Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
Study 4
Introduction
This morning in our study of the Sermon on the Mount we come to consider the third of the Beatitudes – Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.
I have already pointed out that what we have in these Beatitudes are not qualities that we are to strive to have in order to become a Christian but rather qualities of character that are the hallmarks of the person who is a Christian.
We have seen that a Christian is someone who has come to the sober realisation that they are spiritually bankrupt before God. They are ‘poor in spirit’. That is they recognise that they have nothing in and of themselves to commend themselves to God or to earn God’s favour and forgiveness. If forgiveness and salvation could be purchased they know that they haven’t so much as a single penny that they can offer in order to obtain it.
Consequently the realisation of ones spiritual bankruptcy leads to spiritual mourning, a spiritual mourning that leads to personal repentance and faith in Jesus Christ who is recognised accepted as the only way of forgiveness and salvation. This spiritual mourning which is characteristic of every true Christian, being a pre-requisite to entrance into the kingdom of God, is something which like the poverty of spirit which precedes it, remains in them and is characteristic of them after they become members of God’s Kingdom. These are marks of kingdom life. Marks of a life which is under the rule of and willingly submissive to the Kingship of Christ.
Having spoken about poverty of spirit and spiritual mourning the Lord then moves on to identify a third distinguishing mark of someone who belongs to God’s kingdom; a third hallmark of a genuine Christian, such a person will possess and will manifest a spirit of “meekness” – “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth”
Now as we look at this beatitude this morning we need to realise that like the other two personal qualities that Jesus has already mentioned, the commendation of this third characteristic, meekness, would have raised a few eyebrows, especially so in view of the blessing he associates with it – “blessed are the meek for they (emphasis) shall inherit the earth” You have to remember that the Jews at this time were very earthly minded in their concepts of the Kingdom of God thinking that the coming of the Kingdom would involve the overthrow off all their enemies, particularly the Romans and that the fruit of such a great victory over their enemies would be their regaining of their political autonomy once again and possession not only of their own land, but also in time, possession of the whole world which would be brought under their rule as a result of the conquering exploits of their great Messiah. They saw the kingdom in political and material terms. Now in order to inherit the earth, the last thing quality that one would have thought was necessary was meekness. How could one overthrow the Roman government and Roman army by a spirit of meekness? What was needed was aggressiveness. What was needed was brute force and strength. What was needed was ruthlessness. So when Jesus said that the ‘MEEK shall inherit the earth’ this would have sounded very strange, it would have sounded foolish, to those who were listening to him.
And of course, like the people of Jesus’ day, the world today cannot understand how meekness can be an asset and how anyone could extol it as a virtue, a character trait that ought to be coveted. How many points do you think an interviewing panel would give to the man on whose C.V. meekness was stated as one of his personal qualities or whose referee described him as a very meek person. Not too many I am sure. The world doesn’t see meekness as a valuable character trait, a valuable asset. Quite the opposite in fact. In the dog eat dog, every man for himself atmosphere of modern business, especially in the realm of company product promotion and sales it is not meekness that employers are looking for it is the aggressive, pushy, the go getter type of person that they are wanting to employ and who ends up getting on well in such firms.
When was the last time you heard anyone at a careers talk saying “right now folks, if you want to get on well in life, you have got to be meek.” “If you want to climb to the top of the ladder in this field or that field of employment, then you will have to be meek.”
Once again the Lord shatters the conventional of wisdom both of His day and ours with this third beatitude when he says ‘blessed are the MEEK for they shall inherit the earth.’
Well in order to understand what our Lord had in mind here when he spoke these words let’s consider first of all this morning
1) The Meaning of Meekness
Our Lord said blessed are the MEEK. But what is meekness? How can we define it?
Well in seeking to understand what Jesus meant by meekness let’s begin by stating what this word does not mean.
Meakness is not
(a) Weakness or Spinelessness
The world sees meekness as being synonymous with – timidity, shyness, lacking self-confidence, an unwillingness to ever rock the boat in any situation. The meek person as far as the world is concerned has a wishbone instead of a backbone. A sort of wishy-washy, somewhat effeminate non-confrontational sort of person. This is how they see meekness.
Well when we study the scriptures we discover that the meek person is certainly anything but weak and spineless and non-confrontational. Numbers 12/3 tells us that Moses was “very meek, above all the men which are upon the face of the earth.” The NIV has ‘humble’ instead of ‘meek’ But the word is the exact same word as in this third beatitude, the word PRAUS – MEEK. Now as Moses a spineless, weak, effeminate, non-confrontational person. No he wasn’t as the incident recorded in Exodus 32 clearly shows us. You recall the context – EXPOUND – Giving of Law – Golden Calf – broke the two tablets of stone – ground to powder – commands mass slaughter of the guilty.
So meekness is not weakness / spinlessness.
Neither is meekness
(b) Natural Niceness.
Meekness has often been defined as someone who is very ‘nice’. A person with a very agreeable, pleasant, affable sort of personality. But commendable as such a personality may well we are not to think of Biblical meekness, the meekness of which Jesus is speaking here in such terms. A Meek person may well be affable and pleasant and so on but a pleasant affable, nice person isn’t necessarily a meek person. You see niceness is something a person is as a result of their biological, genetic make up. It’s a matter of natural temperament. Some people are just made like that, they are nice people. You can get the same sort of thing in animals, say in a dog for instance. Some dogs are nice by nature while others are not. It’s a matter of temperament arising out of their biological and genetic make up. But as we saw in one of our earlier studies the qualities Jesus highlights in these beatitudes are not biological or genetic endowments that a person possesses by nature, they are spiritual qualities that are formed in a person by grace. So whilst the world might define meekness in terms of someone who is nice and affable and pleasant, this is not the primary idea that Jesus has in mind when he talks abut meekness.
So meekness is not weakness, it is not mere human niceness nor is it
(c) Easygoingness
And what I mean by that is the sort of person who is very laid back and who likes to smooth over differences of opinion, is always willing to compromise in order to have peace at any price,
Well having seen what meekness is not let’s move on to see if we can get a handle on what this meekness is of which Jesus is speaking.
The Greek word that is used here is a difficult word to translate into English but if we look at the way in which it was used in the culture and language of the 1st century world we will hopefully get some insight into the meaning of meekness.
This word was used to describe a wild horse that had been broken and brought under control as a result of an influence outside of itself being brought to bear upon it. The horse having been tamed is now submissive and fit to be ridden by its owner obeying every command it is given.
It was also used of domesticated animals such as a dog for instance which was trained to obey either its masters voice or even a gesture from the masters hands, the sort of obedience that one would see for example at Crufts dog show. In the first Century this word that Jesus uses here would have been used to describe such an animal. An animal that kept his eye on his master, listened to the voice of his master and obeyed the will of his master.
The same word was also used to describe someone who was well-balanced. The Greek Philosopher Aristotle used this word to describe the difference between two extremes such as for example that between unjustified anger on the one hand and couldn’t care less attitude on the other. Apparently there was a cosmetics company a few years ago whose advertising slogan was ‘not to much, not too little. Just right if its Erasmic’ And that was what Aristotle had in mind, just the right balance. A meek person is one who is well balanced in their attitudes, desires, conduct speech and so on. For example he or she is a person who is firm but not aggressive, principled but not petty, tender but not touchy.
The same word was also used of an ointment which when applied to an open wound, took away the sting and produced a welcome soothing effect. The meek person is someone who is able to have a calming and soothing effect upon other when they are in a heated situation.
But this particular word was also used in 1st Century Greek culture as an antonym, that is as a word that means the exact opposite of something, it was used as an antonym of, lofty-heartedness / Pride. It meant lowly-heartedness. The humble acceptance of ones own unworthiness. The recognition of ones limitations, weaknesses and failings.
And Biblical meekness, the meekness of which Jesus speaks here in Matt 5, combines these different ideas and one or two others besides. We could define Biblical meekness as that attitude of heart by which a person has a right attitude towards God, an attitude of submissiveness and willing obedience, a balanced attitude towards themselves, and a gracious attitude towards others.
A.W.Pink’s definition is more pithy and combines these ideas. He says that meekness is “The opposite of self-will towards God and ill-will towards men.” The meek person is one who, like the wild horse, has been brought under control as a result of an influence outside of himself being brought to bear upon him, that influence being the workings of God by His Holy Spirit in regenerating and saving grace. This work creates within that person a submissiveness to the will of the one who is recognised as their master. He or she will obey God’s will as it is revealed to them in the scriptures and submit to God’s will as they experience it in his providential dealings with them, in other words in their particular circumstances and situations in life. In respect of themselves the meek person is someone who has realistic views of themselves, they know themselves to be poor in Spirit, they know what it is to see and mourn over their own sin, hence they are not the sort of person who is lofty-hearted and full of pride even if they have achieved much in any particular sphere of life. When it comes to his or her dealings with their fellowman, the meek person far from acting from a spirit of ill-will will instead seek the good of the other person, even at times at their own cost. However whilst seeking the good of others the meek person never pursues a path that causes them to act against the principle of righteousness and obedience to their master.
This brethren is Biblical Meekness. This is what you and I, if we profess to be Christians are supposed to be like. We are to have a submissive spirit when it comes to our masters dealing with us, accepting whatever he might bring to pass in our lives. And we are to have an obedient spirit whereby we not only listen for His word of command but upon hearing that command we obey it. We are to be humble avoiding any and every inkling towards or demonstration of pride in our lives. And we are to act in a spirit of good will towards our fellow man ever seeking their good.
This particular character trait, like that of poverty of spirit and spiritual mourning, is part and parcel of the new nature which God imparts to every sinner at the time of their regeneration. It is there in germ form and as the new nature within grows and develops, as the born again believer matures in their faith this character trait is increasingly seen in their life. If it is not something that is characteristic of you, then either you do not possess the new nature that God gives in regeneration, in other words you have never been truly saved, or you have not yet developed and matured in your life as a Christian.
Now in order that we might better examine our own hearts to see whether or not we actually possess such meekness and if so to what degree we possess it lets look at a few examples from scripture of people who demonstrated this particular spiritual quality.
So Secondly then lets look at
2) The Manifestation Of Meekness:
I want us to look at three examples of meekness in action. The first one I have chosen gives us a wonderful example of what AW Pink in his definition of meekness called ‘the opposite of self will towards God.’ In other words humble submissiveness to God in the realm of God’s providential dealings with him. You should all be familiar with the record of what happened to Job as we find the story unfolded in the opening chapters of that book. Job a very godly and upright man who feared God and shunned evil found himself facing the most Horrendous personal circumstances that you could ever imagine. In one life-changing day he lost his business that he had built up over the years, a business that made him one of the wealthiest men of the East in his day. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, following hard on the heels of his business loss he suffered the loss of every one of his ten children as a result of a tornado destroying the building in which they were all gathered for a family party. 10 children, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 1,000 oxen and 500 donkeys gone in one day. What was Job’s response? Well his response which we find in v20-21 has remained a model of meekness for over 3,000 years. “at this Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. (Symbols of deep Mourning) Then he fell to the ground in worship and said, ‘naked I came from my mothers womb and naked I shall depart, the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised.”
Yes he was heartbroken. Who wouldn’t be? But in the midst of his grief he looked beyond his circumstances to the one under whose sovereign direction and control these things had taken place and whilst he could not understand or explain why this had happened, he nevertheless meekly submitted to God’s will in these things. Here is one of the most beautiful and most touching manifestations of meekness in the scriptures.
Let me take another example, this time from the N.T. The apostle Paul was the theologian, missionary and church planter par excellence in the early Church. No other ordinary human being before or since did more for the spread of the gospel and advancement of God’s kingdom than him. Just as his namesake in the OT – Saul – stood head and shoulders above everyone else physically, so Saul of tarsus / the apostle Paul stood head and shoulders above his contemporaries spiritually. But notice the meekness of this man as he speaks about himself – In 1 Cor 15:9 he describes himself as ‘the least of the apostles and do not deserve to be called an apostle because I persecuted the Church of Christ.’ Later on in Eph 3:8 he says that he is “less than the least of all God’s people…’ He actually makes up a word here ‘less than the least’ in his attempt to communicate how he viewed himself having searched his own heart. And then towards the end of his life in 1 Tim 1:15 he describes himself as “the chief of sinners.” Paul knew his own heart and that knowledge not only kept him from becoming PROUD it also nurtured the grace of MEEKNESS.
Then the third example of meekness I want us to note is that of Abraham and in this example we see that aspect of meekness which seeks the good of others. You recall how the animal stock of Abraham and Lot had grown to such an extent that their herdsmen began to fight over the water supplies because there wasn’t enough to sustain both the men’s herds. In order to avoid ill-feeling and conflict Abraham proposes that they separate. But rather than choosing for himself which pastureland he wanted, as would have been his right as the more senior of the two men and the one to whom the Lord had given the land, Abraham choose to forego his own rights and to allow Lot to choose what portion of the land he wanted. He could have insisted on choosing the best land, but he didn’t. In meekness he stood aside and told Lot to choose first.
The last example I have chosen combines two people each of whom demonstrated that aspect of meekness which accepts personal injury without resentment. The first is Our Lord Jesus, the second is Stephen. The Lord Jesus described himself as one who was “Meek and lowly in heart” And that meekness was seen both in the way he reacted to the sufferings he endured leading up to the cross and on the cross itself. The writer to the Hebrews tells us that he ‘endured such hostility from sinners against himself.’ Peter tells us “when they hurled insults at him he did not retaliate when he suffered he made no threats. Instead He entrusted himself to him who judges justly.’ The Lord never once took personal offence nor never once sought personal revenge. Among his last words from the cross was a prayer for those who had rejected him and murdered him “Father forgive them…” Similarly with Stephen, who reflected the meekness of the saviour. As he was about to die having been stoned by an unruly mob he, like his saviour prayed, ‘Lord do not hold this sin against them.”
Well having considered the meaning of meekness and the manifestation f meekness lets consider thirdly
3) The Importance of Meekness:
I wont have time to develop these points but let me sow a few seed thoughts in your mind here as we see how a spirit of meekness impinges upon other aspects of our lives as Christians.
According to James 1:21 and Psalm 25:9 a spirit of Meekness is necessary for:
A. Receiving The Word of God
READ Passages
It is the man/woman/young person who comes to the scriptures in a spirit of meekness who will hear what God is saying to them and who having heard will seek by God’s help to put it into practice. The opposite of meekness as we have seen is pride and it is the person with a proud heart who refuses to submit to the will of God as it is revealed in the Word of God. It is the person who is meek in heart that God will teach and guide in His ways.
The Lord Jesus Christ, gave this warning in Luke 8:18 “take heed how you hear” When you read the Word of God in your own personal devotions and especially when you listen to the word of God being read and expounded in Public worship, you should do so in a spirit of meekness.
But then to meekness is also necessary for
B Communicating The Message of God:
We see that in 1 Peter 3:15 READ: KJV = meekness (praus)
In seeking to communicate the message of the gospel to lost and needy sinners we must guard against coming across as arrogant or proud people. We must not adopt an ‘I am better than you’ approach. A Spirit of meekness, a meekness by which a person knows their own heart, will keep us from such an attitude and give us both a concern for and an empathy with men and women and young people in their sins. As One man has put it “Witnessing to others demands a delicate mixture of both courage and humility. It takes courage to communicate the message of the Lord without compromise, but at the same time it takes humility in order not to come across as arrogant and proud. Meekness will allow us to be unyielding in our stand, yet humble in our presentation, knowing that it is only by the grace of God that we have come to know the truth in the first place.”
Then too meekness is also necessary for
C Ministering to The People of God
In Galatians 6:1; Paul writes KJV “brethren if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness. Considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”
In seeking to minister to and help a brother or sister who has fallen into sin (and it is our duty to help them and not to ignore either the sin or the person) we are to do so in a spirit of meekness. Such a spirit will keep us from adopting a heavy handed, condemnatory, authoritarian approach, enabling us instead to feel for them in their spiritual weakness and identify with them in their struggle.
In Col 3v12,13 he says “Put on therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, MEEKNESS, longsuffering; Forbearing one another and forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel against any…”
Once again where there are disputes and divisions among believers a spirit of meekness is essential to dealing with the problem and bringing about healing and reconciliation between brethren.
And finally Meekness is necessary in order to
D. Reflect The Character of God
Our saviour as we have already noted was meek and lowly in heart. The Work of salvation has as its goal the forming of Christ in each believer. Paul tells us that in Romans 8:29. We have been “predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son…” By the work of the holy spirit within the believer is being “transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory…” And one of the characteristics that will be increasingly seen in the life of the believer as he or she comes more and more t reflect the character of God is this spiritual quality of Meekness.
Our responsibility is to yield ourselves to the gracious sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit working within us; to guard against any hint of grieving or quenching the Spirit’s work in our life, and to work out what He is working in us.
Let me finish with just a word about
4) The Blessings Of Meekness:
The blessing that Jesus attaches to this beatitude is “for they shall inherit the earth” What does this mean. Well it is something that for the believer is both a present reality and a future expectation.
The present reality is that the believer whilst he doesn’t literally possess the earth, yet he brought to the place where he is able to say with Paul that “Having nothing he possesses all things” 2 Cor 6:10. He is as content with what he has, as content as if everything in the world belonged to him. Hence Paul is able to say “I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content.” He was fully satisfied with what God had given him at any given time in his life. Such contentment is of much greater value than material possessions. John Blanchard sums it up well when he says “The Christian believer may not possess much real estate, or have a great deal of this world’s goods, but as he grows in meekness he will increasingly find more satisfaction in his pittance than in the sinners plenty.”
But then there is also in this blessing the aspect of the believer’s Future expectation. This aspect has a view to that day when Christ will return and establish the new heavens and new earth for his redeemed people. This new world has been bequeathed to every believer. They shall inherit it. They shall live in it. A Cosmos free from sin and from the effects of sin. A land, to use the words of Isaac Watts ‘A land of pure delight, where saints immortal reign, infinite day excludes the night and…”
How vast the treasurers we possess:
How rich thy bounty King of grace.
This world is ours and world’s to come,
earth is our Lodge and heaven our home.
I would not change my blest estate
For all the world calls good or great
And while my faith shall keep her hold
I treasure not the sinners gold
Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.
