Matthew 4:23-25
23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their syna-
gogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and heal-
ing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News
about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him
all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe
pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the
paralyzed, and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Gali-
lee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across
the Jordan followed him.
Matthew 5:1-12
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountain-
side and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he be-
gan to teach them, saying:
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteous-
ness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons
of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of right-
eousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you
and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in
heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets
who were before you.
According to Matthew’s gospel the events he recorded in the
verses above happened at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry. At
this point we read in Matthew 4:18-22 Jesus had only chosen four
disciples who were fishermen from the Galilee whom He personally
went to and made the invitation to follow Him.
In Matthew 4:23-25 we read as Jesus went through the re-
gion of Galilee “preaching the good news of the kingdom”, it
was not only the words of His preaching people experienced but we
see the presence and power of the kingdom of God being experienced by those who had many different kinds of physical needs.
Matthew does not tell us how long of a period Jesus ministered
throughout the region of Galilee, but the result was, enough time
for the word to spread to many of the other surrounding regions,
so much so that large crowds of people began to follow Him. At
this point Jesus seeing the crowds that were following Him, He be-
gan to teach His disciples and the crowds, starting with what is
commonly known as the beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12. There are
nine in all, but what Jesus taught in the beatitudes, was directed to
everyone in the crowd and for His disciples. “A disciple is a learner,
one who follows both the teaching and the teacher.” These nine
points were an invitation and introduction to those who were fol-
lowing Jesus who were not directly invited by Him to do so. But
they were also instructing those in the crowd who were following
Him.
Nine times Jesus starts out each point saying “Blessed”, do
we really know what Jesus meant to be “Blessed”? Wuest in his
expanded translation uses the term “Spiritually prosperous”. The
Faith Life Study Bible in it’s commentary tells us “Blessed” is,
“The Greek word used here, makarios (meaning “happy” or
“fortunate”), often indicates someone who is favored by God.” As a
follower and disciple of Jesus can we say we are experiencing in
our relationship with Jesus what Jesus is teaching in these nine
points?
Seven of these points, verses 3-9 is referring to our character
by the using the word “are”. To be a follower and disciple of Jesus
it is important that our character speaks or gives evidence to who
we are. These seven points of the character of the follower and dis-
ciple of Jesus also are accompanied by a spiritual benefit of which
Jesus says we are “Blessed” as a result of these characteristics in
our lives.
3a Blessed are the poor in spirit,
If a new believer in Christ would ask you what does it mean,
“Blessed are the poor in spirit…”? And if “Blessed” means
“happy” or “fortunate” or “Spiritually prosperous” how can a person
be “poor in spirit”? “Isn’t that a contradiction”?
Being “poor in spirit” applies to us, it is a humble under-
standing and attitude about ourselves concerning where we stand
with God. Some commentators say it has the implication of an
“economic component”, which means we understand that we are
spiritually bankrupt without God. We have nothing of ourselves to
offer God, we are totally dependent on Him. We are totally depend-
ent on God’s grace, love, mercy and much more.
Wersbe says, “To be poor in spirit means to be humble, to
have a correct estimate of oneself. It does not mean to be “poor spirited” and have no backbone at all! “Poor in spirit” is the oppo-
site of the world’s attitudes of self-praise and self-assertion.”
3b, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Jesus is teaching us that “the kingdom of heaven.” is a re-
sult, a gift from God received by those who humbly realize their
own spiritual poverty. The term kingdom of heaven is synonymous
with the kingdom of God and many times is synonymous to the
term inheritance mentioned in the New Testament. In the New In-
ternational Version of the Bible the term kingdom of heaven is only
found thirty-two times and only in the gospel of Matthew. However,
the term kingdom of God is found sixty-six times throughout the
NIV New Testament. If Jesus tells us that the kingdom of heaven is
ours because we are “poor in spirit”, however, do we really know
what we have?
First of all, Jesus tells Nicodemus in John some important facts
about the kingdom of God or heaven. John 3:3-5, In reply Jesus
declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom
of God unless he is born again.” 4 “How can a man be born
when he is old?” asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second
time into his mother’s womb to be born!” 5 Jesus answered,
“I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God
unless he is born of water and the Spirit.”
To have and experience the kingdom of heaven or God in our
lives we first must be born again which a result of the realization of
being “poor in spirit”. But after our born-again experience we
should always strive as followers and disciples of Jesus to inherit
and experience the kingdom of heaven or God in it’s fullness in our
lives as a result of our relationship with Him.
Pastor John
