Although for this journaling journey I have committed to writing about my first thoughts and impressions as I read Scripture, without the aid of commentaries and lectionaries and other study and reference tools, there are some passages of Scripture I already know a good deal about because I am a preacher and I have preached extensively about certain passages and I cannot unknow what I already know. This first little section of Matthew 5 (the Beatitudes) is one of these passages. In my church, I preached through this passage every other year. I covered this often because I believe this little passage is basic to understanding what God desires for us as followers of Jesus. I apologize in advance for references to word meanings and such, but, again, I can't not know what I've already learned.
The one thing that Jesus taught about and preached about over and over was the Kingdom of God -referred to as the Kingdom of heaven by Matthew because he was writing to Jewish people who did not like to use the word God to safeguard against speaking His name in vain. Jesus taught about the Kingdom over and over. I believe the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-11) are sort of the by-laws to the Kingdom -or perhaps the Constitution of the Kingdom. If we desire to understand or catch a small glimpse of the heart of God, the desires that God has for us, God's perspective, we find it here. And it is surprising.
Here we are going to find that God's perspective is not even close to our natural perspective. The things that we tend to think are of primary importance, we find have little meaning or value to God. On the other hand, things which we tend to value very little, it seems God values greatly. Author and teacher, Tony Campolo, likens what is taught in the Beatitudes to God going into the Department Store of Life and switching around all the price tags.
The first Beatitude in verse 3 illustrates what I am talking about. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven."
That doesn't sound too radical -but let's unpack it a bit. We already know that Jesus taught a lot about the Kingdom, and He said and implied often that the Kingdom has come to fruition in Him. In Jesus, the Kingdom is fully functional and fully realized. He is the embodiment of the Kingdom. If we want to be followers of Jesus and partakers in the Kingdom, this verse is, obviously, a vital clue. It tells us exactly who achieves or gains the Kingdom: those who are poor in spirit. So, now we've got to figure out what Jesus means by poor in spirit.
This is where what I already know kicks in. The word that Jesus uses here for poor does not mean I'm a little short on cash at the moment but I'll be ok in the long run. It does not mean I haven't got much but I'll muddle through somehow. It means I am destitute. It means I have nothing. Zip. Nada. I am completely and abjectly poor with no hope of ever being otherwise.
What Jesus is teaching when He links this word for abject poverty with our spiritual condition is that the Kingdom belongs to the spiritually destitute -to the morally bankrupt. This teaching, at first glance, is not only shocking, it is offensive. We would rather believe that the Kingdom is for good people. It must be easier for good spiritual people to enter the Kingdom than the spiritually destitute. It must be easier for people who have high moral standards and a strong sense of right and wrong. But Jesus says otherwise.
Jesus says that the Kingdom belongs to those who begin to see and understand that they have nothing to offer. The Kingdom is for people who grasp that they bring nothing of value to the table.
To make this personal, I gain the Kingdom only when I see the truth about myself. I am not, by nature, a good person. I am not even a pretty good person. God is not lucky to have me. Apart from God, the truth about me is that I am selfish; I am prideful; I am manipulative; I always desire to have my own way; I am willing to make myself feel good at other's expense; I am willing to make myself look good at other's expense. And even when it appears that I have someone else's interest in mind, I am actually manipulating and scheming to make myself look better, feel better, stay in control, and accomplish something for myself. I have no inherent righteousness. The only righteousness I have is Christ in me. And until I come to grips with this stark reality, the Kingdom is not mine.
We tend to place a priority on establishing and maintaining high self-esteem. But Jesus switches the price tags. What we think is valuable and necessary, he says is meaningless and of no value at all. And what the world thinks has no value and even believes is emotionally harmful to our fragile psyches (admission of worthlessness), ends up being our only ticket into the Kingdom.
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