“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3
The Sermon on the Mount is found in the Book of Matthew. This significant teaching is recorded in chapters 5-7. It begins with Jesus climbing up a small mountain with his disciples and a large crowd. Jesus sits down and begins to teach. The teachings that follow describe the remarkable makeup of the kingdom of heaven that Jesus has been proclaiming throughout Israel (Matthew 4:17).
What is remarkable about the kingdom of heaven is that God is with us. The kingdom is not located far away in an unreachable location. God is here, and the kingdom is “on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) If we seek God and God’s kingdom, we will find it. (Matthew 6:33)
The Sermon on the Mount opens with perhaps Jesus’s most well-known teaching, The Beatitudes. This teaching describes how the values of heaven are different from the values of this world. Specifically, the blessed life is not because of our own success but because of the presence of God and the gifts God bestows on His disciples. God’s blessings are available to all, even the ones the world often sees as undesirable and unlikely. The Sermon on the Mount describes the richness of heaven for the people of earth.
The first Beatitude states, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus begins his teaching by acknowledging that humility leads us into the kingdom. Many in Jesus’ time acted as though they were self-sufficient in their spiritual lives. They were the religious elite who often opposed Jesus and placed heavy burdens on the people. The religious system had become a curse and failed to offer the blessings of God to His children.
Those who are blessed are the ones who understand that they cannot earn God’s presence and love. God is with us because God wants to be with us. God loves us because God is love. We are the created children of the King of heaven. God has chosen us despite our thoughts and actions.
The kingdom of heaven is marked by joy. This is not a joy that comes from our success at work, school, or home. This joy, this state of blessedness, is ours when we understand that we have not earned it, we don’t deserve it, but God is with us, and God is for us. Our joy deepens as we, in humility, seek a closer relationship with God, who has already come from heaven to be near us.
-Rev. Keith King, Pastor of Worship
