1 INTRODUCTION A paradox is a statement that at first seem contradictory but with further investigation may prove to be true. G.K. Chesterson said it was truth standing on her head to get attention.' All of the beatitudes are paradoxical and demand further investigation. Jesus promise is that there is something fuller ad better than circumstantial happiness that can carry you in the rollercoaster ride of life. He calls it the blessed life and he describes 8 characteristics of people who find this life. READ Matthew 5:5. Most people say, really! That is not my experience. It is the strong, forceful, self-assured, even aggressive who get ahead in life and inherit the wealth of the earth. The more you assert yourself the more likely you are to succeed and achieve. Even in the context of Jesus first hearers: the Jews had a promise from God that they will inherit the land (Ps 37) but they were dispossessed by the Greeks and then the Romans. Their desperate hope and earnest desire is that God would send a military-type messiah who world avenge their dispossession and establish them again in the land! And Jesus says, Blessed are the meek BLESSED ARE THE MEEK A definition of meekness 1. Bibles The concept of biblical meekness is difficult to translate. And you can see this by how the various versions of the English Bible translate it differently: GNB and NLT = humble ; NASB and HCSB = gentle; AMP = kind-hearted, the sweet-spirited, the self-controlled. 2. Dictionary If you consult a dictionary you get definitions similar to the bible translations, but you also get: deficient in spirit and courage, submissive, not violent or strong, not willing to argue or express your opinions in a forceful way. An example of its use: I don't care, came the meek reply; or wouldn t hurt a fly. And this is the impression that many people have in their minds. Because it sounds so similar to the word weak most people have a mental association of weakness and meekness but nothing could be further from the truth. It is not nice-ness, flabbiness or laziness, weakness or feebleness
2 3. The Greek The New Testament was written in Greek and one of the ways of understanding the meaning of words in the NT is to look at their contemporary use at that time. There are two ways the word is used that are helpful: Balance: describing the virtue of being halfway between anger and angerless Control: as in a horse that has been broken in and is under the control of the owner (strength under control) Opposite of pride: normally we think of humility, but it is more than just that. 4. It is not natural It is not a description of someone s temperament, as if it is naturally occurring in that person. It is the fruit of the Spirit (gentleness). It is not an outward manner but an inward spiritual character trait. It is the calling of all Christians to produce this fruit! 5. A working definition The best brief definition I have heard: strength under control. This is the most difficult of the beatitudes and the one that should cause deep soul search and grappling. Example of meekness 1. Joseph Joseph was the second most powerful man in Egypt when his brothers came to seek assistance from the only country that had resources in the drought. He had tremendous power over their life and death. He didn t defend his honour, show bitterness and exact revenge. Yet he chose not to uses his power to serve his own ends, but rather to meet the needs of his brothers and to honour God s providence to the fledgling nation of Israel. Joseph was subject to God. 2. Moses Numbers 12:3 Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth (ESV). How so? He was strong he killed an Egyptian who was abusing a fellow Israelite, he confronted Pharaoh and faced off against his magicians, when the Israelites worshipped a golden calf he smashed it to pieces, ground up the gold, mixed it with water and made them drink it. Doesn t sound weak and feeble and flabby to me. He was zealous for God s glory. He felt completely inadequate to take on the task that God gave him yet he ended up leading 2 million Israelites out of Egypt towards the Promised Land.
3 3. David David was anointed to be king of Israel before Saul was even dead. He was hunted by Saul like an animal, but Saul could never catch him. Then in 1Samuel 24 David finds Saul fast asleep and he has a chance to end his fleeing and take his rightful throne. But instead of ending Saul s life with the swish of his blade, he cuts off the corner of Saul s cloak. The power over life and death, but completely in submission before God. ness is therefore: The first beatitude is about us before God (poverty stricken, in debt, needy). The second beatitude is about us and our sin (mourning, sorrowful, broken). The third beatitude is about us and our relationship to the world/others (meek). The general problem with us as human beings is self-concern, self-interest. ness is the power to exert ourselves for God and others. MLJ says that in the first two beatitudes you come to terms with who you really are before God: needy and sinful. But it is easier to be honest with God that we are needy sinners, than to be honest before others that we are needy sinners. Think about it: we find it easier to condemn ourselves; we find is hard when someone else says you are a needy sinner. ness is the translating of this true view of ourselves into the world and before others. When we do that we lose sensitivity about ourselves: my interests, self-defensive, self-pity. But if you are a needy sinner there is nothing to defend! The power in meekness comes from the honesty you are therefore no longer controlled by other people s opinions or words: there is nothing bad that they can say about me that I do not already know. As John Bunyan said, he who is already down cannot fall. Again, there is great strength that comes from this freedom to allow God to be who he is: in control, good, all powerful and always knowing best. The meekness of Ps 37 This beatitude seems to be an illusion to Ps 37 (READ). What is happening there: the wicked and evil men seem to be prospering and the good and godly are suffering. And did you hear the verbs he uses in those 11 verse: don t fret (1); don t be envious; trust (3, 5); delight in the Lord (4); wait (5, 8); commit to the Lord (5); be still and wait patiently (7). And verse 11 comes is saying: BUT the
4 meek shall inherit the land. The true and full inheritance of God to his people will come to the meek. The meekness of Christ Now that sounds like passivity (laziness), relaxing (flabbiness), and neglect. But if you look at Jesus who is described as Matt 11 and 21. It is clear that it marrying Ps 37 with Jesus gives us a different picture of meekness. Vines: the common idea is that a man is meek because he cannot help himself but Jesus was meek because he had the infinite resources of the heaven at his command. Jesus did three things: he would die to defend the honour of God, he would die to defend the vulnerable, he would suffer and die unjustly for the purposes of God. The temple On two occasions Jesus went into the temple and turned over the table of the money changers because they were abusing the temple offerings and access to the temple. Matt (21:12-13) quotes Jeremiah zeal for your name (John 2:17)! ness was not an absence of passion for God s glory if anything it encouraged more! The Pharisees Jesus was never lacked courage in confronting those who had power when it was being abused. On numerous occasions Jesus calls the Pharisees out for their hypocrisy, abuse of power, The cross There is no greater demonstration of meekness than Jesus as he comes to the cross: o Riding on a donkey: the creator and sustainer of the universe coming on a donkey (not a white steed) o Gethsemane: submission to the Lord s will (Luke 22) o He allowed those he had created to mock, beat and abuse him o He did not defend the false accusations against him. He had every right to speak in his defence because nothing that they were using to condemn him was true. Yet he chose, like a lamb before her shearer is silent, to not assert his own rights. o Why? All the lambs that were sacrificed up until that point in Israelite history were innocent victims.
5 FOR THEY WILL INHERIT THE EARTH You would have expected the opposite: the meek get nothing because everyone runs roughshod over those who don t stand up for themselves. It is the overbearing and aggressive that succeed. In Ps 37 and today you find people fighting over and striving for that which they cannot keep. But here Jesus gives a future promise with a present fulfilment. The future promise is that we inherit all that is God s and dwell with his in glory, light and truth in the new heavens and new earth forever: creation is liberated from the brokenness of sin, and we are free to be who we were really created to be. And Jesus reference to Ps 37 is a reminder that believers should be wait patiently, don t fret or be envious and trust. The present fulfilment is the promise of 2Cor 6:4ff The meek person gets more satisfaction from the little they have than the wicked gets from the much he has. CONCLUSION When it comes to home and business and church I am not suggesting that you become a hopeless pushover that gives in, sacrifices and stands back for everyone else. In business and home and sport there are power relationships is the power you have under control or used for self-centred purposes. Stand for principles, make hard decisions, fight for business deals but don t misuse power and strength in those situations (self-promotion or pay back) For Jesus it was three things: (1) honour of God, (2) protection of the vulnerable, (3) putting other s needs first and his second. For the Christians that translates into the business/home environment: (1) stand for what is right and true; (2) look out for the vulnerable (it s easy to ignore them); (3) allow others (the team) to shine. A question I have asked myself this week: have beatitudes 1 and 2 (needy sinner) released me to be meek?
6 QUESTIONS 1. What immediately springs to mind when you think of the word meek? Read Mat 5:5 2. Why/how is that statement a paradox? 3. Grant suggested a working definition of meekness as strength under control. Discuss this definition in light of the various ways it is translated in the Bible and definitions given in contemporary dictionaries. 4. Discuss the examples Grant gave of meekness: Joseph, Moses, David. In each person, how do you see strength under (God s) control? Look at: a. Abraham Genesis 13:7-18 b. Joseph Genesis 45:1-7 c. David 1Samuel 24:1-22 d. Moses - Numbers 12:3 e. Stephen Acts 7:51-8:60 f. Paul Philippians 3:3-9, 4:13 5. How are the first two beatitudes foundational to the third beatitude? 6. How do you think meekness works itself out in your life: a. Family? b. Business? c. Sport? d. Employment relationships?