The 1st Beatitude Matthew 5:3

The 1^st Beatitude – Divested of Pride “’Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heaven…   ‘“A paraphrase of this verse in Aramaic, which is probably the language Jesus taught in, according to the Peshita text which is still used by the Eastern Orthodox Church, could be: Blessed are the poor in pride for they and only they have God as their King. The word poor here is not a word that means that you have a little bit of something, like a little bit of pride, like not too much pride.  It’s the word that is used for the beggar who is absolutely, totally destitute; he’s been completely dispossessed.” “Blessed are those who choose to relinquish their pride no matter what the cost… ” “…those who choose to have God divest them of their pride, for they and only they have God as their King. Do you want to have God as your King?”  Russell Stendal – The Beatitudes, God’s Plan for Battle.