Text: Matthew 5:3 and Luke 6:20 and 24
What a week it has been. I can't get over the terrible devastation the hurricane caused. It's horrific. Before I do anything else, I want to pray for the people who were affected by this storm.
Lord, I pray that your loving presence will be with those who have been hurt by the
storm this week. Please help everyone to get the help that they need to rebuild and
move forward. Give special comfort to any who lost a loved one this week. Thank
You Lord Jesus. Amen.
After my Mom passed away, my Dad and I thought about moving out to the east coast. We didn't do it because my Dad was always afraid to be too close to the ocean because he worried about hurricanes. He said he'd rather deal with the Kansas tornadoes.
Last week, we began a series of messages on Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. I went over some of the theories of interpretation concerning this important passage of Scripture.
As I said last week, I'm going to teach the Sermon on the Mount as if its precepts are for today, and Jesus expects each of His followers to obey His words as best as they possibly can.
We just briefly touched on the beatitudes last week. This week we will go into greater depth about the first of the beatitudes given by our Lord.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Luke records the words of Jesus a little differently in Luke 6:20 that states, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."
Unlike Matthew's account, Luke records Jesus as making some additional statements that are the opposite of the beatitudes. In Luke 6:24 Jesus says, "But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full."
Let's look at both of these passages. In the Matthew passage, Jesus is saying that the poor in spirit have God's favor upon them. Who are the poor in spirit? I think that the poor in spirit are those who recognize that they are totally dependent upon God. They realize that they are sinners and that they cannot do anything to earn salvation or earn God's favor. They realize the importance of grace.
Jesus told a parable that illustrates someone who is poor in spirit. In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, Jesus told about two men who went to pray. The Pharisee began his prayer by stating all the good deeds he had done. He prayed, he fasted and he certainly wasn't anything like that no good tax collector. One the other hand, the tax collector wouldn't even lift his eyes to the heavens. He bowed and said, "Lord be merciful to me a sinner." Jesus said that the tax collector was the man who went home justified.
This tax collector was poor in spirit. He recognized his absolute need for God.
The poor in spirit are blessed because they have received the gift of salvation and abundant life through Jesus Christ. Also, those who trust in the Lord will rule and reign with Jesus Christ when he comes again and establishes His kingdom on this earth. He will rule and reign forever.
Now, Luke records Jesus as saying something similar, but it is not the same. Jesus in Luke says, "blessed are the poor" and does not add the words in spirit. What does this mean?
I believe that in this context, Jesus is speaking about people who are monetarily poor. Contrary to what I was taught in church as a boy, the Lord does care about social justice. A reading of the prophetic books of the Bible demonstrates this clearly. The Lord cares for the poor and the oppressed in society, and He expects the governments of the world to take care of their most vulnerable citizens.
There is a vast amount of oppression of the rich against the poor in this world. Just look at how large multi-national corporations pay workers in Third World countries terrible wages and make people work in substandard conditions. All the while the company is raking in the profits.
I'll give you an example I read about recently while I was researching an article for a client. Several years ago, an island nation in the Pacific decided to pass a minimum wage law because some companies were paying very low wages. Some of the biggest employers on the island were tuna canning plants owned by firms based in the US and Europe. After the minimum wage was passed, these companies pulled their factories out and went to another nation where they could pay less money.
God sees all of this, and the day of judgment will come when Jesus Christ returns. When Christ returns, those who have been oppressed, the least of these in society, will receive justice. All greedy oppression will cease immediately under the reign of Jesus.
In Luke's account, Jesus says, "Woe to you who are rich." Does this mean that Jesus is opposed to the wealthy. He is if the rich aren't doing what is right with their wealth of if they have obtain their wealth through the oppression of their workers.
Jesus is opposed to the wealthy making huge profits and paying their workers little. Jesus is opposed to people having vast resources and not using them to alleviate the suffering in the world. James talks about this in his epistle.
One day, all the wealth in this world won't make one bit of difference. When Jesus comes again, He will bring woe to all who have oppressed the poor, the laborer, the widow , the orphan and the underprivileged of the world.
We all have the responsibility to use what God has given us to bring honor and glory to the Lord and make this world a better place.
Next week, Lord willing, we will continue in our study of the Sermon on the Mount. May God bless you. Amen.
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