Matthew 5:3,5: Blessed are those who are poor in Spirit and the Meek

So then who are these poor in spirit and why are they blessed, saved, and peaceful as they inherit the kingdom of heaven? ‘Poor in spirit’ in a unique phrase. It is not as straightforward as Luke’s ‘blessed are the poor’; it does include those who are monetarily poor but it also includes those who are otherwise not self-reliant. It may refer to anyone who realizes that they cannot make it by themselves; those who inherit the kingdom of heaven as the ‘poor in spirit’ would be the opposite of the ‘me generation’; the poor in spirit are those who realize that they are not independent financially, socially, emotionally… Jesus is saying that those of us who do not buy into the cult of the individual but rather lean on Him, we are the ones who are blessed, saved, and peaceful as we inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are the poor in spirit

Blessed, peaceful and saved also are the meek for they will inherit the earth. Meek is very much a synonym for the ‘poor in spirit’; meek people are gentle. We who inherit eternal life will also inherit this earth as Christ’s proleptic kingdom grows its foothold here. Blessed, peaceful and saved are the meek for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are the meek

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