Chapter 2—The Beatitudes
“He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the
poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”—Matthew
5:2, 3.
As something strange and new, these words fall upon the ears of
the wondering multitude. Such teaching is contrary to all they have
ever heard from priest or rabbi. They see in it nothing to flatter their
pride or to feed their ambitious hopes. But there is about this new
Teacher a power that holds them spellbound. The sweetness of divine
love flows from His very presence as the fragrance from a flower.
His words fall like “rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water
the earth.”
Psalm 72:6
. All feel instinctively that here is One who
reads the secrets of the soul, yet who comes near to them with tender
compassion. Their hearts open to Him, and, as they listen, the Holy
Spirit unfolds to them something of the meaning of that lesson which
humanity in all ages so needs to learn.
In the days of Christ the religious leaders of the people felt that
they were rich in spiritual treasure. The prayer of the Pharisee, “God,
I thank Thee, that I am not as the rest of men” (
Luke 18:11
, R.V.),
expressed the feeling of his class and, to a great degree, of the whole
nation. But in the throng that surrounded Jesus there were some who
had a sense of their spiritual poverty. When in the miraculous draft
[7]
of fishes the divine power of Christ was revealed, Peter fell at the
Saviour’s feet, exclaiming, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man,
O Lord” (
Luke 5:8
); so in the multitude gathered upon the mount
there were souls who, in the presence of His purity, felt that they were
“wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (
Revelation
3:17
); and they longed for “the grace of God that bringeth salvation” (
Titus 2:11
). In these souls, Christ’s words of greeting awakened hope;
they saw that their lives were under the benediction of God.
Jesus had presented the cup of blessing to those who felt that they
were “rich, and increased with goods” (
Revelation 3:17
), and had
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