Matthew 5:3-5: The Poor in Spirit, the Grieving, and the Unimportant

Script

Jon: The Sermon on the Mount is the largest collection of the teachings of Jesus, all about his good news that God’s heavenly Kingdom has touched down here on Earth.

Tim: The teachings are divided into three parts: an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion.

Jon: We’ll start with the introduction, where Jesus addresses the identity of his followers. And this section has … three parts!

Tim: Right. First come nine announcements, that are often called the Beatitudes. And they’re all about who is experiencing the good life. We’ll look at the first set of three, which claim that God’s heavenly Kingdom is coming to the least likely people. It begins like this:

Jon: “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”¹

Tim: So that word “blessed” is makarios. It’s a word used to describe someone that you think is experiencing blessing, that is, God’s favor and abundance.

Jon: Look over there! That person’s living the good life!

Tim: Exactly. To see this point clearly, we could suggest the translation:

Jon: “How good is life for the poor in spirit.”

So what does that mean, to be “poor in spirit”?

Tim: Well, in the Bible, a person’s spirit is their life-breath, their inner vitality.² So if your inner spirit is poor, then you are lacking energy and power.

Jon: Like feeling downcast or discouraged?

Tim: Yes, but this phrase also can be used to describe those lacking external power, like those on the margins of a society.

Jon: Now, being powerless doesn’t seem like the good life.

Tim: And that’s the surprise that Jesus is going for here in this first line. And then the blessing that God has in store for them, that’s in the second line!

Jon: “Because theirs is the Kingdom of the skies.”³

Okay, but what’s the Kingdom of the skies??

Tim: Well, the Kingdom of the skies is God’s heavenly reality, where everything is done according to God’s good will. And that’s what Jesus is bringing here to the land for people to experience now. Jesus is going first to the poor and the powerless, inviting them into God’s Kingdom. And so this is the blessing: instead of being last, Jesus offers God’s Kingdom to them first.

Jon: Cool. The next one is, “How good is life for those who grieve, because they will be comforted.”⁴

Tim: People lacking power usually have to face a lot of hardship, loss, and grief. But Jesus announces that a time of comfort is coming.

Jon: “How good is life for the unimportant, because they will inherit the land.”⁵

Tim: That word “unimportant” is the Greek word praus, which is often translated “the meek.” But this isn’t just about being humble. This word also refers to people who have no influence in society, those who are looked down on and discarded.

Jon: And Jesus says that they will inherit the land?!

Tim: Yes! He’s quoting from Psalm 37, a poem about God’s plan to elevate the poor and oppressed to inherit the land, while those who do evil lose everything.⁶ This recalls the beginning of the Bible’s story, where God gives the land to all humanity to oversee it on God’s behalf—not just some people but everyone.⁷

Jon: So the first three announcements are about God’s Kingdom coming to the powerless, the grieving, and the unimportant.

Tim: And that’s the surprising good news that Jesus has to offer.