Matthew 5:3-12

As Jesus began His ministry He had gathered His disciples and was traveling through Galilee teaching and healing. (Matthew 4:23) ²³ And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. As knowledge of His words and works grew people came to see Him. It was at this point that Jesus went up to the mountain and gave the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). The beginning of this sermon is known as the Beatitudes.

These teachings portray the inward qualities of a heart set on discipleship of God. Seeing as our actions and words are reflections of the condition of our hearts, aligning our hearts with these qualities through the Holy Spirit is vital to being a reflection of God and His conduit to this fallen world. These traits are not optional, they are the expectation of God in His followers.

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

“Poor in spirit” refers to the humility found in those people who realize their need for God. They know that they are unworthy and must rely on the grace of God and their faith in His strength. It is this realization that leads to being “blessed” as the passage says, which is the happiness that comes from knowing your place in God’s hand and thriving from that position as He works through you for His purpose and His glory. (1 Peter 5:5) “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”