The Poor In Spirit

Brenden Ashby
03/09/25 - Sun AM

The Poor In Spirit

Brenden Ashby

The first words of the sermon on the mount are, “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 5:3 NKJV. Let’s break down this beatitude to find out what Jesus is teaching here.

Blessed means to have found the favor and approval of God. It in of itself is not happiness but happiness will be a natural byproduct of knowing you are in a right relationship with your Maker.

The NEB renders Matthew 5:3  as, “How blest are those who know their need for God.” This gets to the heart of what Jesus is teaching here. Those who find God’s favor are those who get it. They get that without God they are nothing, poor, and needy.

When we are poor in spirit, we are possessors of the kingdom of heaven. This phrase means the rule of God in the hearts of men and women. Those who recognize their spiritual poverty desire and long for the One who can take spiritual rags and turn them to riches.

Luke records a vivid illustration from Jesus about what it means to be poor in spirit in Luke 18:10-14. There we read that a Pharisee and a Tax Collector both went to pray. The Pharisee was full of self and thus entitled. But the Tax Collector was poor in spirit and recognized his deep need for God. Because he was poor in spirit he revered and submitted to God. As a result, Jesus said the Tax Collector left right with God not the Pharisee.

May we all desire to be poor in spirit and be inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven.