“Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth”
I think the best way to begin this portion of our study would be to quote Lloyd-Jones on meekness. I can’t think of a better way to put it, and what he has to say here will give us an outline to build on.
He writes: “Meekness is essentially a true view of oneself, expressing itself in attitude and conduct with respect to others…The man who is truly meek is the one who is truly amazed that God and man can think of him as well as they do and treat him as well as they do.” Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, Lloyd-Jones, Eerdman’s
Now here you might ask, well, if your translation says, ‘gentle’, why the quote about meekness? Because Lloyd-Jones used a translation that says ‘meek’, and what he said applies equally to the meaning of ‘gentle’, once you begin to get a clear picture of it.
So I will ask you to lay aside any definition that may come to your mind when you hear the word ‘meek’ or the word ‘gentle’. Instead of going to lengths to explain why ‘meek and gentle’ do not mean timid or shy or weak, I’ll just ask you to forget you ever heard the words before and let’s go at it as those who have no clue what Jesus meant when He said that those of this characteristic are blessed.
THE TRUE VIEW
Lloyd-Jones spoke of the man having a true view of himself. That harks back to our previous two messages and the things we said about the progression of these beatitudes.
Only the poor in spirit, mourning for his own sin and the disastrous effects of sin in the world around him is going to begin to have a true and accurate picture of himself.
Think about it. The Pharisee standing upright in the temple and boasting of all his personal goodness and inner qualities was far from having a true picture of himself, wasn’t he?
On the other hand, the person who thinks of himself as quite humble, according to C.S. Lewis, is at that moment quite conceited indeed.
And just as poorness of spirit and Godly grieving for sin must be wrought by the Holy Spirit, so must this gentleness of spirit declared by Jesus as that which makes the Christian blessed.
The only way a man can have a true view of himself is if that view comes from without. Here is what I mean.
John Stott pointed out how dishonest we tend to be with ourselves as to our true nature. He said he has no problem calling himself a miserable sinner as he kneels before God in prayer and confession, but if he steps out of the church and some person calls him a miserable sinner his initial reaction is to want to punch the guy in the nose.
We can kick our own dog because he’s laying in the way but no one else better kick our dog.
The problem is our self pride. We’re naturally so full of pride that we cannot fully and accurately assess ourselves. At some point we become blind to the worst parts because we don’t want to admit even to ourselves that some parts of us exist. So God has to do the revealing bit by bit and by His Spirit.
It’s humiliating to have negative information about ourselves revealed to us, because that means that someone else not only knows of that information but has been thinking about it. Even if it’s something we know well, we like to think others don’t see it.
Let’s look at this in the light of the progression of these beatitudes so far.
Notice that they become more difficult with each step. The first is to be poor in spirit. To recognize our own spiritual dearth and our need for God. That’s calling ourselves a miserable sinner, to stick with Stott’s illustration. Right? That’s kicking our own dog. It might have been difficult to come to, but by the awakening and enlightening of the Holy Spirit we’ve seen it.
Then we are to mourn. A little harder, because it calls for soul-searching and introspection and honesty concerning our true condition.
Then comes meekness, which we are saying begins with having a true view of ourselves, being revealed from without, and that is the hardest yet because in order for God to show us who we really are we have to be humbled and receptive.
It’s not stuff we want to have to face and admit to in the presence of the One who is perfect and holy. And we certainly don’t take pleasure in having Him use others to develop that true view in us.
But think for a moment about the benefits. For the person who has been given a truly accurate understanding of who he is there aren’t going to be many surprises. First of all, he will then be able to come to God in the first place. That’s what these first three beatitudes are about. The person who comes to God must come having seen his need, mourned his sin, and surrendered. Remember I said in our last session that mourning for sin is the first half of repentance? Well meekness is the second half; it is the surrender.
Secondly, humanly speaking, the person who has accepted an accurate view of himself is not going to be easily offended, he’s going to be confident in his relationships because he will know his place among those he deals and lives with on a day to day basis, and he will better understand the depth of the grace of God who, knowing all about him, loved him and delivered himself up for him.
EXPRESSED IN CONDUCT
When a man has a true view of himself in relation to God and his fellow man it will be expressed in his conduct.
Let’s look at the behavior that is encouraged in the New Testament, from the Christian.
“Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.” Jas 1:21
“but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;” I Pet 3:15
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Gal 5:22-23
“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;” Col 3:12
That’s not all; just a selection. But listen to Paul’s words to Titus concerning what he was to teach his congregation.
“Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, 2 to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.” 3:1-2
And what he says next is to be observed as the opposite of those things:
“For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.” 3:3
So the character wrought in us by the Holy Spirit, is to be practiced by us with a conscious effort. Since none of these things come to us naturally, but spiritually, we have to focus on the examples we have and emulate them.
The greatest example we have of course is in Jesus. He is the greatest example of all these characteristics, as we have already noted. He said of Himself in Matthew 11:29, “I am gentle (meek) and humble in heart”.
Another example is Moses. In Numbers 12:3 there is a very interesting parenthesis that must have been added to the manuscripts later, since it is commonly believed that Moses wrote most of the first five books of the Bible.
We read there the account of Aaron and Miriam speaking against Moses, and then in the parenthesis it says, “Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth”.
If you read that chapter in Numbers you will note that Moses did not defend himself although clearly wronged, but God defended him, first by bragging him up, then by striking Miriam with leprosy. Then in verse 13 Moses is crying out to the Lord to heal her.
We only need to think of recorded actions of both, Jesus and Moses, to know that meekness or gentleness cannot mean timid or weak or withdrawn or cowardly.
Biblical meekness is expressed in kindness, patience, true humility, not a feigned humility, concerned interest in the good of others, and also an inner strength and confidence that will manifest in standing boldly for what is right no matter the cost.
We see it demonstrated in Abraham telling the King of Sodom that he will not accept so much as the thong of a sandal from him as a gift.
And in Moses saying to Pharaoh over and over, “Thus says the Lord, ‘let My people go’”. And David confronting Goliath, having rejected Saul’s armor and going only in the name of the Lord his God.
We see it demonstrated in all the prophets as they stood before kings and rulers speaking boldly the word of the Lord even though it would mean their torture and death.
In Peter, who calmly declared to the Jewish elite “We must obey God rather than men”. In Paul who, as a prisoner, stood before Felix and his wife Drusilla preaching righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come.
We see it in Jesus of Nazareth, standing with hands tied, badly beaten, clothes ripped off, blood running down from numerous gashes and cuts delivered by evil fists throughout the night, truthfully declaring to Pontius Pilate that he would have no authority to do anything if it were not given him from above.
All these and so many more, slow to anger, loath to exert their rights but prepared to defend what is right, made this way by the patient, gentle, Holy Spirit in them.
By far the greatest demonstration of meekness of all, is at the cross of Christ, who, “…emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Phil 2:7-8
PURSUIT OF POWER
There is a certain power in the kind of meekness Jesus is talking about. Or perhaps I should say it this way; power is displayed properly from the one who is meek.
You may have heard that the word used here is one the Greeks would use in reference to a well-trained horse.
The trained horse is so submitted to the will of the master that he will turn this way and that with just a slight tug on the reigns or pressure from the knees. He will break into an instant gallop, an easy trot, a gentle walk, or stop abruptly all in response to the master’s signal.
Yet he is a powerful, muscular, graceful, noble beast who carries men through battle or pulls a heavy plow through fallow ground or bears heavy burdens on his back.
That is the sort of power found in the man or woman of God; the one who has been given a true view of himself or herself and surrendered obediently to Him for His use. The power will be of God, therefore it will be a Godly power.
Power to obey God’s word. Power to discern His will and walk in it. Power to stand for what is right and to minister in His name.
Men of the earth have always sought power but of the earthly kind. Therefore they have sought it by means of oppression and violence and deceit and corruption. They are the ones described in Titus 3:3; full of malice and envy, hateful and hating.
But the power they attain to and that which is attained by power do not last.
Look at all the historical figures of worldly authority and power and you will see that most of them ended badly. I say ‘most’ because I don’t know the history of every one, but the ones I know about did end badly.
Think of Julius Caesar and the Ides of March. So many of the Caesars after him. Herod and his worms. Napoleon. Rasputin. Tsar Nicholas II. Mussolini. Hitler.
Hitler boasted that his Third Reich would last a thousand years, and in less than seven years he was screaming his lungs out in a bunker 50 ft under Berlin, accusing his generals of treason, and in short order he was a corpse, leaving behind a legacy that marked him as one of the most evil, despicable men in all history.
Contrast the historical record of evil men with the ultimate victory of men of God, in many cases after they were gone; in many cases won in the process of dying; Jesus being the supreme example.
I quote here some closing lines from a sermon by Ray C. Stedman called “How Not to Collapse” from II Timothy.
“Paul stood before that wretch, Nero, and proclaimed the word fully,
…that all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. (2 Tim 4:17b RSV)
That was his first appearance, but he knows it will be different this time.
And in that day when Paul did stand before emperor (sic) the second time the name of Nero was a name honored among men and known throughout the Empire. Who had heard of this; only little Jew from Tarsus, with his bald head and bowed legs and his poor speech? And yet today, 1900 years later, we name our sons Paul and our dogs Nero.”
God honors those who come to Him repentant, humble, surrendered. And that’s not an easy thing to do. In fact, it is impossible in the flesh, and once He has drawn us to Him by His Spirit, and calls us to walk in these characteristics, it continues to be difficult, no, impossible apart from His Spirit.
He knows that. He said that. He said apart from Him we could do nothing. So He honors every attempt, every sacrifice made, every evil His people suffer at the hands of the worldly.
Go back to Philippians 2, where I quoted the verses pertaining to His humility, and see that the following verses say,
“For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Phil 2:9-11
One day in Jerusalem all the powers of earth and hell itself rose up against the Son of God. With a word He could have extinguished them all and left not even a smoldering universe.
Instead He gave Himself over to them to do whatever their imaginations could conjure. He went like a helpless lamb to slaughter and did not lift a finger to defend Himself.
Was He surrendering to them? NO! He was surrendering in meekness to the One who sent Him. He was humbling Himself, not before the powers of the day, but the Father of all; and by his obedience, in His humility, for His meekness, He inherited …
…us.
Where is Pilate? Where is Herod? Where is the Caesar? Where is Judas?
Where are the Pharisees who wagged their tongues and mocked? Where the soldiers with the hammers and spikes? Where the empty cross? Where the tomb?
The tomb, empty, and the rest gone.
But Jesus, declared the Son of God with power by His rising from the dead, sits now at His Father’s right hand until ALL His enemies be made a footstool for His feet! And on that unknown day when the Father says, ‘It’s time”, He will come again in power to judge and be the Judge over all the earth!
What about us, believers? What’s in it for us?
Well, not that just seeing His face won’t be enough, but He made a promise and He will keep it.
“Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth”.
Who wants it? You might ask. We will, when He comes again and nature sings and ‘round us rings the music of the spheres.
We will, when He creates a new heavens and new earth where righteousness dwells.
Alexander the Great, they say, had conquered the entire civilized world by age, 29. It only took him 11 years, which means he began his conquest at age 18. But he died in the afternoon of 11 June 323 in the city of Babylon following a large drinking party the night before. It is reported that an Indian sage named Dandamis, had once said to the conqueror of the world: ’You will soon be dead, and then you will own just as much of this earth as will suffice to bury you.’
Where now, this mighty conqueror of men?
How do you feel about yourself most days, Christian? Not very wise? Not too mighty? Not very noble?
Well, “…God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that no man may boast before God. 30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31 so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.” I Cor 1:27-31
Come to Him gladly in poorness of spirit, not arrogant, mourning for your sin and the sin you see, meek and gentle, surrendered and submitted to Him in every area of your life, and you will have cause to boast in Him.
Not a boasting as the world does, in themselves and their attainments and accomplishments, all of which are passing and will pass away with a fervent heat, but the kind of boasting that magnifies and glorifies the One who has purchased your inheritance for you and waits for you to come into full ownership on that glorious day when the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever. Rev 11:15
