The Beatitudes are progressive beginning with the confession of our sinful state progressing to spiritual maturity vs 10-11.
Someone new to the faith accidentally called them the be-altitudes once. It’s actually a good way to look at it! Jesus is revealing a step-by-step progression of being seated in Christ in heavenly places.
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ESV
“Blessed” and “Poor” go hand-in-hand? Really?
Jesus was constantly teaching his disciples what they thought to be of no importance, often had great significance and vice versa.
Right-side up thinking sees how first in man’s eyes is often last in God's. Last in man’s eyes may well be first in God's.
Jesus was rearranging the disciples thinking so they could understand eternal reward.
The Kingdom of heaven has already been provided for the poor in spirit, those who are spiritually bankrupt. The price of admission is confession of a wretched existence apart from God. Jesus died and made the way for you to have eternal blessing in your life!
Apart from Christ, you are spiritually bankrupt. You have no power over your situation. Every twelve step program recovery program begins with this reality. Until you come to this reality you will keep trying to fix spiritual problems with human strength.
The absence of prayer reveals the presence of pride. You don’t neglect prayer and God’s Word because you don’t have time. You neglect them because you do have pride.
We’d rather project the image of adequacy rather than taking an honest and unsettling look at ourselves. This is a deception because God’s power shows up best in weak people. In our weakness we are made strong.
A group of us were sharing Jesus in Bricktown once. A lady looked at me and very hatefully said, “Why don’t you take your crutch of Christianity to the Jesus House where people need it.” Is Christianity a crutch?
The answer is yes, you’ll never reach for Christ until you see yourself as crippled. It is offensive to our self-sufficiency to label Christianity as a crutch. But Jesus said
Mark 2:17 …Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I (didn’t) come to call those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners. NLT
Behind the criticism that Christianity is a crutch is the confidence that we are not crippled, and that real joy and fulfillment in life are found in the pursuit of self-reliance, self-confidence, self-determination, and self-esteem.
Any Messiah who comes along and proposes to replace self-reliance with childlike God-reliance is a threat to the religions of self-admiration and self-sufficiency.
The only people who will ever come to get what Jesus has to give are people who know that they are spiritually crippled.
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ESV
GP2RL: Who can you talk to this week about the sin of self-reliance and how tricky this can be?
Jesus was rearranging the disciples thinking so they could understand eternal reward. Jesus is still discipling today. Are you listening to what he’s saying?
Reflections to consider as you go a little deeper with God in all of this:
