Sermon on the Mount: Meekness
The first two Beatitudes were more about inward attitudes, having a right outlook on your own spiritual state and being rightly upset and grieved over sin and evil in the world and within yourself. The third Beatitude is a bit more outwardly focused, as it has to do with how we interact with the world and people around us.
Matthew 5:5
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
The word meek, in today’s society, means “quiet, gentle, and easily imposed on; submissive.”
This is somewhat the same meaning that Jesus is getting at here, but with a few important distinctions. We typically think of a meek person as someone who is shy and quiet, like a mouse, someone who is weak, who doesn’t, and can’t, stand up or speak up for themselves or others and who is easily taken advantage of. However, that isn’t really the idea that Jesus was trying to convey. Jesus is quoting an Old Testament verse here:
Psalm 37:11
“But the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant peace.”
In Psalms, the word does carry a meaning of “poor, weak, oppressed, needy,” but when Jesus quotes the verse and speaks of the meek being blessed He is speaking more of those who are humble and self-controlled. The meek, rather than being incapable, are those who are fully capable. They are strong and assertive and successful, but they know how to control themselves and their emotions.
We can see this in the fact that the word translated “meek” in Matthew is only used three times in the New Testament. One of these is in The Sermon on the Mount, and another is in Matthew 21 “Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
This is, itself, a quote from:
Zechariah 9:9
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
We also see this same idea in
Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Jesus is described, time and time again, as being humble/meek/gentle/lowly. However, we know that Jesus is God. He is all powerful, all knowing, the creator of everything, the Judge of the world. If meekness merely meant those who were poor and weak and needy and oppressed it would make no sense to describe Jesus as such. However, if we recognize that it’s more than that it helps us to see that He is not just doling out blessings on those who are “pitiful,” but expressing a blessing for those who make a choice in how they conduct themselves towards others and toward God.
The meek are not those who have no choice but to be weak and shy. The meek are those who choose not to embrace pride, who choose not to force matters because of their strength and power, but who choose to look at others with compassion and love and humility.
Let’s look at another chunk of Scripture that shows this idea.
Philippians 2:1-11 “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
This passage is a perfect example of what Jesus is saying in Matthew. As Christians, as followers of Jesus, we should not be proud, arrogant, conceited and cocky. This does not mean that we don’t recognize our talents and accomplishments. It doesn’t mean that we don’t lead in areas that God has blessed us with the skill, ability, and knowledge to lead. In fact, we are meant to use the gifts and talents that we have to glorify God and to encourage and build each other up. However, we are not to lord those things over people. It’s one thing to humbly step into a role that you know you can excel at in order to help someone. It’s another thing to loudly shout from the rooftops how amazing you are and how cruddy everyone else is compared to you. Humility, meekness, is looking at the world, looking at the people around you, and seeing how you can be of service to them. It is counting “others more significant than yourselves” This is also a great example of true love. It has been said that if people love each other that they will look out for the needs of the other person, and when this is done effectively, everyone’s needs are taken care of because everyone is looking out for everyone else. If we are to be people that are known by our love, we need to be humble.
Jesus modeled this. He is God, and yet, He didn’t come to Earth as an imposing warrior with lightning bolts, ready to smite and punish. He came as a baby, grew up and lived as a carpenter and carried out a pretty mundane life, for most of it. However, He didn’t shy away from who He was or pull punches when talking about what was and wasn’t ok. He was willing to associate with everyone, meeting them where they were, in order to help guide them to where they were meant to be, because He loved them. He was obedient and submissive to God, because He chose to be so, and in the end we see that He was gloried and rewarded.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
God calls us to meekness and humility. It’s not always easy. It goes against some natural tendencies to look out for ourselves and build ourselves up, but God’s way is always the best way. He looks out for us, and He gave us a model to follow. In this meekness, He has also promised that we don’t need to worry about provision or possessions. We don’t need to secure our land and food and necessities by power and force. It all belongs to Him anyway, and He has promised that if we follow His example we will have all we need. We shall inherit the earth.
So, I challenge you to take up an attitude of humility and meekness. Look to others’ needs. Trust in God and lean not on your own understanding or power or ability or influence. God will not let you down.
Matthew 5:5
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
The word meek, in today’s society, means “quiet, gentle, and easily imposed on; submissive.”
This is somewhat the same meaning that Jesus is getting at here, but with a few important distinctions. We typically think of a meek person as someone who is shy and quiet, like a mouse, someone who is weak, who doesn’t, and can’t, stand up or speak up for themselves or others and who is easily taken advantage of. However, that isn’t really the idea that Jesus was trying to convey. Jesus is quoting an Old Testament verse here:
Psalm 37:11
“But the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant peace.”
In Psalms, the word does carry a meaning of “poor, weak, oppressed, needy,” but when Jesus quotes the verse and speaks of the meek being blessed He is speaking more of those who are humble and self-controlled. The meek, rather than being incapable, are those who are fully capable. They are strong and assertive and successful, but they know how to control themselves and their emotions.
We can see this in the fact that the word translated “meek” in Matthew is only used three times in the New Testament. One of these is in The Sermon on the Mount, and another is in Matthew 21 “Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
This is, itself, a quote from:
Zechariah 9:9
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
We also see this same idea in
Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Jesus is described, time and time again, as being humble/meek/gentle/lowly. However, we know that Jesus is God. He is all powerful, all knowing, the creator of everything, the Judge of the world. If meekness merely meant those who were poor and weak and needy and oppressed it would make no sense to describe Jesus as such. However, if we recognize that it’s more than that it helps us to see that He is not just doling out blessings on those who are “pitiful,” but expressing a blessing for those who make a choice in how they conduct themselves towards others and toward God.
The meek are not those who have no choice but to be weak and shy. The meek are those who choose not to embrace pride, who choose not to force matters because of their strength and power, but who choose to look at others with compassion and love and humility.
Let’s look at another chunk of Scripture that shows this idea.
Philippians 2:1-11 “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
This passage is a perfect example of what Jesus is saying in Matthew. As Christians, as followers of Jesus, we should not be proud, arrogant, conceited and cocky. This does not mean that we don’t recognize our talents and accomplishments. It doesn’t mean that we don’t lead in areas that God has blessed us with the skill, ability, and knowledge to lead. In fact, we are meant to use the gifts and talents that we have to glorify God and to encourage and build each other up. However, we are not to lord those things over people. It’s one thing to humbly step into a role that you know you can excel at in order to help someone. It’s another thing to loudly shout from the rooftops how amazing you are and how cruddy everyone else is compared to you. Humility, meekness, is looking at the world, looking at the people around you, and seeing how you can be of service to them. It is counting “others more significant than yourselves” This is also a great example of true love. It has been said that if people love each other that they will look out for the needs of the other person, and when this is done effectively, everyone’s needs are taken care of because everyone is looking out for everyone else. If we are to be people that are known by our love, we need to be humble.
Jesus modeled this. He is God, and yet, He didn’t come to Earth as an imposing warrior with lightning bolts, ready to smite and punish. He came as a baby, grew up and lived as a carpenter and carried out a pretty mundane life, for most of it. However, He didn’t shy away from who He was or pull punches when talking about what was and wasn’t ok. He was willing to associate with everyone, meeting them where they were, in order to help guide them to where they were meant to be, because He loved them. He was obedient and submissive to God, because He chose to be so, and in the end we see that He was gloried and rewarded.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
God calls us to meekness and humility. It’s not always easy. It goes against some natural tendencies to look out for ourselves and build ourselves up, but God’s way is always the best way. He looks out for us, and He gave us a model to follow. In this meekness, He has also promised that we don’t need to worry about provision or possessions. We don’t need to secure our land and food and necessities by power and force. It all belongs to Him anyway, and He has promised that if we follow His example we will have all we need. We shall inherit the earth.
So, I challenge you to take up an attitude of humility and meekness. Look to others’ needs. Trust in God and lean not on your own understanding or power or ability or influence. God will not let you down.
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