Blessed are the poor in spirit

It is better to be unrighteous and know it than self-righteous and oblivious to your sin. Jesus reserved his sternest rebukes for the religious leaders. He said the Kingdom would sooner be given to prostitutes and tax collectors than to the religious (Mat 21:31). Of the two worshippers, it was the one who confessed his sinfulness who walked away justified (Luk 18:10-14). If you are preoccupied with your own pursuits when Jesus invites you to the Kingdom you will miss it altogether. It is not those who “have it altogether” who come to the banquet. Rather it is those who are willing to acknowledge their need (Mat 22:1-14). It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. Jesus did not come to call the “righteous,” but sinners to repentance (Luk 5:31-32).