When’s the last time you heard someone say, “If you want to succeed in life, try being meek?” Or, “If you want to rise to the top and get somewhere in life, display meekness along the way?” Unfortunately, meekness isn’t a valued quality in our day. The world’s philosophy of success says be assertive / aggressive and go for the throat! Do whatever is necessary to come out ahead. But that isn’t what Jesus said.
For the third week now we are focusing on the beatitudes that Jesus says we are to have in order to be kingdom citizens. Jesus wasn’t focusing on outward performance like going to church, giving, or serving. His concern was to mark out how a disciple should be on the inside.
Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount so that his Father would get the glory for the way the disciples lived. The purpose of the Sermon on the Mount is to inform God’s disciples of the qualities they are to possess and display to a watching world.
This PM, we’re going to look at the next attitude Jesus says is necessary to be a Christ-follower – meekness. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
In the movie The Passion of the Christ, Jesus modeled meekness. At Gethsemane when the soldiers came to arrest him – Jesus showed meekness. During the courts of Pilate, Herod, and Caiaphas, through the scourging and walk to Golgotha, up to the moment He breathed His last breathe – Jesus modeled power under control.
It’s vital we clarify what meekness is because some people equate meekness with weakness, but that couldn’t be further from Jesus’ mind. In fact, if you were to tell someone they were meek, I’m not sure they’d take that as a compliment.
If you were to look at a thesaurus it wouldn’t help matters as the typical synonyms for meekness include – docile, mild, tame, soft, passive and spineless. It’s no wonder we don’t want to be called meek. But when Jesus used the term, He was speaking of something completely different. And since this characteristic is part of Jesus’ definition of a disciple, I think that it is in our best interest that we understand what Jesus meant when He said, “Blessed are the meek…”
Meek was used with four completely different meanings in the N.T.
1. In the Greek culture, meekness was considered a virtue that was balanced between too much and too little anger. The meek man was neither timid nor given to fits of rage.
2. Greek physicians used the word to describe a soothing medicine. If too little was given, it wouldn’t work; but if too much was prescribed, it could hurt instead of heal. Yet if the proper amount was offered, then it could work wonders. Given a meek amount.
3. Meek was also used to describe a gentle breeze blowing in from the ocean. Wind can rage and do great damage but when it blows gently, it brings soothing comfort.
4. The most common use of meekness describes a wild stallion that had been tamed. The broken horse was powerful, but his power was under the control of a bridle.
The common thread in these images is that meekness represents different forms of power that can be used for good. Meekness is power harnessed for good.
Yet when you put this statement into the context of Jesus’ setting, the people probably scratched their heads in wonder. They likely thought, “Didn’t Jesus just mention that the kingdom of heaven was near?” If the kingdom is coming, then don’t we need to get ready to fight the Romans?
Let’s not forget, the story of Jesus falls within the framework of a nation in bondage to Rome. While the Jews believed the Messiah was coming, most thought He was coming to deliver them from their physical oppressor and not their spiritual condition.
They eagerly anticipated that the Messiah would deal gently with them and harshly with their enemies. So when Jesus came on the scene they got excited because they believed the Messiah had come and that He would commend them for their goodness and would, at last, give the Jewish people their rightful place in the world — a position above all other people, because they were God’s chosen people.
But God’s plan wasn’t focused on the temporary but on the eternal. So when Jesus started talking the way He did in the Sermon on the Mount, you can imagine their reaction. They hated Him because He disappointed them and didn’t fulfill their expectations. Then to introduce meekness in a time of oppression was the last thing on their minds.
Our society isn’t much different from the one in Jesus’ day. We too focus on the temporary and shake our fist at Jesus because He isn’t serving our expectations or desires. But He is God – and you’re not! If meekness is power under control, then the first area it must address is one’s character.
Proverbs 25:28 tells us that “losing self-control leaves you as helpless as a city without a wall.” A man who possesses meekness is in control and his life is fortified by his disposition, because he is under the control of the Spirit of God.
Paul said the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control.(Gal. 5:22-23) This verse tells us something – meekness is not a natural ability, but a divine attribute invested by God into the life of every believer. We are the wild stallions being tamed and broken by the H.S., and the more we submit to God’s bridle the less He has to use His spurs to tame us. A person with meekness is one who responds to the Christ in them and then moves into the world trusting God.
Two wives were washing clothes at a laundry mat. Both were mending their husband’s pants. As they were sowing, the one lady said, "My husband is so discouraged and cold. Nothing seems to go right for him. Every one at work picks on him and he’s not appreciated by anyone. We cry a lot because our home is so sad, even our kids are brats. What’s worse, when we go to church the music is dead, and the pastor is an idiot!”
The other lady said, "My husband is so excited. He can’t wait to go to church. He loves the sermons. We go visit people all the time. And we laugh in our home. We can’t wait to see what God is going to do next." Two men—two totally different outlooks on life. But if you looked more closely at the pants the women were mending, you would see why. Seems one was patching the seat of the pants and the other was mending the knees.
Meekness requires a right disposition and a right disposition requires trust in God. And trust in God begins on your knees.
Meekness isn’t only a trait we share with God it’s also a quality we share with others. Meekness is the fruit of the Spirit that helps us to see others from God’s perspective. Meekness is a true view of oneself, expressing itself with respect to others. Meekness causes us to act in the best interest of others for their well-being.
God says that when we see a person caught in sin – in meekness we are to gently confront them. Not for condemnation but for restoration. He says, “Be fair and just, but also be careful and compassionate because their broken lives are fragile.”
When Jesus dealt with the woman caught in adultery, He lovingly confronted her, identified her sin, and with compassion restored her by grace. That’s how we’re to confront others. We never condone sin, but neither do we condemn the sinner. We confront in love, identify the act, point them to Jesus, and say, “go and sin no more.
Jesus gave Himself a number of titles, but when it came to describing His character He used specific words to describe His virtue – one of them being meekness. When an ox accepts a yoke, it models meekness. It is still very powerful, but its power is under the control of another. Jesus is saying, “I want you to hook up with me so that we can walk side-by-side. We will work together and walk through the trials of life as one. As you yield to my yoke, you’ll learn from me and discover that I am meek, and you will gradually become meek too.
If you want to be meek, then be submissive to God’s Word. The Bible is the bit and bridle that controls our wild spirits.
James 1: 21 says, “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”
If God said it, we yield to it in meekness and practice it. The key isn’t to work harder, but to worship more fully; it’s not to try more, but to trust more. It’s not to walk by sight but to walk by faith. Think of it this way:
The porcupine is a member of the rodent family that has around 30,000 quills attached to his body. Each quill can be driven into an enemy, and the enemy’s body heat will cause the microscopic barb to expand and become more firmly embedded. The wounds can fester; the more dangerous ones, affecting vital organs, can be fatal.
As a general rule, porcupines have (2) methods for handling relationships: withdrawal or attack. They either head for a tree or stick out their quills. But porcupines don’t want to be alone and love turns out to be a risky business when you’re a porcupine. This is the Porcupine’s Dilemma: How do you get close without getting hurt?
This is our dilemma too. Every one of us carries our own little arsenal of quills. Our barbs have names like rejection, condemnation, resentment, arrogance, selfishness, envy, contempt. Some people hide them better than others, but get close enough and you will find out they’re there. They burrow under the skin of our enemies; they wound and fester and even kill.
We, too, learn to survive through a combination of withdrawal or attack. We, too, find ourselves hurting (and being hurt by) those we long to be closest to. Yet we, too, want to get close. We meet neighbors, go on dates, join churches, form friendships, get married, and have children. We try to figure out how to get close without getting hurt. We wonder if there isn’t a softer, less-barbed creature out there. And of course, we can usually think of a number of particularly prickly porcupines in our lives. But the problem isn’t just them. I’m somebody’s porcupine too and so are you.
While it’s true that it’s easier to get close to someone when they have no quills, the reality is that we all have the capacity to attack. In Scripture, meekness is often contrasted with words like harsh, violent, unrelenting, strict, and severe, but a meek person seeks to give grace to others, and puts up with imperfect people.
I need to make a point. No one is perfect, except God. Your spouse will disappoint you; your kids will fail you; your friends will let you down; your church will drop the ball; and your pastor won’t meet all your expectations. And the reality is that a time will come when you will have a legitimate gripe. You will be right and they’ll be wrong. It’s at this time that you’ll be at the crossroads of meekness. The question is, which path will you take? Will you launch some quills or grant grace and peace?
Before deciding, remind yourself how gentle Jesus is toward you. You can choose to live your life disappointed and angry with everyone around you, or you can be armed with the virtue of meekness and enter into the blessing of authentic community.
When unbelievers see us living lives of meekness, they wonder what’s going on. Yet some of us are pretty harsh with those who don’t know Jesus, so God has placed a challenge before us to be ready to let people know about our hope but with meekness.
A non-Christian once wrote: Do you know, do you understand, that you represent Jesus to me? Do you know, do you understand that when you treat me with gentleness that it raises the question in my mind that maybe God is gentle too?
Blessed: An inward contentedness unaffected by surrounding conditions whereby we’ll be approved by God and receive the applause of heaven. In particular, to those who are meek, God promises to give them the earth.
This beatitude contains a surprising promise. The meek shall “inherit the earth.” It’s those that have their spirits bridled by Christ who will be handed the land.
I heard of a man who was sitting on a curb crying. When he was asked what was wrong, he said, “I just found out that Rockefeller, the richest man in the world has died.” The person then asked, “Why are you crying? You’re not a relative of his, are you?” To which the man replied, “No! That’s why I’m crying!”
If you know Christ, then you’re an heir of everything God has. And Jesus promised us there will be an inheritance for the meek in the sweet by and by.
Meekness – it doesn’t mean weakness, it means a life that is under the control of God and manifests itself in a life of balance, humility, and compassion. Practice meekness, and you will be a better Christian.
Corrie ten Boom was once asked if it was difficult for her to be humble. She replied, "When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on the back of a donkey, and everyone was waving palm branches and throwing garments on the road, and singing praises, do you think for one moment it ever entered into the head of that donkey that any of that was for him?" "If I can be the donkey on which Jesus rides in His glory, then I give him all the praise and honor due Him." MEEKNESS
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
