The St. Albert farmers’ market resumed this weekend, but if you were hoping to lay your hands on some juicy peaches, you’ll have to wait until mid-July. That’s when the peach harvest starts in B.C. When the peaches are finally delivered, how will you know which ones are ripe? By squeezing them? If you squeeze too hard though, you will bruise the fruit. So just as you don’t squeeze bananas to see if they’re ready to eat but simply look at their color, the color of a peach can determine ripeness. If there aren’t any hues of green, but only yellow, pink, and red, then your peach is ready to eat.
Unlike a sack of flour or a bag of rice that you can toss around without any damage to the product inside, a bag of peaches, apples, or any fruit really needs to be handled gently. That’s also the way that God wants us to treat one another. Gentleness is a Fruit of the Spirit. It’s also a characteristic that you might most often associate with mothers caring for their newborn. But gentleness is a characteristic that God looks for in fathers, in managers, and in older siblings—people who might have a tendency to treat harshly those “beneath” them. But this is not the way our powerful God treats us. Listen to our text from Matthew 11. Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
When Jesus says that he is gentle, we shouldn’t think this means that he is feeble. Just picture the scene in the garden of Gethsemane when the soldiers stumbled backwards after Jesus simply identified himself as the one they were looking for. Jesus was proving to them that he had the power to crush them without even lifting a finger. Jesus’ example illustrates well that the Greek word “gentleness” means “power under control.” A tame horse is gentle. Its power is no longer wasted in pointless bursts of speed across the open prairie, or by hooves lashing out at the empty air. The horse’s power is instead harnessed for the good of the rider and farmer.
But gentleness, as the Bible defines it, is more than power under control. It’s power under God’s control. So even though a father could boss his family around to get them to do what he wants, he honors his Savior by copying his patient encouraging ways. Jesus did not resort to sarcasm to get his disciples to behave. Nor did he harangue and brow beat his disciples to get them to do what he wanted. Oh he rebuked them when they went astray, but he was also quick to assure them of his love and forgiveness. Fathers, are we treating our family the same way?
A lack of gentleness is not just something that men can struggle with, however, it’s often lacking in women. I recently overheard a rag session unfold between female nurses who were complaining about management. Sure, it seemed like they had some legitimate gripes, but like a bowling ball that gains speed as it careens downhill and does more and more damage, these women kept piling on the abuses and snide remarks about their manager who was not there to defend herself. Dear Christian women, take to heart these words of the Apostle Peter: “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight” (1 Peter 3:4, 5). You be the one to take the lead in the work place to encourage and build up, rather than tearing others down.
God wants children to be gentle too. But f you’re an older sibling, it’s easy to throw your weight around, literally, as you shove little sisters and brothers out of the way to get to washroom first in the morning. And it’s easy to laugh at a younger sibling when they make an observation or comment you think is childish. But hold your tongue at times like that and consider how Jesus gently bore with the weaknesses of others. Think of how he dealt with that woman who had been caught in adultery (John 8). The Jewish leaders wanted to stone her to death as Moses’ law directed them to do. But Jesus said to her accusers, “He who is without sin should be the first to cast a stone.” Those words of Jesus can help you be gentle when you remember that at one time you too said things that were quite childish. You too were easily shoved around. And I doubt you enjoyed it! So why act that way now towards those who are not as strong or smart as you? Instead thank God for the chance he’s giving you to be gentle with others.
Of course being gentle doesn’t mean that we ignore sin. Even though Jesus said to that woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you,” he also added, “Go and sin no more.” Likewise the Apostle Paul once remarked: “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:1, 2). We rebuke sin gently when we quietly take someone aside to speak about their sin in private, not snicker about it over Facebook. What will keep us gentle in our rebuke is remembering that we ourselves are sinful, and the day may come when that friend we are currently rebuking will have to rebuke us!
So how are we doing showing the fruit of gentleness? Are we controlling ourselves or using whatever power we have to put the squeeze on others? (Sarah Habben) That’s not how God treats us. He deals with us in gentleness and it’s quite remarkable that he does! That’s because when God looked at the bin of humanity he saw rotten fruit everywhere. We each fill this world with the stink of our unkind words and careless actions. Jesus should have taken each one of us in hand and squeezed the life out of us. Instead, he allowed himself to be squeezed so that we would remain safe. In that way, Jesus was like one of those containers that carefully guards individual peaches from damage while they are being shipped.
That’s why in our text this morning Jesus urges us to come to him to find rest from this world and from our sins. When Jesus says to take his yoke upon us, it might sound like he’s telling us to take on a new burden. But Jesus assures us that his yoke is easy and burden light. And what exactly is this yoke? Well it’s being connected to Jesus who is pulling us along to heaven with him. Therefore the “burden” that he places on us is nothing less than his forgiveness, making Jesus no more of a burden than a quilt on a cold night!
But what about all those commandments he gave us? Aren’t those “burdens”? Doesn’t Jesus want us to be gentle, kind, loving, and patient? Sure he does. But it’s not a burden to do those things because we know that living that way is what brings harmony to our lives. And don’t forget that it’s the Holy Spirit who produces that fruit in our lives. It’s not something that we can generate on our own, any more than a popcorn maker can pump out popcorn without electricity!
But if we’re gentle, won’t others treat us like a doormat? They might try, but they’re not going to succeed, at least not in such a way that they can do lasting harm to us. That’s because being gentle means leaving room for God to flex his muscle. I don’t need to insist on my own way because I know that God will deliver what I need. Jesus even once said: “Blessed are the meek [same word as “gentle”], for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).
Those who are meek and gentle will not end up in last place. God will make sure of that. Think of how that was true in the life of the prophet Daniel. Even though the king’s advisors were determined to have Daniel fed to the lions, in the end it was those advisors who became lion dessert. Daniel just remained faithful to his Lord, entrusting himself to his God’s protection. Had Daniel died in that lions’ den he still would have come out ahead, for he would have gone to heaven. Likewise God will intervene on your behalf allowing you to show gentleness—to turn away a harsh word with a kind one, to pray for those who persecute you rather than planning revenge, to be patient with those who don’t appreciate all that you are doing for them.
The next time you’re picking out fruit, don’t put the squeeze on those poor peaches. You’ll just bruise them. Instead be gentle with them, just as you are to be gentle with the people around you. This is not only God’s will for you, it’s how he treats you for the sake of your savior Jesus. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
Describe two ways in which Jesus proved that his gentleness did not mean feebleness.
Fill in the blank. Gentleness is ______________ under __________ ____________.
The sermon listed several instances where people fail to be gentle. When do you struggle to be gentle?
Why is it remarkable that God is gentle with us?
What is the “light burden” that Jesus places on us?
Those who are meek and gentle will not end up in last place. That was true in the life of prophet Daniel. List at least two other biblical characters who also found this to be true.
