Matthew 5:1–3 (ESV)
The Sermon on the Mount
5 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.
One would expect Jesus to say: “Blessed are the rich in spirit…”, but he doesn’t. He says “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Who
are the “poor in spirit?” The Lutheran Study Bible says: “The spiritually poor who acknowledge their moral bankruptcy. When you realize your moral bankruptcy, it is then that you can confess and repent… and the kingdom
of heaven is yours.
I pray: O Lord, I realize that I fall short and
that I’m a sinner. I repent and put my trust in Your grace and mercy. Amen.
Engelbrecht, E. A. (2009). The
Lutheran Study Bible (p. 1585). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.