Vs. 3: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.”
Luke’s first beatitude is “blessed are the poor” (Luke 6:20). Some have argued that Luke and Matthew are at odds because, in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus adds the words “in spirit.” In the Old Testament, there is a frequent connection between the poor and those who rely entirely on God. Consider Psalm 37:14, “The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright.” Notice how the psalmist connects the poor and needy with the way of the upright. Or consider Psalm 69:32–33: “When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.” In this psalm, the ones who are humble and who seek God should not be discouraged. Why? Because the Lord is attentive to the needy, literally, “the poor.”
Now, it must also be said that the poor are not automatically blessed by God just because they are poor. One can become poor due to their sinful or foolish actions (see the example of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11–32). Likewise, wealth can become a detriment to one’s spirituality because of its tendency to make one feel satisfied apart from God. That being said, the blessed poor hope in God, not in the things of this world. Even though they have nothing to their name aside from their hope in Yahweh, they are flourishing.[1] It’s entirely possible for the wealthy to be “poor in spirit.” But generally speaking, it’s more difficult because of the temptation to trust in one’s possessions apart from God. Put another way, it’s easier to trust God when he is all you have. Though Luke and Matthew emphasize different aspects of this reality, the first beatitude in their Gospels are talking about the same thing.
Both this beatitude and the second (“blessed are those who mourn”) are likely alluding to Isaiah 61’s picture of the eschatological restoration that the Messiah would bring. Isaiah 61:1 says, “The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners.” Jesus fulfills this prophecy in his ministry (Luke 4:16–21) and proclaims freedom from the power of sin and death. Final deliverance will not come until his kingdom is consummated, but there is real deliverance for the poor in spirit now at the inauguration of his kingdom.
Going a step further, it’s necessary to say a bit more about what exactly it means to be “poor in spirit.” To be poor in spirit is to see ourselves as we really are on our own: hopeless. Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes, “To be poor in spirit means a complete absence of pride, a complete absence of self-assurance, a complete absence of self-reliance. It means a consciousness that we are nothing in the presence of God.”[2]
Our culture today is fixated on self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-reliance. We are told that we must believe in ourselves. If we believe in ourselves, we can do anything. Unfortunately, this mindset often carries over to our spiritual lives as well. We can be tempted to take credit for the spiritual growth we see in our lives. We might even think that we are pretty good Christians compared to other people in our church. As a result, we begin to implicitly believe that we bring something to the table, spiritually speaking; that we’re pretty good at this whole Christian thing and the church would be far better off if more Christians were like us.
To be “poor in spirit” is the opposite of that. When you’re poor in spirit, you realize that it’s not about you and what you can do. It’s to realize that you bring absolutely nothing to the table. Apart from Jesus Christ, every person is spiritually dead—no matter their education, wealth, accomplishments, or social status.
The poor in spirit recognize their spiritual bankruptcy and total need for God. All they can do is beg for mercy and grace. This describes the person in Isaiah 66:2: “To this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at my word.”
The poor in spirit flourish because they are a part of God’s inbreaking kingdom now. Again, the verb is in the present tense: “The kingdom of heaven is theirs.” It’s a present reality for those who follow Christ. They may have nothing of their own to cling to, either physically or spiritually, but they have their Father’s kingdom which, in turn, gives them everything. If they have God’s approval and are heirs and citizens of his kingdom, then what more could they possibly want or need?
Editor’s Note: Excerpted with permission from The Sermon on the Mount: A Devotional Commentary ©2026 by W. Tyler Sykora. Used with permission of Courier Publishing.
[1] Don Carson, Matthew & Mark: The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006), 131.
[2] David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001), 40.