Mourning Over Poverty
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Matt. 5: 3, 4, NASB.
At the very beginning of Jesus' profile of Christian characteristics is poverty of spirit. In the Old Testament poverty had spiritual overtones that Scripture identified with humble dependence upon God. Whereas the rich and self-sufficient tended to rely on their own strength, the poor could only look to the Lord for salvation and help in time of trouble.
In the New Testament it is the "poor in spirit" who stand with the publican in Jesus' parable, crying in their humbleness, "God be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13). The man felt the unbearable poverty of what he had to offer God. The New English Bible helps us grasp the meaning of the first beatitude, rendering it as "blest are those who know their need if God."
John R. W. Stott writes that it was the "publicans and prostitutes, the rejects of human society, who knew they were so poor they could offer nothing and achieve nothing," who received the kingdom in the gospel story. "All they could do was to cry to God for mercy; and he heard their cry." "Theirs," promised Jesus, "is the kingdom of heaven."
After recognizing one's helplessness and spiritual poverty, the next step is the sorrow of repentance, described in the second beatitude as mourning. It is one thing to acknowledge our spiritual poverty but quite another to mourn over it. "The mourning here brought to view is true heart sorrow for sin" (Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p.9).
Thus the Christian life is not one of constant lighthearted joy and laughter, as some would have us believe. Christians weep over their shortcomings, the lacks in their lives that put Christ on the cross.
The good news of the first two beatitudes is not only that Christ's followers inherit the kingdom but that they will also be comforted. That comfort comes in two flavors--present and future.
On one level Christians are already comforted by forgiveness and assurance of salvation. But the best of all comfort is yet to come when Jesus arrives in the clouds of heaven to take His people home. At that time those who have died in Christ He will raise from death while "we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever" (1 Thess. 4:16, 17, TLB). Now there is true comfort!
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Matt. 5: 3, 4, NASB.
At the very beginning of Jesus' profile of Christian characteristics is poverty of spirit. In the Old Testament poverty had spiritual overtones that Scripture identified with humble dependence upon God. Whereas the rich and self-sufficient tended to rely on their own strength, the poor could only look to the Lord for salvation and help in time of trouble.
In the New Testament it is the "poor in spirit" who stand with the publican in Jesus' parable, crying in their humbleness, "God be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13). The man felt the unbearable poverty of what he had to offer God. The New English Bible helps us grasp the meaning of the first beatitude, rendering it as "blest are those who know their need if God."
John R. W. Stott writes that it was the "publicans and prostitutes, the rejects of human society, who knew they were so poor they could offer nothing and achieve nothing," who received the kingdom in the gospel story. "All they could do was to cry to God for mercy; and he heard their cry." "Theirs," promised Jesus, "is the kingdom of heaven."
After recognizing one's helplessness and spiritual poverty, the next step is the sorrow of repentance, described in the second beatitude as mourning. It is one thing to acknowledge our spiritual poverty but quite another to mourn over it. "The mourning here brought to view is true heart sorrow for sin" (Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p.9).
Thus the Christian life is not one of constant lighthearted joy and laughter, as some would have us believe. Christians weep over their shortcomings, the lacks in their lives that put Christ on the cross.
The good news of the first two beatitudes is not only that Christ's followers inherit the kingdom but that they will also be comforted. That comfort comes in two flavors--present and future.
On one level Christians are already comforted by forgiveness and assurance of salvation. But the best of all comfort is yet to come when Jesus arrives in the clouds of heaven to take His people home. At that time those who have died in Christ He will raise from death while "we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever" (1 Thess. 4:16, 17, TLB). Now there is true comfort!
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