Psalm 40Sample

In Matthew 5:3, what word did Jesus use to describe the poor in spirit? What is theirs?

I love the ESV Study Bible’s commentary on this Matthew passage. It says, “The poor in spirit are those who recognize they are in need of God’s help.” The kingdom of God “belongs to those who confess their spiritual bankruptcy.”1 The Greek word for “poor” here, ptóchos, means to be as helpless as a beggar. The Hebrew words used in Psalm 40 for “poor” and “needy” are ‘aniy and ‘ebyown. They convey the same meaning: “destitute, beggar.”2 

Why do you think Jesus would say that someone who is as helpless as a beggar is blessed and that theirs is the kingdom of heaven? I think it’s because God’s redemptive grace bridges the chasm between our sin and His righteousness—turning God’s enemy into His friend, the lost into the found, and the beggar into the blessed (2 Cor. 12:9-11).

What does it mean to be blessed? When you hear the word blessed what comes into your mind? The word blessing, as in God blessing His people and His people blessing Him with praise, in the Greek (eulogeo) means to grant or bestow what is beneficial, what will result in good. Oddly enough, it’s the word translated as “bless” in the KJV translation of Matthew 5:44: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you.” When you think of blessing, think of Romans 8:28, how God is working all things together for our good.

Consider Ephesians 1:3-14. What are Christians, those who recognize their poor and needy state, blessed with? Read aloud all of the spiritual blessings God gives His children, as described in the Ephesians passage.

God chose us to be His children. He adopted us as sons through Jesus Christ. Our sins are forgiven and Christ’s blood redeems us. He lavishes us with His grace. He grants us an eternal inheritance.

We’re blessed with God’s Spirit to help us when we are poor and needy, when we humbly acknowledge the truth that we are utterly dependent on God for our lives and our spiritual conditions. It’s in this humility and understanding that we can have the confidence to cry out to God for help, knowing that He takes thought of us. What a comfort. What grace.

How did God speak to your heart and mind today? How will you respond to Him?

1. “Matthew 5:3” note, ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008), 1827.

2. “Ebyon,” Strong’s H34, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, Bible Hub. Available at https://biblehub.com.

For more of this study including video teaching by author Sarah Mae, visit the Psalm 40 website at LifeWay.com/Psalm40.