”

The phrase “poor in spirit” is not found anywhere else in Scripture, but the words “poor” and “spirit” are used many times, and we can look at these for clues in deciphering what Jesus meant.  

Poor

Because Jesus said poor in spirit and not poor, we know that He was not simply referring to people who are materially or financially impoverished, though it’s possible that many of them were also poor in spirit.   

If we look up how poor is used in the Old and New Testaments, and in a few Hebrew/Greek lexicons and Bible dictionaries, it can mean different things. including:

• beggarly; one who crouches and cowers;
• materially impoverished; destitute of wealth, influence, position
• needy
• weak, depressed
• low, lowly; afflicted, humble, meek  

To determine which of these Jesus may have had in mind, we can review verses that are cross referenced to Matthew 5:3. According to my Bible, they are Ps 51:17; Prov 16:19, 29:23; Isa 57:15 and 66:2.

Psalm 51:17

Ps 51:17 says, “My sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, such, O God, You will not despise. 

This verse indicates that the poor in spirit in Matthew 5 have a broken and contrite heart.  Contrite, according to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, means “broken-hearted for sin; deeply affected with grief and sorrow for having offended God; humble; penitent.” 

Thus, the poor in spirit are broken with sorrow over their sins, for their sins have offended God.  

Proverbs 16:19

“It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud.”

This verse indicates that the poor are humble, not proud.  It would appear that people who are poor in spirit are more aware of their sinfulness – both the extent and seriousness of it – and how this compares to (and offends) a holy and just God. They realize that they are “nothing but a sinner”, and that God alone determines their fate. They need forgiveness from the sins they’ve committed and the guilt they feel, and only God can provide this. As a result, they approach God with a bowed head and humility.  

In Tom Goodman’s book, The Pursuit of Happiness, he cites Luke’s story of the Pharisee and tax collector to illustrate the humility a poor in spirit person should have. The Pharisee prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men…I fast twice a week and tithe…” However, the tax collector, who was even too ashamed to look up to heaven, instead “beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’”

Proverbs 29:23

“A man’s pride and sense of self-importance will bring him down, but he who has a humble spirit will obtain honor.”

This verse is similar to that above – the poor in spirit are humble. 

Isaiah 57:15

In this verse, God says, “I dwell on the high and holy place, but also with the contrite and humble in spirit in order to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite.” 

This verse combines what we already know – the poor in spirit have a contrite heart or spirit and humility before God.     

Isaiah 66:2

In this verse, God says He will look graciously on him “who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word and honors My commands.”

This verse adds something new to our understanding of people who are poor in spirit. They are not only contrite in heart and humble, but they also fear God and seek to obey Him. This makes sense. When you realize how sinful you are, and how God is the only One who can help you (by forgiving your sins and the guilt and shame you feel over them), you will fear Him, and this, in turn, should lead to a desire to know and obey Him.

Luke 4:18 and Isaiah 61:1-2

All of the above verses help us determine who the poor in spirit are, but I believe there are two other verses that more fully explain what Jesus meant. They are Luke 4:18 and its cross reference of Isaiah 61:1-2.

In Luke 4:18, Jesus reads part of a scroll that had been handed to Him that said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to announce release (pardon, forgiveness) to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed.”

Here we learn that people who are poor in spirit feel like they are captive to sin; they have become fully aware of how often they sin, and they want to be free from the guilt and (growing) burden of this.

Isaiah 61:1-2 says, ¹“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed and commissioned me to bring good news to the humble and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to the captives and freedom to prisoners. 

²To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance and retribution of our God, to comfort all who mourn…”

In verse 2 we see that Jesus came to comfort those who mourn over their sins. This is His second beatitude and a key part of repenting that a person must do in order to be saved (per Jesus).

Conclusion

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount contains nine blessings that God gives to those who live in a certain way. The first blessing is for those who are poor in spirit. A poor in spirit person is:

• Brokenhearted and afflicted over their sins.  They realize that their sins offend God and this grieves them. 
• Contrite. They feel remorse and guilt for their wrongdoing/sins.
• Humble.  They recognize how sinful they are relative to a sinless and holy God.  They realize that they are nothing but a sinner.  They need God, as only He can forgive them. 
• Repentant.  
• God-fearing; they tremble at His word and seek to obey Him.

Now, some of you may be asking, “Since I’m a Christian, do I need to be poor in spirit? After all, I’ve already repented.”

Here’s my view. The beatitudes appear to be laid out in a progressive fashion. They start with being poor in spirit and mourning over one’s sins, and then end with being able to accept persecution for one’s faith. I believe the poor in spirit and mourning beatitudes are directed primarily towards non-Christians who, for the first time in their life, understand the gravity of their sins, and how they caused Jesus to be crucified. The latter two beatitudes on being persecuted for one’s faith would appear to pertain primarily to the spiritually mature. That does not mean a Christian should not be poor in spirit or mourn over their sins; they should, and will be blessed for this, but they likely won’t do it to the same degree that a new convert would. I view Jesus’ preaching on repentance in a similar way. It is directed primarily at (converting) non-believers, but still applies to Christians.

So, dear reader, if you want to be blessed by God, you need to be poor in spirit, with sorrow over your (ongoing) sins, humility before God, and a desire to know and obey Him. Are you?