#1216 Matthew 5 Part 1 Happy Are The Spiritually Bankrupt

 

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

The Beatitudes

2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5: 1-12 ESV

Matthew 5: 1-3 Happy are the Bankrupt

(Spurgeon adds in a sermon) We incline to the belief that, when he became a pleader with the sons of men, he stood with uplifted hands, eloquent from head to foot, entreating, beseeching, and exhorting, with every member of his body, as well as every faculty of his mind; but now that he was, as it were, a Judge awarding the blessings of the kingdom, or a King on his throne separating his true subjects from aliens and foreigners, he sat down. As an authoritative Teacher, he officially occupied the chair of doctrine, and spake ex cathedral, as men say, as a Solomon acting as the master of assemblies or a Daniel come to judgment. He sat as a refiner, and his word was as a fire. His posture is not accounted for by the fact that it was the Oriental custom for the teacher to sit and the pupil to stand, for our Lord was something more that a didactic teacher, he was a Preacher, a Prophet, a Pleader, and consequently he adopted other attitudes when fulfilling those offices, but on this occasion, he sat in his place as Rabbi of the Church, the authoritative Legislator of the kingdom of heaven, the Monarch in the midst of his people. Come hither, then, and listen to the King in Jeshurun, the Divine Lawgiver, delivering not the ten commands, but the seven, or, if you will, the nine Beatitudes of his blessed kingdom. (Matthew 5.1-12 The Beatitudes) - Precept Austin

And when He sat down - It was a custom in the middle east for Rabbis to sit when they were giving their serious teaching. It is still a custom of professors to be given "the chair", and the pope is said to be speaking "ex cathedra" when he dictates from the chair. I strongly disagree with the Roman Catholic church on many things, and the power afforded to a man, in this dogma of papal infallibility, ranks way up there. The pope is not an Apostle of Christ, that age has past, and he does not represent Christ here on earth, and the popes have in no way been infallible, nor given any chair that provides for such moments. 

Cathedra and sedes are Latin words for "chair", a symbol of the teacher in the ancient world. Thus is the position of a university professor referred to as a "chair", and the position of a bishop as a "see" (from sedes). Believed by Catholics to be the successor of Peter, the pope is said to occupy the "Chair of Saint Peter" and his jurisdiction as the bishop of Rome is often referred to as the "Holy See". Because Catholics believe that their bishops are the successors of the apostles and that Peter had a special role among the apostles as the preserver of unity, the Pope is considered the spokesman for the whole church.

The doctrine of papal infallibility, the Latin phrase ex cathedra (literally, "from the chair"), was proclaimed by Pius IX in 1870 as meaning "when, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, [the Bishop of Rome] defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church."[29]

The response demanded from believers has been characterized as "assent" in the case of ex cathedra declarations of the popes and "due respect" with regard to their other declarations. - Wikipedia

Remember as well, Matthew paints the picture of Jesus right to the throne of David, and Jesus has just come from proving His power over disease. He is the rightful king, and He has been preaching about the kingdom, now, with His court (disciples) before Him, He expounds on the kingdom, and what those will be like who enter it. 

…27“Look,” Peter replied, “we have left everything to follow You. What then will there be for us?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for the sake of My name will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.… Matthew 19: 27-29

So now those things which characterize those in the kingdom, not just some, but everyone who enters the kingdom. Each line starts off with "Blessed", which means happy, contented. 

Beatitude is derived from the Latin beatitudo/beatus, because the first word of each statement in the Latin Vulgate is beati, which translates Matthew’s Greek word makarios (traditionally translated “blessed”). As you study the beatitudes, notice that the first three describe Kingdom Citizens as those who recognize that what they are in the presence of God is what they are, no more and no less. Observe also that all eight beatitudes are essentially attitudes each of which has associated promises. - Precept Austin

Blessed are the poor in spirit - What does it mean to be poor in spirit? It means to acknowledge your spiritual bankruptcy. Every one of these beatitudes fits perfectly with the ten commandments, the law of God that revealed your imperfection. Everyone of these fits perfectly with what Jesus came preaching, repentance. Repent means to turn away from, an about face, a change of mind and attitude, so what is the opposite of being poor in spirit? It is to be proud, to be self reliant, to be self righteous, to think that you can achieve righteousness by your own merit, that you, a sinner, are not so bad that you can't pull yourself up to a place where you can stand before a holy God. Notice that Jesus starts here with this beatitude, and it is not a work, not a hail Mary, not a twelve step program with directions on where to give your money, how to look holy, what to wear, to eat, or what pilgrimages are worth the most points. No, it is instead the acknowledgement that I am not holy, and that I have nothing to offer God except for the sin which requires a sacrifice. It could well be said, "Happy are the humble." 

…30But the Pharisees and their scribes complained to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”… Luke 5: 30-32

Makarios means possessing the favor of God, experiencing "spiritual prosperity". It describes a state of being marked by fullness from God. And so what Jesus is saying in the "Beatitudes" is "Spiritually prosperous (blessed) are the poor in spirit… ", etc (Mt 5:3) And thus some of the translators like Wuest pick up this definition "Spiritually prosperous are the destitute and helpless in the realm of the spirit." (Wuest)

Some sources record that makarios means "to be congratulated." The natural man thinks of the "poor in spirit" as the person who mourns over sin and suffering, the meek, the persecuted as groups to be despised or even pitied. However, Jesus says they are fortunate people for God is pleased with them and fittingly He has "blessed" them. They are to be congratulated and after all what fortune is so great as God's blessing? D Martyn Lloyd-Jones adds that…

The only man who is at all capable of carrying out the injunctions of the Sermon on the Mount is the man who is perfectly clear in his mind with regard to the essential character of the Chris­tian. Our Lord says that this is the only kind of person who is truly 'blessed, that is, 'happy'. Someone has suggested that it might be put like this; this is the sort of man who is to be congratulated, this is the sort of man to be envied, for he alone is truly happy. (Lloyd-Jones, D. M. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount) (Bolding added)

One might paraphrase Jesus' first beatitude..

Blessed are the spiritual paupers, the spiritually empty, the spiritually bankrupt who cringe in a corner and cry out to God for mercy.

Why? Because they are the only ones who tap the real resource for happiness independent of what happens. They are the only ones who ever know God. They are the only ones who are allowed entry into the Kingdom of Heaven (God). Theirs is the Kingdom—then and there, here and now and forever. Hallelujah! - Precept Austin

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven - Who gets into the Kingdom of Heaven? The humble, the poor in spirit, it belongs to them. It is a marvelous gift, for Jesus tells us later that it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. It is a happiness the rich can't buy, and that those who have much of this world's goods miss, because they believe in temporal rewards, passing fancies. Remember Job's friends, they thought his physical state was a reflection of his heart, of some unconfessed sin in his life. They believed that happiness was wealth and material possession. You can't get into the kingdom by works, money, and you can't get in by just being financially broke, but everyone is poor in spirit, and happy are they that come to this. 

…41and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled and they will make amends for their iniquity, 42then I will remember My covenant with Jacob and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. 43For the land will be abandoned by them, and it will enjoy its Sabbaths by lying desolate without them. And they will pay the penalty for their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and abhorred My statutes.… Leviticus 26: 41-43

…21He was driven away from mankind, and his mind was like that of a beast. He lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he acknowledged that the Most High God rules over the kingdom of mankind, setting over it whom He wishes. 22But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this. 23Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.… Daniel 5: 21-23

If you are full of yourself, then you first need to be emptied before you can be filled with the Spirit.