It will be incredibly hard to explain the beatitudes in a non-secular fashion but here's how I see it. Starting with chapter five of the gospel of Matthew we see the basic theme that is put forth throughout the book of Matthew. According to the text (pg 93) it suggested that Matthew is portraying Jesus as the new Moses. Matthew tends to see Jesus as "pouring out" (class notes) and focuses on Jesus" teachings to the disciples and is generally more of a compassionate gospel. So in the beatitudes we see that Jesus" "Sermon on the Mount" seems to be pertaining more to the disciples; whereas later on in Luke we will see a sharp contrast between the two. In Matthew Jesus sees the multitude of people who have followed him, he then goes up the mountain to sit and soon after his disciples come to him. It is here where the reader gets the impression that Jesus is talking to the disciples only. For now let's just set out to explain what Jesus is trying to say in the beatitudes of Matthew 5:3-12.
The first Beatitude blessing promise is to the "poor in spirit." This requirement has an unpleasant sound. No one likes the idea of being poor. Balanced against the negative of the word "poor", is the idea of heaven's grandness. "Poor" means being without. Further, in Jesus' times, the poor had nothing. If they had no family to care for them they were literally on their own (class notes). Families were a support system and family members relied on each other for food money and support. People without families were destitute, paupers, beggars who were dependent on others. The first beatitude says that to be poor is to be rich in spirit, if one is poor than he is reliant upon God to provide so one has to become totally dependent on God. Jesus' message here is that when you become small in your own eyes, you are ready to depend on God for your blessings. This is easy to understand. As long as a person remains rich, then in spirit they are self-sufficient and never imagine that they need God.
