Matthew 5:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:3-5

The triumphs of humility. The originality of Christ is evinced in these first sentences of his discourse. "Nothing," says David Hume, "carries a man through the world like a true, genuine, natural impudence." Sturdy qualities are approved by men of the world, and quiet virtues are despised. Christ places these in the forefront, and associates with them benedictions in a manner which astonishes the poets, philosophers, and sages of antiquity. Let us— I. REVIEW THE QUALITIES HERE ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:3-9

The benediction of good character. The word "blessed" is taken from beati , which is used in the Vulgate. By it our Lord indicates what will be especially esteemed, and receive special honour, in his new kingdom. To see our Lord's point we should observe what the Pharisaic teachers of his day were proclaiming. According to them, God's blessing rested upon minute acts of obedience; upon precision in keeping every detail of a series of elaborate, man-made rules. The teaching of the day... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:3-12

Sermon on the mount: 1. The Beatitudes. The subject of the sermon on the mount may be said to be the righteousness of the kingdom. To give all his hearers a clearer conception of this fundamental idea, our Lord speaks The citizens of the kingdom are first described, their character being indicated in the first paragraph, their influence being referred to in Matthew 5:13-16 . The passage containing the Beatitudes will best yield its meaning if we consider I. OUR LORD IS IN ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:3-16

1. The ideal character of his disciples. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 5:3

Blessed are the poor in spirit - The word “blessed” means “happy,” referring to that which produces felicity, from whatever quarter it may come.Poor in spirit - Luke says simply, Blessed are the poor. It has been disputed whether Christ meant the poor in reference to the things of this life, or to the humble. The gospel is said to be preached to the poor, Luke 4:18; Matthew 11:5. It was predicted that the Messiah would preach to the poor, Isaiah 61:1. It is said that they have special... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Matthew 5:3

Matthew 5:3. Blessed are the poor in spirit The word μακαριοι , here rendered blessed, properly means happy, and it may be better to translate it so, because our Lord seems to intimate by it, not only that the dispositions here recommended are the way to future blessedness, but that they immediately confer the truest and most noble felicity. As happiness was the great end to which the wisest philosophers undertook to conduct their hearers, and as it is our common aim, and an object to... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:1-12

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNTWhen people enter Jesus’ kingdom they enter a new life. They come under the rule of Jesus and, as his disciples, listen to his teaching and put it into practice. Their behaviour is not governed by a set of rules such as the law of Moses, but by the character of Jesus, who wants to reproduce that character in them. The collection of Jesus’ teachings commonly known as the Sermon on the Mount deals with the attitudes, behaviour and responsibilities of those who have come... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Matthew 5:3

Blessed = Happy, representing the Hebrew 'ashrey (not baruk, blessed). 'Ashrey (Figure of speech Beatitudo, not Benedictio) occurs in nineteen Psalms twenty-six times; elsewhere only in eight books (Deuteronomy, 1Kings, 2 Chronicles, Isaiah, Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, and Daniel) The Aramaic equivalent for 'ashrey is tob (singular, plural, or dual). See App-94 ., and App-63 . Greek. makarios = happy (not eulogetos, which = blessed, and is used only of God (Mark 14:61 .Luke 1:68 .... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 5:3

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.The word "blessed" means "happy" and is so translated by some. The "poor in spirit" is understood in two ways, both of which harmonize with the Holy Scriptures: (1) It is that quality of recognizing one's spiritual destitution in such a degree as to enable the sinner to approach God, not as the Pharisee, but as the publican, supplicating the Father for all necessary and desirable blessing. The poor in spirit are the opposite of... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Matthew 5:3

Matthew 5:3. Blessed are the poor in spirit— Happy, &c. Doddridge: and so throughout the beatitudes: I use the word happy rather than blessed, says he, as more exactly answering to the original word Μακαριοι, as the word blessed does to the Greek word ευλογημενοι : and I the rather choose to render it thus, because our Lord seems to intimate by it, not only that the dispositions here recommended would be the wayto future blessedness, but that they would immediately be attended with the... read more

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