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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
The Sermon on the Mount was a specific discourse delivered by Jesus Christ and probably repeated in whole or in part on numerous occasions. It contains several memorable sayings, a few of which are: 1) What we call The Lord's Prayer, 2) The Golden Rule, 3) The Parable of The Wise Man and the Foolish Man, 4) The Judge Not that you Be Not Judged text, and 5) The Beatitudes. This week's messages will focus on The Beatitudes.
The Sermon on the Mount was spoken almost two thousand years ago, and yet its truths are just as refreshing and poignant as they were when they were first uttered. The entire Sermon on the Mount can be read aloud by an intermediate reader in 20 minutes. Yet, this discourse contains many of the basic premises upon which the gospel of the kingdom was to be founded. Jesus proved once and for all that a sermon does not have to be eternal to be immortal! One of the greatest expositors to have lived in modern times, the late Foy E. Wallace, Jr. called the beatitudes Pentecost Pointers. By this he meant that the character of future kingdom citizens was foretold in this brief introduction to our Lord's sermon.
The first of the beatitudes reads like this: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5.3). Those who are spoken of here are not the poor, they are the poor in spirit. As Wallace pointed out in his book, The Sermon on the Mount and the Civil State, our Lord was not talking about what a man has, but what a man is. The poor in spirit understands his bankrupt spiritual condition. He knows that apart from God's mercy and grace, he would have no hope. He understands that he is not able to direct his own steps (Jeremiah 10.23), and that in order for him to have the hope of eternal life, he has to seek God's wisdom, setting aside his own foolishness (1 Corinthians 1.21ff).
A classic example of a man who was poor in spirit was Saul of Tarsus, who later became the apostle Paul. He thought that he had everything (and from a worldly viewpoint at the time, perhaps he did). However, the one thing that he did not have was the truth about Jesus Christ. When the fact that Jesus was Messiah was brought before his eyes, everything that he had was seen as absolutely nothing more than rubbish (see Philippians 3.1-8). Paul had a choice, and he chose the right path. Pride could have stepped in at any point and turned his head another way, but he saw himself as totally bankrupt spiritually before Jesus Christ. This one who had previously persecuted any and all who called themselves believers, found himself saying, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” (Acts 9.19). Paul was at this time poor in spirit.
The blessings promised the poor in spirit are simply that the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Perhaps this does not seem like much of a promise, but what more could anyone want? The proud might look for more (maybe fame, or wealth, or power), but the poor in spirit are more than happy with such a promise. Their quest is not earthly, but rather heavenly and so the reward is fully in keeping with the objectives of the poor in spirit. Place a man who has earthly ambitions for greatness in this equation, and he certainly will not be happy; he will be miserable. Think of how the disciples of Jesus cast aside all that they had in order to be His disciple. And, what reward were they promised? Greatness in the kingdom of heaven!
There are many things worse than being materially bankrupt, but it is still a thing of great pain and anguish. Recognizing that we are spiritually bankrupt is the first step toward greatness in God's sight. The way up truly is is the way down!
Questions:
1. What is the difference in the poor and the poor in spirit?
2. What promise did Jesus make to those who are poor in spirit? How appealing would that promise be to someone who is not poor in spirit?
3. How did Saul of Tarsus demonstrate that he possessed this fundamental trait of the believer?
4. When Peter accused the men he addressed on Pentecost of having murdered the Holy One of God, what result would have come had they been men of pride? Rather than turn away angry, however, what did they ask (see Acts 2.37)? What did this show about their spirit? Were they poor in spirit?
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