In this article, we study the first four beatitudes concerning the poor, the mourners, the meek, and the hungry and thirsty. In his exposition of these beatitudes (Mt. 6:1-7:11), Jesus teaches us what to think and how to act about food and money. As we shall see, each topic in these sections involves either money or food or both.
Jesus tells us that we must be generous with our money, and that we should not worry about food, because, if we are poor and meek and hungry and thirsty, God will provide us with everything we need. But, there is more. Jesus is not concerned merely with our physical needs; he is also concerned with our spiritual needs. Our practices concerning money and food are a sure indicator of our attitudes about God. We demonstrate the spiritual principles that motivate us by how we deal with food and money in our daily lives.
Food and money
We will go through Mt. 6:1-7:11 twice. The first time we will list and emphasize the references to food and money. The second time we will discuss the spiritual principles behind our Lord’s words.
Before we begin, remember that the beatitudes provide an outline in reverse for the rest of the Sermon. Thus, the fourth beatitude, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst…,” is a heading for Mt. 6:1-18. The third beatitude, “Blessed are the meek…,” is a heading for Mt. 6:19-34. The second beatitude, “Blessed are they that mourn…” is a heading for Mt. 7:1-6. The first beatitude, “Blessed are the poor…” is a heading for Mt. 7:7-11.
Blessed are the hungry and thirsty, 6:1-18
If we hunger and thirst we will be filled (Mt. 5:6; Lk. 6:21; a Lk. 6:25). When we give alms, we should not let our left hand know what our right hand is doing (6:3). Jesus points out to his disciples the poor widow, whose two mites were all that she had (Mk. 12:41- 44; Lk. 21:1-4), explaining that she had given more than they who, out of their abundance, had cast into the treasury. When we pray, we should ask God to give us our daily bread (6:11; Lk. 11:3). When we fast, we should anoint our heads and wash our faces (6:17).
Blessed are the meek, 6:19-34
If we are meek, we will inherit the earth/land, dwelling there for evermore (5:6; Psa. 37:3,9,11,18,22,27,29,34 RV); we will be fed by God (Psa. 37:3); we will be satisfied in the days of famine (Psa. 37:19); our seed will not be seen begging bread (Psa. 37:25); what little we have will be better than the riches of the wicked (Psa. 37:16); we will deal graciously, giving and lending (Psa. 37:21,26 RV).
Instead of treasuring up treasures on earth, we should treasure up treasures in heaven (6:19-20). That is, we should sell what we have and give to the poor (ML 19:21; cp. Acts 2:44-45; 4:32,34-37; ci Acts 5:1-11). He that lays up treasures for himself is not rich toward God (Lk. 12:21).
Our eye should be single, not evil (6:22-23). That is, we should be generous, not stingy. Each of these passages, Dt. 15:7-11; 28:54-57; Prov. 23:1-8; 28:19-22,27; and Mt. 20:10-16, contains the phrase “evil eye” and shows that it means “stinginess.” And each of these passages, Prov. 22:9; Rom. 12:8; 2 Cor. 8:1-2, 9:6-15; and Jas. 1:5, contains the word “single” and shows that it means “generosity.” “He that hath a bountiful (good, RVm) eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor” (Prov. 22:9).
We cannot be slaves to both God and Mammon (Mt. 6:24; cp. Lk. 16:1-13). That is, we either trust God or we trust riches; it is impossible to trust both. The meek trust in the Lord (Psa. 37:3,5,40).
We must not worry about where we will get food to eat or clothes to wear (6:25-34). God feeds the birds, so He will surely feed us (6:26; Psa. 147:7,14). God clothes the grass of the field, so He will clothe us (6:28-30; Psa. 147:8). If we are meek, we will trust the Lord to feed, and by His faithful commands to His angels, we are fed (Psa. 37:3 RV; 147:15-20; cp. Mt. 4:4).
Blessed are the mourners, 7:1-6
If we mourn, which Jesus associates with fasting (Mt. 9:15), we will be comforted (Mt. 5:4). Deliberate self-denial of something pleasurable is a useful way to remind ourselves of the need to abstain from satisfying the flesh.
Practicing such discipline ourselves may lead to a critical attitude toward those who do not. Yet we should not judge others in this matter of voluntary abstinence from food or material things (7:1; Rom. 14; cp. Jas. 4:11-12). “One man believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him. Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be Holden up: for God is able to make him stand” (Rom. 14:2-4).
Blessed are the poor, 7:7-11
If we are poor, we will be blessed (Mt. 5:3; Lk. 6:20; ct. Lk. 6:24).
The poor ask, seek, and knock, and God gives them the things that they need (7:7-11; Lk. 11:9-13). To emphasize what he means by this, Jesus tells the parable of the Importunate Man (Lk. 11:5-8). This man has unexpected company so he wants to borrow three loaves of bread from his neighbor. His neighbor finally gives it to him, not because he is a particularly friendly neighbor, but because of the importunity of the man. Jesus continues, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he fora fish give him a serpent? or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give…to them that ask him?” (Luke 11:9-13; Matthew 7:7-11).
And God
If we stopped here, we would miss the most important lessons of this part of the Sermon on the Mount. Why does Jesus spend so much time on food and money? Surely not because they are of such importance themselves. Rather, it is because they can become such stumblingblocks to us if we are not careful. It is so easy to think that we can trust in our wealth. We can easily forget where our money and food really come from. In short, Jesus knows that our attitude toward money and food indicates the level of our faith.
Hunger and thirst after righteousness, 6:1-18
That Jesus has in mind something more than physical hunger and thirst is indicated by the phrase “after righteousness” (Mt. 5:6).
His exhortations about almsgiving, prayer and fasting have to do with the rewards that we seek. We should not seek the glory of men like the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees. Indeed, they receive their reward, and it is quite temporary. Instead we should do our righteous acts in secret, and God, who sees in secret, will reward us openly.
Jesus tells us what the true daily bread is in Luke’s account, where the Lord’s prayer (Lk. 11:1-4) is preceded by the story of Mary and Martha (Lk. 10:38-42). Mary is at Jesus’ feet, hearing “his word.” Martha, on the other hand, is worried about preparing and serving the food. Martha complains that Mary isn’t helping her. Jesus responds to her, “Martha, Martha, thou art careful (anxious, RV) and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” The words of Jesus are the true bread that we need on a daily basis. Jesus himself says as much in John 6.
Blessed are the meek, 6:19-34
The meek are not doormats. They are the people who trust in God to provide for them. They are not grasping or covetous. They store up treasure in heaven, not on earth. They lay out their problems before Him. They depend on Him and Him alone. And He is faithful. He will bring down the rich. But the poor and meek, He will lift up (Psalms 37, 147).
The importance of storing up treasure in heaven is emphasized in the story of the rich young ruler (Mt. 19:16-30). He wanted to know what he had to do to have eternal life. Jesus tells him that he must keep the commandments. He says that he has done them his whole life. The story continues, “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect (cp. Mt. 5:48), go, and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.” The disciples were quite concerned about this saying, thinking, as they did, that if it were nearly impossible for the rich to be saved, then who indeed could be. Peter points out that he and the other disciples had left all their possessions behind in order to follow Jesus. And Jesus explains how all that they had left behind will be replaced many times over in the Kingdom.
To drive the point home in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart (i.e. mind and thoughts) be also” (Mt. 6:21). If you treasure your wealth, you will be thinking about it. If you treasure God and His way, then you will be thinking about Him.
Jesus says that “the light of the body is the eye” (Mt. 6:22). In Proverbs, we read, “The spirit of the man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly (i.e. the natural needs and desires)” (Prov. 20:27 RV). And Paul writes, “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?” (1 Cor. 2:11). These passages emphasize that the only guard we have against our natural instincts dominating us is our self-searching spiritual conscience. If we let this lamp of spiritual self-control go out, the resulting darkness fills us entirely. Furthermore, how generous or stingy we are with our wealth tells us how brightly our spiritual lamp is burning (Lk. 11:33-36).
The Greek word that Jesus used for “generous” also means “without duplicity” or “single-minded” (see 2 Cor. 1:12; 11:3; Eph. 6:5-8; Col. 3:22). Perhaps to emphasize this idea, Jesus continues by saying that we cannot serve two masters (cp. James 1:5-8). Later on, Jesus says that double-mindedness (an evil eye) comes from the flesh, “That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed…an evil eye…all these things come from within, and defile the man” (Mk. 7:20-23).
To emphasize that our attitude about food and clothing indicates the level of our faith, Jesus calls those who worry about these things, “ye of little faith.” Unbelieving Gentiles seek after these things. We must remember that our heavenly Father knows we need these things. If we seek His kingdom and His righteousness, these things will be added to us (Mt. 6:30,32-33).
Mourning over your own sins, 7:1-6
The parable of the Beam and the Mote teaches us to be concerned about our own faults before we worry about the faults of others. Under the law of Moses, it took two or three witnesses to convict someone. Under the law of Christ, we should each judge ourselves, which should cause lamentation at our transgressions (cp. Mt. 5:29-30). Paul writes, “Let a man examine himself…For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged” (1 Cor. 11:28,31).
Under the law of Moses, because witnesses had to see you commit the sin, you actually had to do it. In contrast, under the law of Christ, because we are judging ourselves and we know what we are thinking, we can judge our thoughts as well as we judge our actions (cp. Mt. 5:22,28).
Poor in spirit, 7:7-11
To emphasize that he has more than poverty in mind, Jesus uses the phrase “poor in spirit” (Mt. 5:3). We must realize that we depend on God for everything. Whenever we accomplish something, we have a tendency to take full credit for it ourselves. Instead, we must remember that God has given us everything we have — our health, our talents, our wealth. We do nothing on our own.
In the Luke record, Jesus says, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Lk. 11:13). So we should be asking for spiritual gifts (not gifts of the Spirit). In Luke, Jesus is casting out demons and he tells the following parable, “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished (but not filled with the spirit that comes from hearing and keeping the word; see v. 28). Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first” (Lk. 11:24-26). We must replace our old way of life with the new life that comes from hearing and doing the words of Jesus. If we don’t, then we will slip back into the old way, and will be even worse off than before.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One