Throughout the Gospels, Jesus’s disciples were jockeying for position and trying to set themselves up in positions of power in the earthly kingdom they were eagerly waiting for Jesus to establish. This was despite the fact that time and again Jesus tried to explain that his kingdom was first and foremost a spiritual one. Jesus wanted them to understand that the principles upon which his kingdom was built were not the same as those of the temporal world.
We shouldn’t be too hard on Jesus’s disciples because we are no better. Much of Christian culture in the West today is wrapped up in a “kingdom now” theology and a “prosperity-centered” theology that is void of suffering, sacrifice, and service.
The true kingdom of God and the true character of Christ are laid out in the beginning of a message Jesus delivered in Matthew, referred to as the Sermon on the Mount.
“Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account” (Matthew 5:1-11, ESV).
Basically, take everything that our culture strives for and admires, find the opposite, and you will have the teachings of Jesus in the beatitudes. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The poor in spirit, the lowly, and the humble are not what this world portrays as great and usually are not the ones who run the show.
Most people—not all, but most people—with wealth and influence did not get it by being humble or poor in spirit. You may achieve success by the world’s standards in this life, but Jesus is saying that his kingdom is built a different way, and it is a superior way.
What does it mean to be poor in spirit? Scripture gives several examples of men and women whom I believe meet this description. One of these was Abraham. Abraham had been promised by God that he would be the father of many descendants and nations and that the world would be blessed through him.
Unfortunately, Abraham was very old and so was his wife who also happened to be barren. When they finally conceived a child after years of waiting, I can only imagine what that son meant to them. Isaac would be the heir and the fulfillment of God’s promise in Abraham's life. Imagine what it must have been like when God told Abraham to take his precious son on top of Mt. Moriah and sacrifice him.
Scripture doesn’t describe Abraham’s mental state or how great a struggle this had to have been for him, so I will not speculate. In the end, Abraham obeyed God.
There is no doubt that Abraham loved his son of promise, but he proved that he loved God more. He was willing to give up his prized possession in obedience to God. Abraham took his son, placed him on the altar, and raised his knife to sacrifice Isaac.
Before he could go through with it, the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Do not harm the boy.” Abraham looked up and saw a ram stuck in a thicket; the ram became the substitute sacrifice. God did not want the life of Isaac. He wanted to make sure that Abraham’s prized possession, his son, did not have possession of his heart ahead of God (see Genesis 22).
Moses is another example of someone who was poor in spirit. He rejected a place in the palace of Pharaoh to lead his people out of Egypt. If Moses had stayed in Egypt, he would have wanted for nothing in life. Instead, he obeyed God. He left a life of comfort for trial, adversity, and the unknown. Due to his obedience, God used him to free an entire race of people from slavery.
Poor in spirit is to be released from possession to the point that nothing and no one could ever come between you and God. This is the true worship of God. He must be first in all things and first in every part of your life. Anything less is idolatry.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” This statement was as completely counterintuitive in the first century as it is today. You wouldn’t see meekness brought up in a training manual on how to be a power broker on Wall Street or the CEO of a major corporation. In fact, meekness is rarely looked at as a positive attribute in American culture; rather, it’s viewed as weakness. Only the strong survive in this world, and it is survival of the fittest.
When Jesus said blessed are the meek and blessed are the poor in spirit, he cut straight to the heart of what discipleship is all about. Those who are obsessed with material things will go to great lengths to show how it is possible to seek material things and still be blessed by the Lord. However, this isn’t the message of Jesus, nor does anything in the Bible bear witness to this. A greedy heart is blind and is willing to count any gain as blessing. Unfortunately, it’s the millstone that is slowly tied to a conscience that will eventually be drown by the weight of its own guilt.
“If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:3-10, KJV).
A heart that desires material things has no problem inventing a theology to accommodate their greed; but to accomplish this, they must ignore or deny much of the New Testament. No matter how much Scripture you show them and how obvious the words of Jesus and Paul may be, they will not listen.
It’s hard to convince someone of something from the Bible when they don’t hold it in the same regard as you. Not that they don’t claim to value the Bible and the words of Jesus; they do, as long as it works around their wants and beliefs. However, we cannot put anything on the throne of our heart except for Jesus. If you think he will accept second or third place, you are sadly mistaken.
Much of the American church is obsessed with trying to reconcile the gospel to the American dream of wealth, health, and worldly success. It seems many preachers believe if they have enough or sow enough seed, they deserve God’s blessing. If you deserve something, though, it's not actually a blessing, is it?
Recently, I heard a famous preacher say that if you tithe as a Christian, God promises you a happy, successful, and comfortable life. I’m not sure where in the scriptures he gets that from or what part of the teaching of Jesus makes him think that. In my estimation, Jesus never comes close to saying anything of the sort. Maybe that preacher has never read the words of Jesus in Luke nine.
“As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Yet another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’” (Luke 9:57-62, ESV).
Jesus said, “If you follow me, you might not have a place to sleep, and there are no guarantees. Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but I’m not sure where I am going to sleep tonight.” Jesus literally said to one man, “Follow me,” and the man’s response to Jesus was that he needed to take care of some family business first. He didn’t want to go until his father passed away so he could be there to bury him. Seems like a noble reason, right? When one of these men said, “I will follow you, but first let me say goodbye to my family,” Jesus said anyone who puts their hand to the plow and even looks back is not fit to serve in the kingdom of God.
All of our reasons seem noble and important to us at the time; but when Jesus calls us to follow him, it is an accept him or reject him moment. Jesus didn’t tell the man, “Keep doing what you're doing and just say a little prayer and accept me as your personal savior, and you’ll be fine.” In fact, you will never see that model in the scriptures anywhere.
What do we deserve? Outside of Christ, we deserve judgment and the wrath of God. Does God want us to be comfortable? God is much less concerned with our immediate and temporal comfort than he is our obedience, our eternal soul, and us conforming to the image of Christ. God’s eternal kingdom and spending eternity in the presence of Jesus is our reward.
Anyone who expects a trouble-free life or thinks that if we follow a certain preacher’s biblical system or unlock certain secrets of the Bible that we are guaranteed a comfortable life is beyond deceived.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
In Christ,
Pastor Joshua
Joshua West is a pastor, evangelist, and author. He is also director of the World Challenge Pastors Network.
