Today’s Reading: Matthew 5:3 (HCSB)
The poor in spirit are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Today’s Question: Why is humility the most important description of Jesus’ followers?
Today’s Commentary:
Jesus envisioned that His followers would be unmistakable. While they would be far from perfect, they would be undeniably marked as Christians. People would know they were with Christ because of their love. The disciples’ lives would be different–the kind of life that displayed a miraculous hope. The attitude of Jesus’ disciples would define their allegiance to the Messiah.
Therefore, it is no surprise to us that Jesus began the Great Sermon in Matthew 5 with a bold statement about attitude. For us looking in hindsight, it makes sense that Jesus would begin with the attitude. Yet, I doubt that Jesus’ first words were anything less than shocking to His first followers and the crowd that had gathered on the side of the mountain. “The poor in spirit are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs,” He said.
I have listened to a multitude of sermons (over 10,000 would be a guess). Most well-crafted sermons begin with a catchy introduction (something that lures the audience to receive a Biblical challenge). But when Jesus preached this sermon, He chose not to start with a clever video clip, a story about growing up in Nazareth, no jokes, and no alliterated outline. He began with “Point #1,” and then only gave a phrase of explanation. Most preachers I have heard will spend 10 minutes defining every word and showing every angle of each point. (That is why we can only get in three before we have to quit!) Jesus just said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…”
What? What did Jesus say? Did He really just say that the humble, the broken, are blessed by God? This first utterance could not have been more countercultural. He likely had to pause for a moment to allow the rumble of the crowd to subside. The Pharisees (far from humble leaders) had long taught that they were blessed by God. They wore the brilliantly white flowing robes and displayed their high and lofty positions. They knew the Law of God and conversed about it continually. And Jesus had the audacity to challenge this?
Jesus said the poor in spirit will see Heaven. The Gospel is the provision of God in Christ Jesus to be the sacrifice for our sins. The appropriate response to the Gospel (the only one God recognizes) is brokenness in spirit. Brokenness is the beginning of repentance. Repentance is the message that Christ would preach from start to finish.
The true disciple of Christ makes war with the prideful arrogance that resides with one’s sin nature. The one following Christ is characterized by his or her willingness to be “poor in spirit.” Those who humble themselves for the sake of Christ will exalt Him. Everyone around the disciple of Jesus will see the difference and the reality of the Gospel will be a challenge to all who know the one whose Master is the Lord.
“Follow One, Lead Others” Principle #2: Humility is the defining mark of a leader who is truly following the Lord Jesus.
Today’s Prayer Point: Humility is a moment-by-moment, daily battle between our pride-filled sin nature and the call of God. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be broken and grateful for the work of God in our lives. Ask God to reveal to you any prideful spirit and to help you reject it immediately.
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Shepherding Well 