“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5
I once bought a bookshelf at a used furniture store. While transporting it home in the bed of a truck, the bookshelf got rained on. The moisture caused the particle board with which it was built to swell. The beautiful wood-grain veneer was now marred by gaps that revealed the unsightly particle board beneath. The damage revealed that the bookshelf was not genuine hardwood. It was fake wood with a faux veneer.
Christ does not want fake Christians living with a veneer of Christian conduct. He wants disciples who are genuine through and through. Jesus did not preach the Sermon on the Mount as merely a list of rules. Jesus was teaching His disciples what a life completely transformed by the Holy Spirit looks like. Jesus makes this especially clear in the Beatitudes.
The Beatitudes describe character traits. They are not a list of outward actions. They speak of inward character qualities that transform the entire person. Jesus does not say, “Blessed are those who do an act of meekness.” He says, “Blessed are the meek.” Blessed is the person who possesses meekness. There is a difference between hypocritical outward conduct and genuine character—as much difference as there is between particle board with a fake veneer and genuine hardwood.
1. What is Meekness?
While meek is a word used often in the New Testament, it is rarely understood today. This is partly because it is a difficult word to define simply, and partly because today it has a connotation that it does not have in the New Testament. Today, the word is associated with being weak, soft (in a bad sense), spineless, or unduly submissive.
In the New Testament, meekness is a noble quality. It is illustrated best by the way the ancient Greeks used the word. William Barclay notes that in classical Greek, meek was used to describe an animal that had been tamed or a wild horse that had been broken and was now obedient to the bit and bridle (A New Testament Wordbook [New York: Harper and Row], 104). A broken horse is a meek horse. A meek horse is powerful, but it is also gentle and submissive to its master’s control.
A meek person is like a horse that has been broken. By nature, we tend at times to be wild and untamed, arrogant and rebellious, having no control over our passions. Our words and actions are sometimes harsh and destructive. But to become meek means to tame our passions, control our tongue, and make our will obedient to Jesus Christ.
Meekness is gentleness. But meekness is distinguished from gentleness in that while a person might be gentle because he is too weak to be otherwise, the meek person is gentle because he chooses to be gentle. The meek person is gentle, not because he is incapable of being harsh or destructive, but because he is self-controlled. Behind the gentleness of a meek person is the strength of steel, just as behind the gentleness of a tame horse is tremendous power.
The strength of a meek person is under control, but that does not mean that he is a pushover. He has the strength to stand against wrong and to stand up for the truth. He is no coward. He is gentle when he needs to be gentle, but he is also strong when he needs to be strong. A broken horse can be trusted not to harm a little child. But that same horse, at its master’s command, throws all of its power into the harness about its neck. The meek person uses his strength at the right time and for the right purposes.
The meek person is submissive to authority. A broken horse is completely obedient to its rider’s commands. Just so, the meek Christian yields to the will of Christ. More than a self-controlled person, he is a Christ-controlled person. He does not stand still when the master says go, nor does he turn left when the master says go straight.
Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines meek as “not easily provoked or irritated; yielding; given to forbearance under injuries.” The meek person has enough self-control to resist lashing out in anger and retaliation when provoked. Perhaps the greatest strength of will is demonstrated when everything within us screams to strangle someone who has wronged us, but instead we exercise forbearance and gentleness. Meekness is not weakness. Meekness requires a kind of strength that is all too rare in this world.
Moses is an example of meekness. Numbers 12:3 says, “Now the man Moses was very meek.” In the situation in which this was spoken, Miriam and Aaron (the sister and brother of Moses) had criticized Moses’ marriage and questioned his authority as God’s spokesman. Someone who was not meek would have responded with indignation at the attack against his character. He would have angrily defended himself. But not Moses. He was silent in the face of insult.
Jesus is the supreme example of meekness. He came as a meek Savior. He not only preached meekness; He practiced meekness. He said, “I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29). Jesus rode on a donkey into Jerusalem in fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah: “Behold thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon a donkey, and a colt the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:5).
Though Jesus possesses great power and someday will come to judge the wicked, He is meek. He ministered with gentleness to the needs of humanity. Matthew 12:20 says, “A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench.” The Savior does not utterly destroy the person who is crushed and bruised by sin. Rather, with meekness and gentleness He stoops down to restore those who are wounded. To the person whose spirit is like a smoldering wick, ready to be snuffed out completely, the Savior gently speaks life-giving words and fans the spark back into a flame bright with life.
At times, Jesus also spoke stern words of warning and rebuke. These occasions were not lapses in His meekness. Rather, they are part of what it means to be meek. The meek person’s life is so regulated by virtue that he can speak truth with gentle compassion and, when needed, with sharp rebuke. He knows when to soothe with the physician’s salve and when to cut with the surgeon’s knife.
Jesus displayed meekness when He was arrested and condemned. “Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously” (1 Peter 2:23). In His meekness, He had no need to defend Himself.
2. Meekness toward Others
Many New Testament verses exhort us to possess meekness and to exercise it toward our fellowman. Galatians 5:22-23 lists meekness as the fruit of the Spirit. Meekness is a companion of mercy, kindness, humbleness, longsuffering, forbearance, forgiveness, and love (Colossians 3:12-14). Meekness, along with these other virtues, is essential to maintaining unity in the body of Christ and living peaceably with all men (Ephesians 4:1-3).
Proverbs 13:10 says, “Only by pride cometh contention.” The meek person is not proud. He does not have an ego to defend. He does not lash out at the slightest provocation. He is not out for a quarrel. Titus 3:2 admonishes us “to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.” To be no brawler means “not disposed to fight, not quarrelsome or contentious.” A brawler is the opposite of a meek person. When there is a disagreement, the meek person is able to talk about it sensibly with calmness and forbearance without being angered by those who criticize him.
Meekness does not abuse its power. The meek person is a servant even as Christ was a servant. When we have the upper hand in a debate or when the other person has been proven wrong, we should not gleefully browbeat our opponent into submission. We should help him up.
Meekness is a jewel of great price in the sight of God. Man places great value on costly jewelry. Man praises the lavish adornment of the outward appearance. God places great value upon jewels that bedeck the hidden person of the heart. The inward character of a person is of a stronger, nobler, more enduring beauty than fading outward beauty (1 Peter 3:3-4).
While many people chase after money as the crowning good of life, the man of God is called to flee the love of money and instead press after the nobler virtues, among them meekness (1 Timothy 6:11). The meekness and gentleness of Christ is a treasure far greater than silver or gold (2 Corinthians 10:1).
While meekness is a virtue to be exercised toward all men, there is a circumstance in which the New Testament especially calls upon the Christian to be careful to exercise meekness. Meekness is needed when correcting a person who is at fault. Galatians 6:1 says, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness.”
Why is it needful to be meek when offering correction? Meekness is needed because, when confronting someone who has done wrong, it can be easy to be harsh, condemning, spiteful, vengeful, and overbearing. Such an attitude would do more to destroy the individual than to restore them to wholeness. When a rebuke is issued because we have been personally irritated by a person’s actions, the rebuke becomes an attack, a means of settling the score, an attempt at vengeance, and not an attempt at truly restoring the other person.
Second Timothy 2:24-25 says, “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves.” The meek person has the self-control necessary to patiently teach those who oppose the truth without being quarrelsome or angry. There is one thing harder to do than being silent under provocation. That is speaking gently, with meekness, when under provocation.
First Peter 3:15 admonishes us to be ready at any time to give a reason why we believe what we do “with meekness.” In the context of this passage, those to whom we may need to give an answer are those who persecute us for following Christ. That is, when others ridicule us for being a Christian, we need to be prepared to explain our faith in Christ without hatred or spite. If we return insult for insult, we will probably not win anyone for Christ. Meekness is needed.
A teacher needs meekness. Does anyone have expert knowledge? Would he teach others? Let him teach “with meekness of wisdom” (James 3:13). He should not be arrogant in his knowledge. He should not be given to bitter envying when anyone offers an insight he did not first see. He should not fight with those who disagree with him. Those character traits are the opposite of meekness (James 3:14). Instead, the meek teacher should be “peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17). He should humbly allow others to ask questions about his beliefs, refuse to consider anyone inferior, and not pretend to be more than he really is.
A learner also needs meekness. James 1:21 says, “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.” Filthiness includes those characteristics of a spirit resistant to learning, such as pride, selfishness, love of sin, or a refusal to submit to godly authority. Superfluity of naughtiness refers to a heart abounding with ill-will and rebellion. The fruit of these attitudes is a heart hardened toward receiving instruction.
Instead, we are to receive instruction with meekness. The meek learner yields to his teacher’s instruction. He does not resist correction. He is willing to acknowledge that he does not know everything. He is willing to receive the “engrafted word,” that is, he is willing to receive instruction into his heart, allowing it to be implanted there, take root, grow, and bring forth fruit in his life. Such meekness toward earthly teachers and preachers of God’s Word is also needed toward the Master Teacher.
3. Meekness toward God
Meekness is above all an attitude that we need to have toward God. If we return to the analogy of a meek horse, the person who is meek toward God has ceased to be wild and rebellious toward God’s will and word. The meek person no longer fights against God. The meek person yields to Jesus Christ just as a broken horse yields to the bit and bridle. Like a trained horse that is attentive to its master’s bidding, so the meek person is ready to do the Lord’s bidding.
The apostle Paul was transformed from a wild horse to a meek horse. On the road to Damascus, he saw a light from heaven and heard the voice of Christ calling to him. Jesus said, “It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks” (Acts 9:5). The phrase “kick against the pricks” refers to an ox or horse kicking against its master who is goading it to go in the right direction. Paul stopped kicking.
In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus invites us to submit to Him in meekness: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
Notice whose yoke we are to take. It is not a yoke that we have fashioned according to our own choosing. It is Christ’s yoke. We are called to accept whatever He lays upon us in meekness. The meek follower of Christ does not quarrel or quibble with Him. Jesus says, “Learn of me.” Receive with meekness the word of Christ. The pupil who doubts and contradicts his teacher is neither meek nor a learner. Learning requires meekness. It requires a willingness to hear, believe, and obey.
Observe also the promise of Christ to those who take upon themselves His yoke. He says, “Ye shall find rest for your souls.” Many seek rest in their souls. Many long for something to calm the disquiet within their heart. Christ points the way. He says that we will find rest if we accept His yoke without murmur or retort. Submitting to Christ brings a rest, a peace, a satisfaction, a contentment, a fulfillment, a joy that nothing else can give.
Meekness toward God pertains not only to His word and commands found in Scripture. It also relates to His dealings with us in life. Meekness “is that temper of spirit in which we accept his dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting” (R. C. Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament).
We do not understand why God permits many of the things that befall us in this life. Sometimes He leads us through dark and painful valleys. Asking God why He does these things is not wrong. But we will find that many times the question goes unanswered. Rest is found when we acknowledge our finiteness and God’s infiniteness. God is all-knowing, and we are not. God is all-wise, and we are not. God is all-powerful, and we are not. God is good, even when we don’t understand His plan. We find rest when we accept His yoke in meekness, come whatever may.
Jesus promised in the third beatitude that the meek shall inherit the earth. Jesus may have had in mind Psalm 37:11, which states the same promise. The psalm begins by saying, “Fret not thyself because of evildoers.” Verse 7 reiterates, “Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.”
Many times in life, it seems that the people who get ahead are the ones who lie and cheat, who knock the other guy down first, or who use their power to manipulate and oppress others. The strong are the victors and the weak the victims. The villain who looks out for himself wins, while the virtuous never get ahead in life.
The nation with the most guns or the most devious plan wins, while righteousness is forgotten. In the eyes of the world, the way of Jesus does not work because, while turning the other cheek sounds noble, it doesn’t win.
But Jesus promises that His way does work. The meek, those who trust God, are the ones who will inherit the earth—not the wicked. Psalm 37 repeats this promise over and over:
- “Those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth” (verse 9).
- “But the meek shall inherit the earth” (verse 11).
- “Their inheritance shall be for ever” (verse 18).
- “For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth” (verse 22).
- “The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever” (verse 29).
- “Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land” (verse 34).
God places great value on the quality of meekness; so much so that He has promised a future inheritance to the believer who faithfully lives by this virtue. Through God’s power, let us cultivate meekness in our lives and hope in the reward He has promised.
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