Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

The way into the fullness of God’s kingdom is admitting you have nothing to bring and depending wholly on Jesus.

Now, if you know anything about giving a speech or a sermon, you know the introduction matters. It sets the direction for everything that follows. And Jesus begins with, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”

Jesus is saying this is the starting line.

He begins with the word *blessed*. The Greek word is makarios, and it carries the idea of happiness, flourishing, and the favor of God. Jesus is describing a life that can be deeply blessed even when our circumstances do not feel blessed.

Our culture has cheapened the word happy. I’m happy when the 49ers win and when I find gas under $5. But happiness in the kingdom goes deeper. It’s not determined by wins and losses.

To be blessed (makarios) is to enjoy God’s favor, which gives rise to deep happiness and steady confidence in His promises amid the unsteady circumstances of life.

Somewhere along the way, we separated happiness from holiness. We began to think God wants us holy but isn’t particularly interested in whether we are happy. Sometimes we even say joy is what Christians have and happiness is what the world has. But Scripture brings those words together:

 “A time of happiness and joy.” — Esther 8:16

“You, O Lord, have made me happy by your work. I will sing for joy because of what you have done.” — Psalm 92:4

“Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord!” — Deuteronomy 33:29

“In your presence there is fullness of joy.” — Psalm 16:11

We do not have to push happiness away to pursue holiness. Becoming more like God means becoming more joyful in him.

You can grieve and still be blessed. You can walk through a valley and still know you belong to him, that he is good, and that he will not let you go.

And Jesus tells us this life begins with empty hands.

Charles Spurgeon described poverty of spirit as “the porch of the temple of blessedness.”Nobody climbs into the kingdom by demonstrating how spiritually impressive they are. We come admitting our spiritual bankruptcy and depending wholly on Jesus.

Being poor in spirit doesn’t mean we have no value. It just means there is nothing in us that makes us independent of God.

Jesus gives us a picture of this in Luke 18:9–14. The Pharisee comes carrying his résumé. He fasts. He gives. He compares himself to everyone around him. He's the man. But the tax collector comes asking for mercy. Jesus says the tax collector went home justified.

Both men desperately needed grace. Only one of them knew it.

We can do the same thing as the Pharisee. We have a good spiritual week and begin bringing God our résumé. We have a terrible week and wonder whether we can even approach him.

But Jesus meets us at the bottom. He entered our suffering and bore our sin. He did the heavy lifting at the cross so that we could come with nothing and, by grace alone, receive his kingdom.

The rest of the Beatitudes grow from the soil of being poor in spirit. We mourn our sin as we recognize we cannot fix ourselves. We become meek as we surrender our inflated view of ourselves. We hunger and thirst for righteousness because we know we need his. We extend mercy because we remember how desperately we need it.

By his Spirit, Jesus forms this life in us. We never graduate from dependence.

So before the meeting, when temptation comes, or before walking through the front door, start here: “Jesus, I need you.”

This week, read Philippians 3:8–10 and ask yourself: Where am I still trying to prove that I am enough? Bring that to Jesus with empty hands.