Before we get too far into this next message there are a few things that I need to point out in regards to this Gospel, the Gospel of Matthew. First off this is just one of four Gospels of Jesus or as I like to say: Four Portraits, One Jesus. Think of it like this if you ever took a little child to have their picture taken. During a session your child may go through a range of moods; laughing, pouting, angry, crying. Each one of these moods a picture was taken. Which one picture is the child’s personality? Well, each one, each one caught a different side of their personality. Each of the 4 gospels paints a unique picture of Jesus. Each of the gospels was being written for a unique set of listeners with a different reason. Each of the gospels exhibit both unity and diversity, bearing witness to the same Jesus (unity) but viewing him from a unique perspective (diversity).
What are these 4 pictures taken? Mark portrays Jesus as the suffering Son of God, who offers himself as a sacrifice for sins; Luke’s Jesus is the Savior for all people, who brings salvation to all nations and people groups; John’s Jesus is the eternal Son of God, the self-revelation of God the Father; and Matthew presents Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, the fulfillment of Old Testament hopes.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
What does it mean to be meek? First, we need to keep in mind that Jesus is not speaking about government or official authorities, but to individuals, followers of Him, disciples. Roles of authority may have you punish people like a judge who needs to obey the laws or a father who needs to correct his children. This is to the individual person, how each one listening is to conduct himself towards others, outside of official position; as a father or mother towards their children. We need to remember there is a difference between these two, position and person.
This beatitude builds off the first two. We come to a point where we acknowledge our state of being poor in spirit. We mourn for deliverance and receive salvation. We soon realize that self can still dominate our lives and we begin to mourn for deliverance in this area – so far so good. But then we think that deliverance must come by trying harder.
We have not yet realized that the way of deliverance is not by adding more self-effort, but it is by meekly accepting that we are unable to deal with self, and then allowing God’s controlling presence to take over our lives. In context of the first three beatitudes, meekness issues from recognition of spiritual poverty outside of Christ, coupled with a mourning that acts to rectify the situation. However, the rectifying is not found in self-effort, but in a dependency and surrender to God.
God places meekness third in the list of Beatitudes for a very good reason. Before the human heart will want to follow the path of meekness it first has to be sure that all other paths are dead ends. Man’s natural disposition is to seek to dominate and control. It is also to find advantage and self-advancement (at the expense of others sometimes, if necessary). Jesus says meekness will ultimately inherit the earth. To the world this is nonsense. Meekness is foolishness and all it will inherit is a black eye. Does not nature teach us that only the strong survive?
If we wish to live in meekness before God we have to understand and accept by faith the two primary elements of meekness. These are contentment and protection. These elements or qualities are firmly based in absolute faith and confidence in the character of God. Before godly meekness can take root we have to place our faith in the unchanging character of a good, loving and perfect God. What God promises, He will do.
God is in control, even in the most desperate and seemingly impossible situations. With a faith centered in this truth, we don’t have to strive. It was faith the apostle Paul had when he wrote, “In Him we were chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will” (Ephesians 1:11)
A) Meekness through contentment trusts God in the present.
As we face difficult situations we learn to trust God in the present. We learn to put greater weight on His goodness and promises rather than circumstances. Often after a period darkness and confusion God lets us into the secrets of how He has been working things out according to His perfect plan. Faith is the trust in God during the messy times rather than only believing once everything has worked out in the end.
B) Meekness through contentment recognizes that God works in different ways.
God speaks to us in different way. Sometimes, like Abraham, He reveals something He is going to do in the future. In Abraham’s case God promised him a son, and then he had to walk by faith to see that child come into the visible. At other times He only tells you to move forward without any clear certainty of the final outcome. Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” (Hebrews 11:8) In both instances, Abraham had to show meekness and contentment in the will of God. In one he passed the test, in the other he used his own wisdom to try to engineer God’s will through Hagar with disastrous results. There is no one formula that we can apply to predict how God will work out His purposes.
C) Meekness through contentment is not blind resignation.
There is a place for questions, but it is without murmuring, without sulking, without rebellion and without resistance to God’s hand on our lives. In the struggle of faith questions can display an open relationship to God or can expose rebellion. These days many Christians are encouraged to openly question God as a means of building up faith. However, unless this is done in an attitude of reverence and meekness (content in the certainty of God’s providential care over one’s life), then it can be destructive. Moses’s questioning of God’s wisdom in choosing him at the burning bush invoked God’s anger (Exodus 3:1 – 4:17), whereas Mary’s questioning concerning the possibility of her giving birth to a child was met with explanation and encouragement (Luke 1:34-38). Why the difference? Questions betray attitudes. Moses’s was one of fear, excuse and unbelief whereas Mary’s was one of meekness, trust and a desire to understand the will of God.
D) Meekness through contentment is seated in the will of the believer.
The seat of meekness is in the will – a will surrendered to God no matter what the outward circumstances. The meek believe that the sovereign will of God is for their supreme good, and they delight in absolutely and conforming to it. The contentment that produces meekness is governed by the will rather than by feelings. Feelings fluctuate with circumstances, whereas the will is centered in the unchanging nature and character of God.
E) Meekness through contentment brings acceptance.
With the ‘contentment of soul’ there is an acceptance of one’s position. This is not a fatalistic way where we surrender all initiative in trying to better ourselves, or seek release from a difficult situation, but rather as I have heard it described: ‘an inward calmness and tranquility of mind from a heart rested in God and in His providence over our lives’.
F) Meekness through contentment will be reflected in our relationships towards others.
This inward calmness of contentment produces courteous, kind and friendly behavior towards others, irrespective of their actions and reactions to us. Proverbs 12:16 and 15:1 pits it this way, ‘A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man over looks an insult… A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Wisdom is found in meekness, and meekness is founded on contentment in God and His providence.
Question: What does Godly meekness involve in practical terms?
A) Meekness involves an attitude rather than an action.
The Greek word ‘prautes’ in this beatitude is describing a condition of mind and heart rather than action. Actions and reactions are ultimately determined by attitudes, and Christ is focusing on the heart rather that the action. I know some Bible versions uses the word gentle, but this is not a good translation. Gentleness is more related to actions while meekness relates to a condition of mind and heart. Meekness is not synonymous with gentleness. This is illustrated in the life of Moses.
When Mirian and Aaron sought to rebel against Moses, God declared him to be the meekest and humblest person on earth (Numbers 12). Yet when Moses came off the mountain to find the people had made a golden calf, we read, ‘When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hand, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. And he took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it (Exodus 32:19-20). Few of us would consider Moses’s action to be gentle in that confrontation, yet God declared Moses to be the meekest and humblest person on earth.
B) Meekness involves the fruit of power.
The common assumption is that when a person is meek it is because he cannot help himself. Jesus showed this to be untrue. Jesus showed meekness on the cross, not because He was powerless, but because He had the infinite resources of God at His command and chose not to misuse them! He was fully in control of Himself and did not abuse His God-given power for purposes of self-interest or self-preservation. This Beatitude rightly focuses us on the proper use of power rather than power itself.
C) Meekness involves self-control.
Meekness implies humility and is related to a controlled temper and temperament that issues from a surrendered life. In other words, meekness involves the shaping of one’s character towards the prudence and moderation of one’s emotions. Prudence and moderation are words that involve self-control, self-discipline and act of the human will.
Even anger is controlled. A meek person may get angry and express righteous indignation about some matter but both are still under the control of the Holy Spirit. Neither leads to lack of self-control or destructiveness, both to either the object of the anger to the person who is angry.
The meek person is able to let go of things that he knows are not healthy to hold onto. Someone once wrote, ‘Meekness is slow to anger – however when led to anger, lets it go as soon as he can; at least doesn’t allow it to settle into a fixed hatred or lasting resentment but is ready to embrace all overtures of reconciliation.
D) Meekness involves a freedom from the self-life.
Describes negatively, meekness is the opposite of self-assertiveness and self-interest, but godly meekness is self that is not occupied with self at all. As a person realizes that he is totally dependent on God for everything, and rests in the sanctifying work of the spirit in his daily life, there grows a detachment from self in the sense that self-consciousness and self-interest do not dominate.
As our union with Jesus becomes an ever-increasing reality, self finds its expression and life through the indwelling Christ. In this, His thoughts increasingly become our thoughts, His desires become our desires. Our rest and dependency on Christ grows, which gives us the confidence to believe that we don’t always have to fight for our perceived rights. We can trust Him to work out His purposes in His time. This isn’t some sort of passiveness that results in an abdication of responsibility, but it is a living, dynamic relationship where Christ is in control and we cooperate fully with Him in all things.
What meekness is not
A) Meekness is not an act of kindness of the superior to the inferior.
In the world, meekness is often seen as a quality an act of kindness the victor might display to the vanquished. Something like mercy. This is not meekness in the Biblical sense of the word. True meekness requires us to show humility and a willingness to put others first. It requires us to consider others better than ourselves. It requires empathy into another person’s situation, and a willingness to go the extra mile for their sakes. It requires us to listen and respect their opinions.
B) Meekness is not weakness.
Meekness is not cowardice, nor even timidity. There are many timid people in the world but they are not necessarily meek. Meekness is often construed as giving up and surrendering to a situation or person. This is not true. Rather meekness surrenders to God and allows Him to speak into the situation or person. It is the direction of the surrender that is important. If the direction is towards man, out of fear then it is not meekness. If it is to God in faith and confidence, then godly meekness will shine.
C) Meekness is not pacifism in the face of evil.
Meekness is not surrender to evil and abuse, indecision or compromise. A meek person will not always serve the wishes of a neighbor, but will always serve the good. This is an important distinction that we need to pay attention to. In many instances Christians are pressurized to compromise their faith on the understanding that this will serve the wishes of the majority.
Many Christians find this convenient and consider it a form of love and respect for one’s neighbor. But it is not love and respect if we do not tell them the truth. It is not love and respect if we keep quiet in the face of sin and refrain from declaring the truths of the gospel however unpopular it might be to those around us who wish to remain in their sin or false opinions.
We are encouraged to be involved in the world and to stand against moral and social issues that are presently dishonoring to God. We are commanded to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ by letting our lives be light and salt. A meek person doesn’t face injustice and sin by ‘fighting fire with fire’ or resorting to the same tactics and methods as the evil one in any given situation.
So it is the meek, not the strong, the aggressive, the dictator, who will inherit the earth. In the Old Testament “inherit” often relates to entrance into the Promised Land. But this is not the promise about living in Palestine. It refers to living in a recreated earth over which Jesus rules eternally.
Revelation 21:1 – 8
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”