BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT, FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (3 OF 6)
by Tim Melton
Scripture: Matthew 5:3
This content is part of a series.
Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit, for Theirs Is the Kingdom of Heaven (3 of 6)
Series: The Kingdom of God
Tim Melton
Matthew 5:3
In the Bible, our clearest picture of how to best understand life is seen in the life of Jesus. When one reads in the Bible about the life of Jesus Christ, His way of life seems so foreign to us. When you look at the stories of Jesus it was as if He was playing by different rules, reading from a different script, or coming from a different world to which we can`t relate.
He rested, we worry. He gave, we horde. He was bold, we fear. He forgave, we hate. He pleased the Father, we please the world around us. He spoke with authority, we apologize for truth. He came to usher in the Kingdom of heaven and we are tempted by the kingdom of this world.
In Matthew 5:3 we see one of His teachings that seems so contradictory to the world that we know. Matthew, one of Jesus´ closest followers, recorded these words of Jesus.
''Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.''
We use the word ''bless'' so often that it at times has lost its Biblical meaning. The original meaning is tied to the idea of having everything that you need. That is different than everything that we want. God determines what we truly need. The idea is seen even more clearly with its use to describe the island of Cyprus. Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean Sea near the southern coast of Turkey, was known as ''The Happy Isle.'' This word for happy was the same as the word blessed. It you were from Cyprus you could live your whole life without ever needing to leave. Cyprus was such a fertile and beautiful land of great climate, rich soil, fruit, livestock, fish, and natural resources that one never needed to look outside Cyprus to have her needs met.
That is the idea of the blessedness of one who is in Christ. She will never again need to look to the world to have her spiritual needs met. As the Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 4:19,
...
Series: The Kingdom of God
Tim Melton
Matthew 5:3
In the Bible, our clearest picture of how to best understand life is seen in the life of Jesus. When one reads in the Bible about the life of Jesus Christ, His way of life seems so foreign to us. When you look at the stories of Jesus it was as if He was playing by different rules, reading from a different script, or coming from a different world to which we can`t relate.
He rested, we worry. He gave, we horde. He was bold, we fear. He forgave, we hate. He pleased the Father, we please the world around us. He spoke with authority, we apologize for truth. He came to usher in the Kingdom of heaven and we are tempted by the kingdom of this world.
In Matthew 5:3 we see one of His teachings that seems so contradictory to the world that we know. Matthew, one of Jesus´ closest followers, recorded these words of Jesus.
''Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.''
We use the word ''bless'' so often that it at times has lost its Biblical meaning. The original meaning is tied to the idea of having everything that you need. That is different than everything that we want. God determines what we truly need. The idea is seen even more clearly with its use to describe the island of Cyprus. Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean Sea near the southern coast of Turkey, was known as ''The Happy Isle.'' This word for happy was the same as the word blessed. It you were from Cyprus you could live your whole life without ever needing to leave. Cyprus was such a fertile and beautiful land of great climate, rich soil, fruit, livestock, fish, and natural resources that one never needed to look outside Cyprus to have her needs met.
That is the idea of the blessedness of one who is in Christ. She will never again need to look to the world to have her spiritual needs met. As the Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 4:19,
...
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