Blessed Are the
Poor in Spirit
Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
1. As you begin,
lift up your study to your Lord. "Sustain me according to Your word, that
I
may live; and do not let me be ashamed of my
hope"
(Psalm
119:116).
2. Look up the Greek word for blessed and write it with its definition. If you do not have these Greek study tools, use a regular dictionary, and
see if they give you the Greek word and definition. Record what you learn about blessed.
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3. Read Matthew 5:1-12 and fill in the chart, "The Blessings of the Blessed," which
is at the end of this lesson.
4. Read
through the blesseds again in Matthew 5:3-12. What relationship do you think these beatitudes have to salvation? Are they something one has to do in
order to merit
salvation? Characteristics of those who are saved? Qualities that are
? A combination? What are your thoughts?
Today we want to look at what it means to be poor in spirit.
1. Look
up the Greek word for poor and record it along with its root word and its
meaning.
2. Now that you have seen what poor means, let's look at poor in spirit. The word for spirit is the common word, pneuma, number 4151 in the Greek dictionary
of Strong's
Exhaustive Concordance. Its root comes
from
number 4154, pneo, which means to breathe,
to blow. Poor in spirit simply means to be a beggar,
a pauper
in spirit, to know that you have nothing
to offer. It is a lowliness which is the opposite of pride. Look up the following Old Testament verses and note how
they would relate to this definition of poor in spirit.
a. Psalm 34:18
b. Psalm 51:17
c. Isaiah 57:15
d. Isaiah
66:1-2
3. Read Luke 18:9-14
carefully and answer the following
questions:
a. Describe the two main characters of Jesus' parable.
b. Which
of these men
was justified? Why?
c. Why did Jesus tell this parable?
d. Do you see any
parallel between
this
parable
and the first beatitude,
"Blessed are the poor
in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven"? Give a reason for answering as you do.
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DAY
THREE
1. First
John 5:17 says, "All unrighteousness is sin," and Romans 1:18 tells us that "the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven
against all
ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men." First Corinthians
6:9 says, "Or do
you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the
kingdom of God?"
Where, then, does this leave mankind, every human being born of the seed of man upon the earth? It leaves each of us unrighteous, under the wrath
of God, and unable
to
go
to heaven. As we saw in our overview of Matthew 5-7, according to Jesus, in order to go to heaven
we have to have a righteousness that exceeds
the right
eousness of the scribes and Pharisees
(Matthew 5:20). How could we ever attain to s
uch a righteousness when we are nothing but sinners??? Read the following Scriptures and note how collectively they answer
this question:
a. Romans
3:10, 23
b. Romans 6:3-7, 2-19
c. 2 Corinthians 5:21
d. Romans
4:5-8
e. Romans 7:14-18, 24-25; 8:2-4
)
2. Read Matthew 9:10-13. How do you think this relates to being poor in spirit?
What does
it tell you about the Pharisees? How does this compare with what you learned about the Pharisee in Luke 18?
3. Why wasn't the Pharisee's righteousness adequate enough to get him to heaven? Read Romans 10:1-10. Then, in your own words
explain what Paul is saying in these verses and how it relates to what you have seen thus far.
4. Romans 10:4 says, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." The Law, he says elsewhere, cannot
make a man righteous because of man's sinful flesh (Romans 8:3-4).
Therefore, Christ makes men righteous by dying for their sins and giving
them
His Spirit (Romans 8:2-4). But who
is qualified to lay hold of His righteousness?
In the light of all you have learned this week, can you answer that question from the Sermon on the Mount? (One sentence will do for your answer.)
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5. Why do you think
Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with the beatitude,
"Blessed
are the poor in spirit"? Why didn't
He begin with the pure in heart or
the merciful?
6. Study the
meaning of poor in the light of Matthew 7:13-14: "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction,
and there
are many who enter
through it.
For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life,
and there are few who find it." Do you see any parallels between the first beatitude and these verses? Write them out.
7. Read Luke
4:17-21. Do you see any parallel
between Luke 4:18 and what you have learned these past three days? Explain your answer.
8. Have you ever seen or confessed your poverty
of spirit-your total inability to make yourself righteous,
acceptable to God?
Take time to meditate on what you have learned so far this week and talk to Him about it.
DAY
FOUR
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1. Today we want to begin our study of the second beatitude, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
Look up the definition
of the Greek word
for mourn and write it below.
As you study this
second beatitude, you need to discern the type of sorrow to
which Jesus is referring. Is it sorrow in general, or is it a specific type of sorrow that receives
comfort? What is Jesus' intention?
Since the
word for mourn does
not
give
us
any specific clues, we need to consider the word in context. Let's start there.
As you read through the
Beatitudes, do you think Jesus
listed them randomly,
or is there a progressive logical order? When people see their poverty of spirit, their total
sinfulness, and their failure to please
God, what does it bring to their hearts? Is it not sorrow?
2. If our righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, how will we feel about sin?
3. When you have looked at your own poverty of spirit
or your own sin, how
have you felt?
a. Have your feelings or attitudes about sin ever changed? If so, when
and why?
b. How have
you handled those feelings? Was there any comfort offered you from God? Read Luke 7:36-50 (which
follows). Mark every reference to the woman. In the margin of the text, list everything you observed
from marking the references to the woman.
19
LUKE 7: 36-50
36 Now one of the
Pharisees was requesting
Him
to dine with him, and
He entered the Pharisee's house and reclined
at the table.
37 And
there
was a woman
in
the
city who was a sinner; and when she
learned that He was
reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster
vial of perfume,
38 and standing behind Him at His feet,
weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with
the
hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing
them with
the perfume.
39 Now when
the
Pharisee
who had invited Him saw this,
he
said
to
himself, "If this man were a prophet He would know
who
and what
sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that
she is a sinner."
40 And Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And
he replied, "Say
it, Teacher."
41 "A
moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
42 "When
they were unable to repay,
he graciously forgave them both. So
which of them will love him more?"
43 Simon
answered and said, "I
suppose the one whom
he forgave
more." And He said to him, "You have judged correctly."
44 Turning toward
the woman,
He said to Simon,
"Do you see this woman? I entered your
house; you gave Me no water for My feet,
but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
45 "You
gave Me no kiss;
but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased
to kiss My feet.
46 "You
did not anoint
My
head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume.
47 "For this reason I say to you,
her
sins, which are many, have been
forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little,
loves little."
48 Then He said to her, "Your
sins have been forgiven."
49 Those who
were
reclining at
the
table with
Him
began
to say to themselves, "Who is
this man who even
forgives sins?"
50 And He said to the woman,
"Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
4. If Jesus comforted
the woman who saw her poverty
of spirit and wept, will
God not also comfort you?
Read Revelation 21:1-5.
What is the promise?
DAY
FIVE
What do you think is the primary cause of the mourning in Matthew 5:4?
Isn't it our sin, our failure to please God?
We can
mourn
over sin, pain, suffering, injustice, and bereavement in the lives of others as well as in our own. To study all of these types of mourning at this time, however, is impossible since our course of study is so limited. Therefore, we will simply deal with mourning because of sin, since it is sin that brought
pain and grief
into the life of mankind.
1. Read James 4:6-10 and then answer the following questions:
a. What in James 4:6-7 parallels with the poor in spirit?
b. If one draws near to God and God is light, what is exposed?
c. Can you see any parallel
between Matthew 5:4
and James 4:9-10? Explain your answer.
d. Can you
see
the same progression in James 4:6-10 as in the first two beatitudes?
e. What
do you think
about James 4:8-9 with respect to your walk with the
Lord? What is God telling you personally?
2. Our attitude toward sin will manifest
itself not only in mourning over personal sins and shortcomings, but
also in grieving over sin's pernicious effects upon mankind.
Those who love God, who understand His holiness, and who walk in close communion with Him cannot
help but mourn over sin wherever it raises its banner.
When God's
children can look upon sin without
mourning, something
is grievously wrong!
a. Read
1 Corinthians 5:1-13. What was the main cause of Paul's
concern
the man's sin or the church's
response? How do you know?
b. What
does this show you about the church at Corinth?
c. Why was Paul concerned? What would happen
if this sin went unchecked?
3. We've looked
at sin in the Church. Now let's close out this week by observing Ezekiel 9. Compare response to sin in our country with
the response of those in Judah to the abominations
that were
taking place in their land. But before you do, let us put the book
of Ezekiel
into context.
Ezekiel was written
during
the
Babylonian
captivity.
Daniel
the prophet was taken captive as a lad in the first siege of Jerusalem. Ezekiel was taken captive during
the second
siege. Jerusalem at the time of Ezekiel 9, however,
had not been totally destroyed; God
had yet to execute a complete judgment on this sacred city.
Read through the chapter carefully. Then, answer the following questions:
a. Who summoned the executioners and why?
b. What did the executioners have and why?
c. What was the man clothed
in linen with the writing case told to do?
d. Why?
e. Who was exempt from the judgment of either the man with the
writing case or the executioners?
f. Read Romans 15:4, then
write out what we can learn for our own lives from the period in Judah's history recorded in Ezekiel 9.
g. If God were to send
a man with a writing case
throughout the land to do the same that
he did in Ezekiel's day, how would the man mark you? Why?
h. What practical lesson can you learn from this chapter?
4. Did the coming of Jesus Christ to earth in any way relate to man's sorrow or mourning? Read Isaiah 61:1-3. Do you see any comparison between these
Scriptures and the second beatitude? Explain
your answer.
5. Finally, memorize Matthew 5:3-4.
