Chapter 3: Drained of All Other Waters
The poor in spirit and the Poor
Matthew says “poor in spirit.” Luke says “poor.” Lots of discussion about those words over the centuries. Material (Luke) and spiritual (Matthew) are intertwined in the the beatitude just like thay are in the scripture.
Humility
Humility vs. pride.
Trust and dependence on God (Isa 66:2).
Crushed in spirit: the oppressed
The despondent. Some prefer beggars to poor in spirit.
The righteous poor. The OT sometimes uses poor as synonym for righteous.
Resistance to blessing all poor
Some distinguish between the virtuous poor and the those that aren’t.
Blessed are those who help the poor
Some theologians warn against making poverty a a virtue. They argue that poverty is evil.
Woe to the rich! The dangers of wealth
Early Christians saw the dangers of wealth and tied it to this beatitude.
Voluntary Poverty. A very early interpretation was that blesses those who choose poverty.
Poverty as inevitable rather than voluntary. A more modern interpretation is that poverty is an inevitable outcome of choosing to follow Jesus.
Detachment. In this view, you can be “poor” if you are detached from your wealth.
Inheriting the kingdom.
This and one other are the only beatitudes where the promise is in the present tense.
Conclusion
The beatitude has been interpreted differently in different social settings