Sermon: The Majesty of Meekness

[0:00] If Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass All right, if you've got your Bibles, Matthew chapter 5, Matthew chapter 5, continuing in the Sermon on the Mount. We're working through the Beatitudes, and that last song really is the song of a spiritual beggar. All I have is Christ. That's it. I don't have a spiritual penny to my name. Jesus is my life. And so we've been working through the Beatitudes.

[0:56] Tonight we come to the third Beatitude in verse 5, but we're going to read all 12 verses again just to kind of read through that, and then we'll jump in. So you ready to go? Excited?

[1:11] Let's do this. Okay. Matthew 5. If you're able to stand, would you please do so as we honor the reading of God's Word? Matthew chapter 5, verse 1. Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him, and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

[1:41] Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

[2:26] This is God's Word. Pray with me and for me tonight. Let's ask God to teach us. God, thank you for the gift of being together tonight. Just already in talking with people, it's just good.

[2:40] To be in this place with your people gathered. We want to worship you. We want to learn from your Word. We want to remember the gospel through communion. God, in all of these things tonight, encourage our hearts. Holy Spirit, come, the Spirit of truth, and guide us into truth tonight. Help us see this next beatitude and how it relates to our life. And we pray this in Jesus' name. And God's people said, Amen. Amen. Amen. Please be seated. It may be one of the smartest crimes ever committed.

[3:15] In his book, No Wonder They Call Him Savior, Pastor Max Lucado tells a story about a crime that was committed in a major city where thousands of dollars of merchandise was stolen from a large department store. But the way it happened, the way the crime happened was very unusual. Evidently, the thieves who broke into the store during the night didn't take anything. All the money was still right there in the safe. All the merchandise was right there on the shelves. Everything was right where it was supposed to be except one thing, the price tags. You see, evidently, what the thieves did was rather than actually steal the items, they rearranged the value of the items. So a $5 box of paper was now a $500 box of paper, and a $500 camera was now a $5 camera. And guess who was there the very first thing the next morning when the store opened? It was those thieves dressed in normal clothes. They walked in and they purchased the expensive items for amazingly reduced prices. And then they walked out without saying a word.

[4:43] According to the story, it was over four hours before the employees of the store noticed what had taken place. Faith family, have you ever found yourself in a situation where what you thought was valuable turned out to have no value at all? Occasionally, I'll watch an episode of Pawn Stars. I want to articulate that carefully. Pawn Stars. And if you've ever seen one of those episodes, someone will inevitably bring something in they think is really valuable. It's this great treasure. It's worth this enormous amount of money. And they discover it actually doesn't have any value at all. It's a napkin signed by Marilyn Monroe. And then it turns out not to be her signature. It's a Picasso that's going to be worth, you know, worth thousands. And then it turns out not to be the original. Or like an old watch evidently used by Abraham Lincoln, only to realize that it was made in 1987. And you can, like, if you've ever seen one of those shows, do you know the expression that they get when they realize this thing that they thought was so valuable actually had no value at all? My guess is, is that all of us at some point in life have experienced the price tags getting reversed. The friendship that you valued wasn't valued by the other. The purchase that you thought was going to be a great investment turned into a huge loss. The business opportunity that you knew was going to succeed ended up being mostly just a waste of time. And you know that feeling. Have you ever felt that before? Have you ever experienced that feeling inside when you shift from something that you thought had great value and opportunity and you discovered that it had no value? Listen, listen, listen. Those of you watching online, this is what Jesus is doing in the

[6:57] Beatitudes. Listen, Jesus is taking the things highly valued in our world, self-sufficiency and keep yourself together and you need to be the one with all the power and control and you need to have great self-esteem. He's taking these things that we value in the world and showing us they actually have no value at all. And he's taking the things that no one in the world would value, things like brokenness and emptiness and mourning and he's showing you that that's actually what has great value. Jesus in the Beatitudes is rearranging the price tags on what's truly valuable in life or in other words, what the good life actually looks like, how you experience the blessed life. And up until this point, if you're reading the Beatitudes on the surface, you think Jesus is off his rocker and out of his mind.

[8:05] This is not what we would typically advise if you want the good life. And if you think the first Beatitudes were this way, I mean, the third Beatitude makes you want to admit Jesus to a psychiatric ward.

[8:19] Look at it. Verse 5, blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. Jesus, what in the world are you talking about? The meek are going to take over the world? That sounds like the lead into a joke.

[8:41] It doesn't make any sense at all. And it's never been true in human history. The Roman officials certainly weren't meek. The Messiah that the Jews wanted was anything but passive. It's certainly not what we value in America, America capitalism and Wall Street or the educational system or our sports environment.

[9:08] It's not meek. It's dog eat dog. That's what we value. Man, get to the top and whoever you got to run over to get there, oh well. Man, you go for it and you do whatever it takes to be in control.

[9:27] The meek will inherit the earth. What ancient Near Eastern stuff are you smoking, Jesus? That doesn't make any sense in any society at all. The meek get their lunch money stolen. The meek don't get asked to prom. The meek are the losers on the playground. There's no one in this room or watching online that would value this approach to life if it weren't Jesus saying so. We would say, blessed are those who don't let anybody push them around. They inherit the earth. But Jesus is about to rearrange the price tags. Look at it. The first, let's begin with the man of meekness. The man of meekness. We're going to start a little differently with this beatitude. We're going to start unpacking what it means to be meek by looking at Jesus. Now, why would we do that? We're doing this because this is how Jesus describes himself. Jesus describes himself as someone who is meek. Look at Matthew 11, verse 28 and 29.

[10:40] Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn for me. Why? Because I am gentle and lowly. That's the same word for meek. I am lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Also, in Matthew chapter 21, do you remember when Jesus rides into Jerusalem on the donkey? They describe him as someone who is humble and meek. So, the Bible, both Jesus says it about himself and others say it about Jesus that he is meek. And so, if he's meek, wouldn't you think that's a good place to start to understand meekness, faith family? So, let's look at some examples of Jesus's meekness just through the eyes of Matthew, since that's the book that we're in. Matthew 21, this is, by the way, right after the meek entry on the lowly donkey. We're going to pick it up in verse 12.

[11:45] Matthew 21, verse 12. And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables and the money changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.

[11:56] And he said to them, it is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers. I thought you said Jesus was meek. And yet he walks into the temple, he flips over the tables, he's calling people out.