Matthew 5:1-5
The Meek
July 31, 2022
If people were asked --- ‘what do you want most out of life?’ Many would include happiness in their top answers. It might be the most dominant response. After all, who doesn’t want to be happy.
In His most famous message, and maybe the most famous sermon ever, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addressed this issue. Instead of talking about happiness, He spoke about being blessed. Remember, happiness is about chance and external circumstances; blessing is internal and comes from God.
Of course, Jesus will be Jesus. He doesn’t make it really easy to be blessed. Well, actually, it’s not as difficult as we think it is, or we make it out to be, but it takes a change in who we are . . . and that’s where the difficult part comes in.
For example, if I wanted to lose weight and firm up my belly, I would have to make some decisions. I can continue to eat cookies and junk for breakfast and ice cream with more cookies for dessert . . . or I can do what’s more difficult, exercise more, start ab workouts and change my diet.
You see, the choice is mine. Usually, what’s easier isn’t the best. It’s the same with the sermon on the mount. Specifically in the beginning part of the message we call the Beatitudes. Today we’re looking at the 3rd beatitude. Let’s see what Jesus has for us - - -
1 Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up on the mountain, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 And Jesus taught them, saying:
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 BLESSED ARE THE MEEK, FOR THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH.
So, today, we’re looking at this last verse . . . blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are the meek.
This is the perfect Beatitude for the group called the "Dependent Order Of Really Meek And Timid Souls." They prefer that name as opposed to the acrostic of its first letters, which spells
D-O-O-R-M-A-T-S. The Doormats have an official insignia - a yellow caution light. Their official motto is, "The meek shall inherit the earth, if that's OK with everybody!"
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." Really, Jesus? Maybe 6 feet of earth? Which of the world's great corporations became great by being meek? Which sports team became champion by being meek? Not many political leaders came to power by being meek!
The meek in our world seem to be victims, not victors. "Miserable are the meek, because they get trampled upon." We live in a world of assertiveness training. The world values getting what you want and then going after more. The emphasis is on you, not them.
This is where the Beatitudes are so difficult for us. They’re seemingly backwards and counter - intuitive ways to live our lives. They’re a compilation of truths that sometimes sound challenging or undesirable.
Most people would say the beatitudes are no value to everyday ordinary people. So, what does Jesus mean by saying the meek are blessed? Usually we equate Meekness = weakness. That’s how the world tends to view that word. But that’s not meek means. There’s a lot behind the word meek.
In English, MEEK is an adjective and means to show patience, humility and gentleness or to be easily imposed and submissive. This does not sound like a characteristic that we should aspire to have.
The Greek word for meek means - - -
to display the right blend of force and reserve. To show strength in gentleness. It avoids unnecessary harshness, yet without compromising or being too slow to use necessary force.
Biblical meekness is not weakness but rather refers to exercising God's strength under His control – i.e. demonstrating power without undue harshness.
[The English term "meek" often lacks this blend of – gentleness and strength.]
So, that’s where Jesus is going with this word. Meekness is the idea of strength under control. It’s having an inner strength that has an ability that when angry, you don’t explode, but are able to show anger in gentleness. That’s not always easy, is it? We often let it fly,
That’s how I grew up. It flew! If you were angry about something, you let it out. But as I’ve grown, I’ve learned that’s not the best way to display anger. I can tell you I’m angry, but I don’t have to make a fool of myself.
Think about how different our disagreements would be if we could speak with strength and power, honoring God in the process. And doing it in a way in which we still have even more strength, if needed. Yet, if you need to be a little firmer, you’re able to do it in a way which still honors and glorifies God.
That’s what Jesus is getting at.
We tend to think that the people who are meek, self-controlled and self-sacrificing can’t be the ones to inherit the earth because they’ll get walked all over, right? This is why these spiritual blessings are for those who know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Psalm 37:8-9 reminds us that the Lord will act on our behalf and says - - -
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9 For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. - Psalm 37:8-9
It’s not that anger is bad, it’s a God given emotion. But how we display it can be bad. The meek will inherit the earth because God will uphold their cause!
As believers we are the Children of God – joint heirs with Jesus Christ! In this world God calls us to love one another, to not seek revenge, to practice self-control and to live self-sacrificing lives as Jesus did. We can only accomplish that with Jesus driving the ship.
On our own, it will be a very difficult battle to obtain meekness. But with the Lord on our side and in our hearts, meekness is not only attainable, but also a blessing and joy.
The word for MEEK (praus) was described by Aristotle as the middle ground between excessive anger and excessive angerlessness. I like that way of looking at it. Theologian, William Barclay translates this Beatitude this way - - -
Blessed is the person who is always angry at the right time, and never angry at the wrong time.
The word meek also was used to describe an animal which had great power, yet became domesticated, which means the animal was able to control its power. Think about a majestic horse, like a powerful Clydesdale. Clydesdales are one of the largest and strongest horses in the world, it’s a horse with tremendous power, yet they have the ability to control and harness their power.
You see, the secret to being meek is not to be a nothing. The secret is to have power, strength, resources and influence. Yet at the same time not to be influenced by them or made arrogant by their potential. The meek person doesn’t have to claim their rights, because they already know they possess those rights.
In the King James Version of the Bible, 2 men were called meek. In Numbers 12:3, the Bible says - - -
3 Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. - Numbers 12:3
Moses and meekness don’t seem to go together. If anything when we think about Moses, we wouldn’t think of him as weak. He had a temper, he became angry, he wasn’t very patient. Yet, Moses was a leader of a group of slaves and led them on a 40 year journey.
He went man to man with the most powerful ruler of the day, the Pharaoh. He argued with him, he argued with the Israelites and even with God. Moses demonstrated amazing courage, power and strength, yet, the Bible calls him the meekest man on the face of the earth. So, the definition of meek according to the Bible must then be different than our definition.
Then the Bible calls Jesus meek. The KJV refers to Jesus as MEEK. In Matthew 11:29, He offered us rest, Jesus said - - -
29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle (MEEK) and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Jesus is using the same Greek word He used in the Beatitudes. He’s telling us we can come to Him, because He has this amazing power, but He holds it in reserve for us. We can find rest, because we trust He has that power to give to us to find the rest we need.
And in Matthew 21:5, as Jesus is riding into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, we read - -
5 Say to the Daughter of Zion, "See, your king comes to you, gentle (MEEK) and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
Again, it’s the same Greek word. The word gentle and meek are the same word. Describing Jesus as One with power held in reserve. Ultimately, it’s what He did on the cross, when He could have called upon all of the angels of heaven to deliver Him and annihilate His oppressors. Yet, He didn’t do that, so He could bring the hope of redemption and salvation to you and I.
When I think of Jesus, I never think of meekness. I certainly don’t think of weakness. I think of power and courage and humility.
Jesus stood up to the constant challenges of His enemies, never backing down to individuals and crowds. He stood up to the Roman authorities, as well as the Jewish leaders. Jesus endured a fixed trial, beatings, and rejection with amazing dignity; and never lost His self-control. He was even able to pray for His enemies while He was on the cross. That does not sound like someone who is weak.
Jesus’ meekness scared the religious leaders, especially those who were morally and ethically weak and corrupt, and those who were just plain evil. So, when Jesus talks about humility and meekness, He wasn’t talking about being a wimp. If anything, Jesus is telling us that to be meek, takes a great deal of strength and self-control.
So, where do we go with all of this? Someone who is MEEK is really strong, not weak. They are so strong, and most importantly they recognize their power and strength, but they’re able to hold and control their strength and power, so that it’s used for the right purposes at the right time. They also recognize where the true source of their power comes from . . . God.
When we look around, we can see so many people who like to throw their weight and perceived power around. When that happens they are anything but meek. In fact, they’re demonstrating weakness, not meekness. They are being a bully and bullies are hurting and weak people.
Yet, what’s confounding in all of this is that the meek, these supposedly weak people . . . inherit the earth. You would think their reward would be heaven, because they’ve endured a lifetime of being squashed. Yet, in all of His wisdom, God grants the earth to the meek.
People generally don’t describe themselves as meek. Imagine for character traits on a job application, writing down you are meek. We don’t do that, do we? Yet, Jesus calls the meek, blessed.
And that’s the beauty of it all. People don’t brag about being meek, but it shows more strongly than people who only want the attention on themselves. The meek are blessed because they know what it means to live humbly and to be thankful for everything given to them.
Those that revel in their accomplishments and gifts believe they were the author of their success. They disregard and completely forget that their success ultimately comes through God. God instills in us the talents and abilities to achieve what we achieve each day, but too many people get caught up in the gift and forget to thank the giver.
So, for those who realize it is not their efforts that bring the blessings but God’s, that means more blessings will be given to them, which is inheriting the earth and leading it forward. The meek find their rewards of inheriting the earth because of their humility and selflessness.
In many respects for those in leadership it is servant leadership. It’s when you are present with those who are doing something and you help. It’s believing that no job is beneath you. When people are cleaning up, you’re there with them. Not bailing out early or slipping out for a meal
It’s why I believe we gravitate to many of the Bible stories about people who demonstrated meekness, yet we don’t see it as meekness. We see them as courageous and powerful, risk taking followers of God. That would include people like Ruth, Joseph, Daniel, Joshua, Job and even Jesus Himself.
They didn’t think highly of themselves, or lowly, but knew they could accomplish much because of who their Creator was. The meek shall inherit the earth because they find their strength in God.
Being meek is a quality that God admires and showers blessings upon the person who displays this character trait. The earth and all its blessings will be inherited by those society sees as meek, because the earth and its people need those who are humble in spirit and who care for the needs of others more than glorifying themselves.
We can’t make our relationship with God work. We can’t make it happen. To know God, to live as close as possible to Jesus, to be transformed, changed by the Spirit — — means we must have a teachable spirit. Living the Christian life is not something “I DO”, it is something God works through me and you.
When Mary, the mother of Jesus, spoke to the angel, she simply said, “Let it be according to your word” (Luke 1:38). That is the epitome of meekness. Letting God be God, and knowing we are not.
Jesus did not say,
Blessed are the theologically smart, the spiritual giants, the eloquent prayer warriors . . . But Jesus said, Blessed are the MEEK,
The only way to become meek is to allow God to work through you. It is our asking God to change us, to strengthen us with His power, His joy, His strength, His love, His view of the world. When that happens,
we enter God’s kingdom and we experience His power and passion!
Meekness doesn’t come naturally to us. When we intentionally practice meekness in our daily lives, God is given the glory! Those who surround us at work, school, home and everywhere we go can witness the Lord through how we live. So live this week freely practicing meekness and explore the blessings and rewards in obeying His callings!
11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. - Psalm 37:11
