There was an old woman begging in a street corner. A passer-by took pity on her. He was about to give when he noticed that she’s holding two cans. When he asked why, she answered, “Well, business is so good that I opened a new branch.”
Seriously, I remember watching an episode of Imbestigador[1] over GMA 7 where they exposed people posing as beggars. Some of them just pretend that they are blind or crippled. But the investigative team exposed them as frauds. I saw a video of a supposedly crippled beggar. Then, at the end of the day, he actually walks without the help of crutches. We can say that he is poor but he is not really a beggar.
Now, in His sermon on the mount, our Lord Jesus started with “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”[2] Note the phrase “in spirit.” He is not referring to the financially poor but to the spiritually poor. In the New Testament, there are two Greek words for “poor.” It’s the difference between being poor and being a beggar. All beggars are poor people. But not all poor people are really beggars. What Jesus called “poor in spirit” is actually a “beggar in spirit.” Jesus is talking about “the most dire and destitute. Literally, the root means to crouch or cower. This man’s poverty has beaten him to his knees.”[3] That’s why The Message translation goes like this: “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.” Last week, I mentioned that the word “blessed” means “happy.” How can one be happy when he is at the end of his rope? How can one be happy when he or she is spiritually poor? This morning we will discover that “The Secret for More is Less.”
Let us look at a parable of the Lord in Luke 18:9-14 which I think illustrates for us what it means to be poor in spirit. “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” The Lord gave a contrast between a Pharisee and a tax-collector. During those times, people look up to Pharisees for being so religious while they look down on tax collectors for being so corrupt.
Our Lord told this story because of “some who were confident of their own”.[4] There are people who are “complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance”.[5] In short, the Lord attacked those who thought they have more but actually they have less.
A Pharisee strictly obeyed the law. When people see them, they say that the Pharisee was “lampas na sa langit.”[6] That’s why this Pharisee could pray: “Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.”[7] God did not command that people should fast twice a week. Yet the Pharisee did. Supposedly, fasting was voluntary. But he made it mandatory. In his prayer, he bragged about “what he was not… and what he did”.[8]
Note in verse 11 that he “prayed about himself.” In other words, he bragged about all his “pogi” points.[9] His prayer was simply, “Lord, ang suwerte mo sa akin!”[10] But it is clear in the story the Pharisee did not please God. God did not approve of him. Verse 14 says that “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled”. Even with his so-called accomplishments, God did not justify him or did not make him right before Him. Though verse 11 says that he “prayed about himself”, the word “about” can be translated “to.”[11] It appears he did not really pray to God. He actually prayed to himself. Obviously, this Pharisee did not have the slightest idea about his real spiritual need. He thought he had more but actually he had less. Yes, all people are spiritually poor. But only those who are aware that they are poor in spirit are blessed. So, to be poor in spirit means you are AWARE that you have less, not more.
Now, look at the tax collector. Being a tax collector was synonymous to being a sinner. A person at that time became a tax collector by buying the position. I call it the BIR[12] franchise. But Rome did not pay them a salary. Yet, they became so rich. How? The empire allowed them some mark up as long as they remit the right amount. They kept whatever amount was over and above. So, they charged exorbitant taxes. To say that the Jews hated them is an understatement.
There’s no question about it. What this tax collector did was wrong. He should be ashamed of himself. And he really was: “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’”[13] The Contemporary English Version goes like this: “The tax collector stood off at a distance and did not think he was good enough even to look up toward heaven.”
The Pharisee was standing in full view of the people in the temple. That’s why Jesus condemned them for “they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men.”[14] But, in contrast, the tax collector “slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up”.[15] Probably, he stood near the door so people would not notice his coming in and going out. He tried to hide himself from the accusing looks of the people. He knew what’s going on in their minds. That they were asking, “How dare he come to the temple, this scum of the earth!”
But his sin so burdened him that he felt he had to go to the temple to pray. He knew that he is spiritually poor. Instead of comparing himself with others, instead of talking to himself like the Pharisee, he cried out: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” He confessed that he had less, not more. That is why Jesus declared, “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.”[16] Justified! That means he pleased God. That means God made the tax collector right before Him for “he who humbles himself will be exalted.”[17] In short, he was blessed! To be poor in spirit means you ADMIT that you have less to have more.
Let’s look closely at the prayer of the tax collector: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” His prayer and the prayer of the Pharisee were poles apart. “One pled on the basis of merit, the other on the basis of mercy.”[18] He did not excuse himself. He could not even promise God anything. He saw himself so unworthy that he felt even a commitment to change would not be acceptable to God. A promise like that sounded like bribery. All he could do was throw himself at the Lord’s feet begging for mercy.
He did not even dare to compare himself with others. The Pharisee thought that he was good enough and that he was better than others. But the tax collector had nothing to be proud of before God, nothing in him that would merit God’s approval. That’s why he prayed only for mercy. The phrase “have mercy” can be translated “be satisfied.” That means he knew he deserved God’s wrath. But he asked God to be “satisfied concerning one’s sin on the basis of an appropriate sin offering, so that reconciliation might be effected”.[19] He admitted that only a sacrifice for sin will satisfy or soothe God’s anger. In this parable, Jesus was teaching that we need Him to die for our sins so that God will be merciful to us. To be poor in spirit means you ACCEPT that you only have more with God.
The Apostle Paul realized that. Before, he thought being religious was enough. But he wrote: “The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life.”[20] He discovered that the secret for more is less.
Maybe there are some of you right now who thought you have more but now you are aware that you have less, admit it before God and accept that you can only have more with Him. When we humble ourselves, God promised that the kingdom of heaven will be yours. “With less of you there is more of God and his rule.”[21] Accept the Lord Jesus as your Savior.
If you have already made that decision, I challenge you to share the Good News to others so that those who would realize that they are poor in spirit will also receive the kingdom of heaven.
So, to be poor in the spirit means…
…you are AWARE that you have less, not more.
...you ADMIT that you have less to have more.
...you ACCEPT that you can only have more with God.
Let us pray…
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[1]“Investigator” in English. It’s a famous new investigative TV program over a major network here in the Philippines.
[2]All Bible verses are from the New International Version, unless otherwise noted.
[3]Robert Deffinbaugh, The Fatal Failures of Religion: #1 Secularism (Matthew 5:1-16). http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=603
[4]Luke 18:9
[5]The Message
[6]In English, “he is even beyond heaven.”
[7]Luke 18:11-12, The Message
[8]Stanley A. Ellisen, Parables in the Eye of the Storm.
[9]Brownie points
[10]In English, “You are lucky to have me!”
[11]See NIV note.
[12]Bureau of Internal Revenue
[13]Luke 18:13
[14]Matthew 6:5a
[15]The Message
[16]Luke 18:14a
[17]Luke 18:14b
[18]Ellisen
[19]Ellisen
[20]Philippians 3:7-8a, The Message
[21]Matthew 5:3, The Message
