The Blessed Poor

Matthew 5:1-3, “And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

I was reading Dr. John R. Rice's (1895-1980) helpful Bible commentary today for the Gospel of Matthew. I read about Matthew chapter 5, concerning being poor in spirit:

Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Compare this with Luke 6:20. Notice that Luke says “poor” while Matthew says “poor in spirit.” The meaning is the same, with Matthew going into more detail. Luke says “kingdom of God,” while Matthew says “kingdom of heaven.” It is blessed to be poor, particularly if the poverty is felt in the spirit. Compare this with “Woe unto you that are rich!” (Luke 6:24). The Saviour did not mean it is good to be poor without any spiritual riches or spiritual virtues. Rather, He meant that in dealing with God it is a blessed thing to have the humility of the poor, the broken heart of the poor. If a man feels his need, his poverty, so that he can pray as a poor and needy creature begging for help, then blessed is that man, for he will be heard. The poor in spirit are those who see their helplessness and see how valueless are temporal things — wealth, houses, land, fame. A rich man can be “poor in spirit.” A poor man can be proud and haughty and so have none of the virtues of the poor, and miss the blessing God means for the poor. See Revelation 3:17, 18 where God describes those who do not feel poor but really are wretchedly poor in His sight. These miss God's blessing. Compare with this James 2:1-6. James 2:5 speaks of the poor as “heirs of the kingdom” as does Matthew 5:3.

God particularly loves the poor. He will not hear the prayers of those who do not help the poor (Prov. 21:13; Isa. 58:7, 10; Prov. 14:31; Ps. 41:1; Prov. 19:17). God forbids moneylenders to keep as security the garment of the poor (Exod. 22:25-27). Jesus preached the Gospel especially to the poor (Matt. 11:5). And in winning souls, we are especially enjoined to “bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind” (Luke 12:21). The poor have many blessings that the rich do not have: usually better health, happier marriages, more children, less worries, fewer suicides, and are easier to reach with the Gospel (Luke 18:23-25; Mark 12:37. Lazarus, the poor beggar, was saved, while the rich man was lost (Luke 16:22, 23). Jesus is “the poor man's Friend.” Oh, Christian, do not strive to be rich; rather, “be content with such things as ye have” (Heb. 13:5; I Tim. 6:6-11). Seek first the kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33) and trust the Saviour who loves the poor. 

Jesus Himself, “though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (II Cor. 8:9). What infinite grace! He was born in a stable and laid in a borrowed manger when there was no room for Him in the inn. Though the foxes had holes and the birds of the air had nests, yet the Son of man had not where to lay His head (Matt. 8:20). And when He died, He left only a seamless garment and was buried in a borrowed grave (John 19:23, 24; Matt. 27:60). Every poor man ought to love Jesus Christ!

SOURCE: Dr. John R. Rice, “Matthew: The King Of The Jews,” pp. 77-79

Amen and amen! God has a special place in His heart for the poor of this world. Proverbs 19:17, “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.” I receive many emails from frustrated saints who say they never receive any answers to prayer. I humbly cannot say for certain why this is so. I admit that I also feel like God doesn't answer my prayers. My heart of hearts tells me that we don't deserve God's blessings or answers to prayer in America, because of our culture's ungodly tolerance for wickedness.

Tragically, over 60,000,000 human lives were murdered by abortion from 1973 to 2022, during the Roe vs. Wade era. Sadly, abortions are still happening by the millions across the United States. Now the FDA has approved an abortion pill. How convenient to murder another human life!!! I tell you truly, it is nothing less than first-degree premeditated murder. Then there is the greed, shady business contracts, dishonest insurance companies, cutthroat lawyers, fraudulent Federal Reserve banking system, et cetera. All across America public nudity is now the norm. Booze and substance abuse are epidemic nationwide, with 70,000 opiate drug deaths each year in the United States. Smash and Grab shoplifting sprees and blatant rampant theft are epidemic in California. California's liberal progressive legislators are to blame, for lessening the punishment for theft.

These are not poor people partaking of the Smash and Grab riots in California, nor the one's involved in the Black Lives Matter riots of 2020; but rather, these are spoiled rotten young American brats, who have an ungodly entitlement attitude that society somehow owes them. So in their own warped thinking, they think they have a right to steal, harm and injure others with impunity. This is the criminal work of the insane “Woke” movement. They should all be tried and hung publicly, like was done two centuries ago in London to thieves. Ecclesiastes 8:11, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.”