The Orthodox Study Bible: The Poor

The Orthodox Study Bible, New Testament and Psalms, (1993) Saint Athanasius Orthodox Academy,Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee.

Purchased from my employer, the Canadian Bible Society @ Cafe Logos, Vancouver. This text review continues...

At our home group/bible study last night, I contrasted, along with the study leader, two similar sections of the Gospels, which reasonably can be viewed as two different events.

Again, using a British academic approach, I paraphrase citations unless documented otherwise.

Matthew 5-7

Jesus Christ on a mountain (5:1 page 12), the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)

'Blessed are the poor in spirit,' (Matthew 5: 3, clause A). (12).

This Orthodox text opines that Matthew 5 indicates heavenly spiritual blessedness, as opposed to earthly happiness, wealth and success. (12). From the Hebrew, poor means both:

1) Materially poor. (12).

2) The poor in spirit, being God's faithful people. (12). These are the spiritually rich as they trust in the Biblical God.

versus

Luke 6

Jesus Christ at a level place (6: 17 page 151), the Beatitudes

'Blessed are you poor' (Luke 6: 20 clause A). 152.

This Orthodox Bible writes that this teaching is similar to that found in the Sermon on the Mount and has been known as the Sermon on the Plain as Jesus Christ stood on a level place. (152).

This Bible, in its notes, correctly documents that these teachings are from two different events, and indeed Jesus Christ taught such things in various versions.

Interestingly, with the sermon from Church on Sunday, that our home group study was based on, the speaker/preacher reasoned Luke 6 was discussing the physically poor, the materialistically poor. This is a reasonable possibility, but based on the similar teaching from Matthew, it also possible, if not more likely, that Luke also has a dual meaning for poor as does Matthew 5.

This Bible has Matthew 5-7 referencing Luke 6, and vice-versa, and I reason that even if, based on some scholarship, the poor in Luke 6 is not explicitly more than the financially poor; that these are also the poor in spirit, would not be an incorrect theological deduction.