Does this mean that anyone who is poor gets to go to heaven? And what about someone who has some money in the bank? Do they have to lose all their money to get back to the spiritual realm?
To understand Jesus' statement we must first understand its context. Here are the verses just prior to Jesus' statement:
Jesus also empowered his disciples, as we can see from the histories of Peter, James, John, and others.
Jesus had many disciples. A disciple is someone who has devoted his or her life to the teachings of their spiritual teacher. This process has been accepted amongst all scriptures of the world from ancient times, and this process was carried on by Jesus who was a disciple of John the Baptist, John who was a disciple of Zachariah, Solomon who was a disciple of David, David who was a disciple of Samuel, Samuel who was a disciple of Eli, Joshua who was a disciple of Moses, Jacob who was a disciple of Abraham and many in between.
We can also see from these verses that Jesus selected twelve disciples as "apostles."
The word "apostle" in the above verse comes from the Greek word ἀπόστολος (apostolos), which means, according to the Greek lexicon, "a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders."
Does this mean that Jesus' other disciples were not also given the wisdom of Jesus' teachings, and the ability to pass those teachings on to others? Certainly not. Any of Jesus' students, assuming they submitted themselves to the Supreme Being as Jesus instructed them, could be empowered to pass on Jesus' teachings.
Note also that Jesus' statement was directed at his disciples: Looking at his disciples, he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."
This illustrates that even though Jesus had selected twelve to work closely with him, he was directing his teachings to all of his students.
Since we know that Jesus had many other disciples, all of whom are being taught his teachings, and could thus pass those teachings on to others, we can know that this role of "apostle" is more of an administrative position.
It is not as if Jesus selected these disciples because God discriminates between people. We might, for example, consider Mary and her sister Martha, who were also disciples, yet they were women. They were also very close to Jesus as documented elsewhere - specifically in the raising of Lazarus - and yet they were not part of the twelve. Does this mean that Jesus did not consider women able to be teachers?
Certainly not. The twelve apostles, in fact, were students who were able to conduct business on behalf of Jesus. They were able to arrange for his speaking engagements and his meals and lodgings as they traveled from town to town. They were men because during those times men typically conducted business.
There is clear scriptural evidence that after Jesus left this world, Mary Magdalene became a leading teacher among early Christianity. This notion was snuffed by the Roman-empire surrogates of the early church, as they tried to make Mary out to be a prostitute.
The Supreme Being does not discriminate. He wants all of us back, regardless of the physical body we wear. And He will also utilize any of His devoted servants, regardless of their temporary physical body, to pass on His message.
This leads us to Jesus' statement. Does God give more favor to those who have less money in the bank? Does having less money or possessions give us more rights to the spiritual realm?
Or perhaps it only means being homeless and having no job, or having a job that pays little or nothing? This would qualify an inmate in a penitentiary, thrown in jail for stealing or murdering someone as "yours is the kingdom of God." Does that make sense?
We have to accept that Jesus was not speaking of "poor" with respect to money. In fact, the word "poor" is being translated from the Greek word πτωχός (ptōchos), which relates to lacking in either wealth, influence, position, honor" according to the lexicon. This can either relate to a person's standings in society or "their spirit."
In other words, the word can relate to being humble either by means of wealth, or being humble in spirit. This latter context is the point of Jesus' statement.
One cannot truly honor God if they are thinking themselves somehow special or privileged. They cannot think of themselves as great and at the same time consider God great. It is one or the other. Either we think we are great or we honor God as great.
Humility is the key to the spiritual realm because real love requires humility. Just consider what a man does when he has some glimpse of love for a woman: He will humbly go and buy her flowers or some gift. A man must have a little humility to buy a woman flowers. Or a father might go to a dance recital for his daughter. Would a typical man show up at a dance recital? Most men wouldn't be caught dead in a dance recital. Yet a father would show up, as his love for his daughter bears humility.
Love for the Supreme Being is greater than all these examples because a person must accept that God owns everything, and God controls everything. Where does that leave us? Can we claim "champion of the world" with this in mind? Can we proclaim our superiority when everything we have has been given to us by the Supreme Being?
For these reasons and more, Jesus was trying to teach his students the meaning of humility. This was illustrated by those who were sick who humbled themselves before Jesus in order to be healed. And even those who were appointed as his special administrators - "apostles" - were not superior to anyone else. They were Jesus' servants, and they took care of his needs.
As far as wealth and standing in the community, we know that some of Jesus' disciples were wealthy, such as Joseph of Arimathea, who arranged a tomb for Jesus' body. We know from this and other students that Jesus did not demand that people gave away their physical possessions - though he did test a particularly wealthy person one time.
If Jesus demanded that people give everything away, why did Jesus wear a robe? Why did he accept Mary's expensive ointment massage on his head and feet?
Rather, Jesus wanted his students to offer whatever they had been given in this life to God, including their most valuable resources, time and energy.
This is the exercise of real humility according to Jesus' teachings and example.
In order to enter into the kingdom of God that Jesus offers to us, we must - regardless of our position in society and our relative wealth - become humble, knowing that everything comes from God, and that we are completely dependent upon the Supreme Being.
To understand Jesus' statement we must first understand its context. Here are the verses just prior to Jesus' statement:
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all. Looking at his disciples, he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." (Luke 6:13-20)
How did Jesus get his power?
Here we can see that Jesus' power and authority came from the Supreme Being, as he prayed in private prior to his sermons and healings.Jesus also empowered his disciples, as we can see from the histories of Peter, James, John, and others.
Jesus had many disciples. A disciple is someone who has devoted his or her life to the teachings of their spiritual teacher. This process has been accepted amongst all scriptures of the world from ancient times, and this process was carried on by Jesus who was a disciple of John the Baptist, John who was a disciple of Zachariah, Solomon who was a disciple of David, David who was a disciple of Samuel, Samuel who was a disciple of Eli, Joshua who was a disciple of Moses, Jacob who was a disciple of Abraham and many in between.
We can also see from these verses that Jesus selected twelve disciples as "apostles."
What is the difference between Jesus' disciples and his twelve apostles?
This begs the question about the real role of the "twelve apostles". Were they really to be considered above Jesus' other disciples?The word "apostle" in the above verse comes from the Greek word ἀπόστολος (apostolos), which means, according to the Greek lexicon, "a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders."
Does this mean that Jesus' other disciples were not also given the wisdom of Jesus' teachings, and the ability to pass those teachings on to others? Certainly not. Any of Jesus' students, assuming they submitted themselves to the Supreme Being as Jesus instructed them, could be empowered to pass on Jesus' teachings.
Note also that Jesus' statement was directed at his disciples: Looking at his disciples, he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."
This illustrates that even though Jesus had selected twelve to work closely with him, he was directing his teachings to all of his students.
Since we know that Jesus had many other disciples, all of whom are being taught his teachings, and could thus pass those teachings on to others, we can know that this role of "apostle" is more of an administrative position.
It is not as if Jesus selected these disciples because God discriminates between people. We might, for example, consider Mary and her sister Martha, who were also disciples, yet they were women. They were also very close to Jesus as documented elsewhere - specifically in the raising of Lazarus - and yet they were not part of the twelve. Does this mean that Jesus did not consider women able to be teachers?
Certainly not. The twelve apostles, in fact, were students who were able to conduct business on behalf of Jesus. They were able to arrange for his speaking engagements and his meals and lodgings as they traveled from town to town. They were men because during those times men typically conducted business.
There is clear scriptural evidence that after Jesus left this world, Mary Magdalene became a leading teacher among early Christianity. This notion was snuffed by the Roman-empire surrogates of the early church, as they tried to make Mary out to be a prostitute.
The Supreme Being does not discriminate. He wants all of us back, regardless of the physical body we wear. And He will also utilize any of His devoted servants, regardless of their temporary physical body, to pass on His message.
This leads us to Jesus' statement. Does God give more favor to those who have less money in the bank? Does having less money or possessions give us more rights to the spiritual realm?
What did Jesus mean by "poor"?
This leads us to ask what Jesus meant by "poor" if indeed he said poor. Does "poor" mean having less than $5,000 in savings? Or less than $1,000? Or does it mean having no place to live? Or perhaps it means only having a 2-bedroom house instead of the 4-bedroom house?Or perhaps it only means being homeless and having no job, or having a job that pays little or nothing? This would qualify an inmate in a penitentiary, thrown in jail for stealing or murdering someone as "yours is the kingdom of God." Does that make sense?
We have to accept that Jesus was not speaking of "poor" with respect to money. In fact, the word "poor" is being translated from the Greek word πτωχός (ptōchos), which relates to lacking in either wealth, influence, position, honor" according to the lexicon. This can either relate to a person's standings in society or "their spirit."
In other words, the word can relate to being humble either by means of wealth, or being humble in spirit. This latter context is the point of Jesus' statement.
Was Jesus actually speaking of humility?
We can confirm that this statement by Jesus has been significantly mistranslated. Its more appropriate translation - as reflected in the Lost Gospels of Jesus - should be:“Blessed are you who are humble, for the sanctuary of God is yours."Humility is the first characteristic required for entering the spiritual realm (the kingdom of God). The kingdom of God is that place where God is honored, loved, cared for, and served. Each of these comes from a place of humility.
One cannot truly honor God if they are thinking themselves somehow special or privileged. They cannot think of themselves as great and at the same time consider God great. It is one or the other. Either we think we are great or we honor God as great.
Didn't Jesus exercise humility?
We can see that Jesus practiced humility himself from the excerpt above:One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. (Luke 6:12)Spending the night praying to God is an exercise of humility. The act of prayer is in itself humility. As we pray, we are committing ourselves in one respect or another to the Supreme Being as being Supreme, and being the subject of our honor and respect. True prayer - as opposed to prayers that simply ask for stuff as though God is our servant - requires humility.
Humility is the key to the spiritual realm because real love requires humility. Just consider what a man does when he has some glimpse of love for a woman: He will humbly go and buy her flowers or some gift. A man must have a little humility to buy a woman flowers. Or a father might go to a dance recital for his daughter. Would a typical man show up at a dance recital? Most men wouldn't be caught dead in a dance recital. Yet a father would show up, as his love for his daughter bears humility.
Love for the Supreme Being is greater than all these examples because a person must accept that God owns everything, and God controls everything. Where does that leave us? Can we claim "champion of the world" with this in mind? Can we proclaim our superiority when everything we have has been given to us by the Supreme Being?
For these reasons and more, Jesus was trying to teach his students the meaning of humility. This was illustrated by those who were sick who humbled themselves before Jesus in order to be healed. And even those who were appointed as his special administrators - "apostles" - were not superior to anyone else. They were Jesus' servants, and they took care of his needs.
Is this the same as acting humble?
It is important to differentiate between acting humble and the humility that Jesus was teaching. Jesus spoke out clearly and sometimes forcefully to make his points. But he also knelt down to his knees and prayed to God, asking God:“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39)To ask God to let us do His will is real humility.
As far as wealth and standing in the community, we know that some of Jesus' disciples were wealthy, such as Joseph of Arimathea, who arranged a tomb for Jesus' body. We know from this and other students that Jesus did not demand that people gave away their physical possessions - though he did test a particularly wealthy person one time.
If Jesus demanded that people give everything away, why did Jesus wear a robe? Why did he accept Mary's expensive ointment massage on his head and feet?
Rather, Jesus wanted his students to offer whatever they had been given in this life to God, including their most valuable resources, time and energy.
This is the exercise of real humility according to Jesus' teachings and example.
In order to enter into the kingdom of God that Jesus offers to us, we must - regardless of our position in society and our relative wealth - become humble, knowing that everything comes from God, and that we are completely dependent upon the Supreme Being.
