Heavenly Father, we come to these Beatitudes with the recognition that they are beyond our reach.
Apart from Christ, on our own, in our own strength and in our own righteousness, these Beatitudes are beyond our reach.
So Lord, we ask that you would fill us more and more with your Holy Spirit.
That by him we might live more and more in light of our union with Christ and commune with him.
So we bear the fruit of the Spirit, one of which is meekness.
That we might receive your word.
Lord, give us this morning ears to hear, hearts to receive.
That we might receive with meekness the implanted word, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And that it might bear fruit in our lives.
Save those who are lost.
Mature your saints.
Make them more like your Son, Jesus Father.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
If you are able, please stand to honor God's word as I read from Matthew chapter 5 verses 1 to 12.
Seeing the crowd, he 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 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 are before you.
This is God's holy, authoritative word.
He made this here.
From between 1760 and the early 1900s, what we call, what the history books call, the age of imperialism,
when the industrializing nations of Europe colonized and annexed many parts of the world, including the notorious scramble for Africa.
And that doesn't seem like such a distant future nowadays when Russia threatens to gobble up Ukraine and China threatens to gobble up Taiwan.
And whether, however seriously, even our own president talks about buying greenland.
Right.
It seems when we look around at our world that the lands, the world, they belong to people who are aggressive, people who are powerful, people who are forceful, people who have military might.
And this seems to be the case, not only in the geopolitical realm, but also in academia, in the media, in the public squares, the internet, social media.
The people who seem to own the world are people who seem self-assured and aggressive.
People who stand up for themselves and demand their rights.
People who assert themselves and express themselves into more and more territory and influence.
But Jesus' third, the attitude turns all of that on its head.
He says in verse five,
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Who possesses and inherits the world?
Not the proud, not the conquerors, but the meek.
Happy are the meek.
That's another way you can translate that.
Blessed are the meek.
Happy are the meek.
For they shall inherit the earth.
First, we're going to look at the character of the meek.
Second, we're going to look at the examples of the meek.
And then third, we're going to look at the inheritance of the meek as we talk about this verse.
It's fitting first as we look at verse five,
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
To go to the Old Testament to learn the meaning of meekness,
because that verse is alluding to Psalm 37, verse 11,
which says,
But the meek shall inherit the land.
And the Hebrew word for meek is actually the same word for poor
that we talked about last week with the first two Beatitudes.
Beatitude number one was,
Blessed are the poor in spirit.
And so that word has a range of meanings.
It can mean poor, humble, afflicted.
Those who are poor in spirit, as we talked about last week,
are spiritual beggars.
People who recognize their own need for God.
People who recognize that they are cripples in need of a crutch.
Sick.
People who recognize their sickness and recognize their need for a doctor.
When we recognize our own poverty of spirit,
we can't help but mourn.
And it's only those who are poor in spirit and therefore mourn
that can be meek, as we talk about in verse.
Five.
Psalm 37 describes something that meekness does,
and then it describes something that meekness does not do.
What does meekness do?
According to verse 2 and verse 5 of Psalm 37,
you're actually, you're welcome to turn there with me
because I'm going to park there for a little bit.
Psalm 37, verse 2 and verse 5,
it says,
Trust in the Lord.
Commit your way to the Lord.
Trust in Him and He will act.
To trust someone is to rely on someone.
To place your security and your confidence in another person.
It comes from a root word that means to fall to the ground.
Because when you fall prostrate on the ground,
it's the exact opposite of a fighting posture.
Ready to pounce and ready to strike,
ready to defend yourself.
When you're on the ground, there's nothing you can do.
You're helpless.
You have placed yourself in the trust of someone else.
In the confidence and security of someone else.
That's what it means to trust God.
To place yourself completely at His mercy.
Instead of keeping your guard up and fending for yourself,
it means to entrust yourself to God,
knowing that He will act on your behalf.
So it means to trust Him.
It's related to the word commit in verse 5.
Commit your way to the Lord.
That's a translation of a Hebrew word
that literally means to roll something away.
To commit your way to the Lord means to roll your fears,
to roll your distress,
and to roll your concerns and needs all over to God.
Say, here you go, God.
This is beyond my pay grade.
I can't deal with this.
Here you go, God.
Rolling it over to God.
It's a form of relinquishment,
surrendering of control.
Sometimes when we pray to God
or commit our way to Him,
we treat it like a game of paddle ball.
I don't know if you guys have played paddle ball before.
Some of my kids came back with a paddle ball
from a birthday party favor.
It's like a wooden racket paddle
with a ball,
but the ball is attached to it
by this stretchy string.
So it's a one-player game
and you're trying to hit the ball
as many times as you can.
It just keeps coming back to you.
And I think sometimes
when we commit our way to God,
when we try to trust in Him
or pray to Him,
we treat it like a game of paddle ball.
Instead of actually rolling things over to Him,
it's like, boom,
and then it comes right back.
Instead of rolling it over to Him,
we say, well, here, God.
Take it.
And then you just never let go of it.
You keep holding on to it.
It's like a botched baton exchange
in a track and field race or something
because you keep holding on to the baton.
But to truly trust in the Lord
is to roll over our way to Him.
The meek are not self-sufficient people.
They recognize that God is sufficient.
The meek are not,
I'll do it all by myself,
the people.
They ask God to act
and they roll over their concerns to Him.
This leads to another action
related to meekness.
Psalm 37, verse 11,
the meek shall inherit the land.
That is paralleled by Psalm 37, verse 9,
which says those who wait for the Lord
shall inherit the land.
The parallel construction suggests to us
that meekness involves waiting on the Lord.
This makes sense
because if we really entrust ourselves to God
and roll over our ways to Him,
then the matter is really out of our hands at that point
and we have no choice but to wait for Him to act.
Verse 7 echoes the same sentiment.
Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for Him.
We wait patiently,
rather than getting antsy and fidgety.
We are still and silent before the Lord
rather than being busy bees
that are buzzing around everywhere
trying to solve all of our problems.
The Hebrew word for wait
used in verse 9
is sometimes translated as hope.
And it's derived from a Hebrew word
that means taught,
like a guitar string that is taught
rather than loose or slack.
It's a word that means tension,
something that is taught.
It's a very apt word to describe waiting
if you think about it.
When there is tension,
something is not yet resolved.
If a rubber band is stretched out
and it is taught,
there is tension that's waiting to be released
and as soon as you let go,
it returns to its original form.
It springs back.
Similarly,
if you are waiting for something,
then you are waiting for the release
or the resolution of something
that is yet to come.
Imagine waiting for a friend
that has not yet arrived at a cafe.
You're meeting a friend
and you're waiting for your friend.
You're waiting
because you're expecting your friend to arrive.
When you stop waiting
and you leave the cafe,
that's when you have given hope,
given up hope.
You're no longer waiting.
You're no longer hoping.
You don't expect your friend to arrive.
If you don't think that God is actually there,
if you don't think that God's actually going to answer,
if you don't expect God to actually show up
and act in your life,
then you're going to treat your prayers
like praying into the empty air,
never looking for or expecting an answer.
You will think that God helps
those who help themselves
and you'll take matters into your own hands.
Seen in this way,
waiting is not a dreadful thing.
It's actually a very hopeful thing.
You wait because there's still hope.
So to be meek
is to not give up on God,
to hope,
to wait on Him,
to trust in Him,
knowing that still He will act.
To be meek
is to live in this tension
between present reality
or present struggles,
present faith,
and future reality.
When guitar strings are loose,
you can't play any music,
just clattering of metal strings.
It's only when it is taught,
when there's tension,
that it produces music.
The same is true for the believer.
It's only those who live
between the already kingdom,
the kingdom of God
that has already been inaugurated,
and the kingdom of God
that is not yet consummated.
Only people who learn to live
in that tension
between the already
and the not yet,
between Christ's first coming
and His second coming
that can produce
this beautiful music of weakness.
It's this waiting on God
that enables the meek
not to take justice
and vengeance
into their own hands.
Again and again,
if you look at Psalm 37,
it says,
fret not.
Fret not yourself
because of evil doers.
Be not envious
of wrongdoers.
Verse 7 and 9.
7 and 9.
Fret not yourself
over the one
who prospered in His way,
over the man
who carries out evil devices.
Refrain from anger
and forsake wrath.
Fret not yourself.
It tends only to evil
for the evildoers
shall be cut off,
but those who wait
for the Lord
shall inherit the land.
This is where things
get a little harder
for us, isn't it?
As proud people,
it's hard enough already
for us to be poor in spirit
and mourn,
to admit that we are sinners
and to humble ourselves
before God
and to mourn our sins.
That's already hard enough.
And so we daily depend
on the convicting work
and the comforting work
of the Holy Spirit
in our lives
so that we can be broken
and contrite in spirit
before God.
But being humble
and poor
before God
is one thing.
Being meek,
being humble
and poor
before others,
other fellow creatures,
fellow sinners
is another.
That's even harder.
Of course,
we should be meek
and lowly before God.
He is God
and we are not.
He is holy
and we are sinful.
But what about
these other people
who are just as sinful
as I am?
Fellow creatures.
We are their equals.
And in our pride,
we often,
in our self-delusion,
we like to think
that we are better
and more deserving
than those around us
and which is why
we are resentful
and bitter
when others
are doing better
than we are,
when others
are promoted
before us,
when others
get married
before us,
when others
have children
before us,
when others
get published
before us,
we fret.
That's not there.
When we are
disrespected
by other people,
when we are
disregarded
by other people,
when we are
treated like dirt
by other people,
we fret
because who likes
being stepped on
all over?
When evildoers
are not cut off,
when they are
inheriting the land,
we can become
indignant
at the injustice
of it all
and take matters
into our own hands
and get angry,
give way to anger
and wrath,
as it says here.
But God says,
refrain from anger
and forsake wrath.
Fret not yourself.
It tends only to evil.
Instead,
the meek
leave vengeance
to God.
As it says
in Romans 12, 19,
Beloved,
never avenge yourselves,
but leave it
to the wrath
of God,
for it is written,
vengeance is mine.
I will repay,
says the Lord.
The meek
fret not
because
they're not
done
waiting on God
yet.
Yes,
the evil
are not
caught off yet.
yes,
the evil
inherit the land
still,
but I'm not
done
waiting on God
yet.
So they fret not.
The meek
shall inherit
the earth.
This is where
we get the
popular meaning
of the word
meek.
It means,
as Merriam-Webster
Dictionary
puts it this way,
enduring
injury
with patience
and without
resentment.
the meek
are not
defensive.
They are
not sensitive.
They're not
defensive because
they have a
strong defender
in God.
The meek
are calm
and steady
in the midst
of upheaval
and unfair
treatment because
their God
is an
immovable
fortress.
This is why
only Christians
can truly
be meek.
remember what
I said last
week.
God is the
ultimate
blessed one.
So that
state of
blessedness,
happiness,
blessed are
the meek,
cannot be
found apart
from God
himself.
It's part of
the fruit of
the Spirit.
Galatians 5.23,
it's often
translated gentleness,
but it's the same
word as here,
meekness.
These are
Holy Spirit
born traits.
These are not
the natural
temperament of
human beings
or a certain
personality that
people have.
We can easily
confuse this
with people
who tend to
appear to have
a meek
personality or
temperament,
but that's not
the meekness,
that's the fruit
of the Spirit
that is described
here.
D. Martin
Lloyd-Jones is
helpful.
He puts it
this way in his
book,
Studies in the
Sermon on the
Mount,
which is really
just a collection
of his sermons.
He says,
there are people
who appear to be
meek in a natural
sense,
but they are not
meek at all.
They are indolent.
We're lazy.
That is not the
quality of which
the Bible is
speaking,
nor does it
mean flabbiness.
I use the term
advisably.
There are people
who are easygoing,
and you tend to
say how meek
they are,
but it is not
meekness,
it is flabbiness.
Nor does it
mean niceness.
There are people
who seem to be
born naturally
nice.
That is not
what the Lord
means when he
says,
blessed are the
meek.
Nor does it
mean weakness
in personality
or character.
Still less
does it mean a
spirit of compromise
or peace at any
price.
How often are
these things
mistaken?
How often is
the man regarded
as meek who
says anything
rather than have
a disagreement?
Let's agree.
Let's try to
break down these
distinctions and
divisions.
Let's smooth over
these little things
that divide.
Let's all be nice
and joyful and
happy.
No, no, it is
not that.
Meekness is
compatible with
great strength.
Meekness is
compatible with
great authority
and power.
These people we
have looked at
have been great
defenders of the
truth.
The meek man is
one who may so
believe in standing
for the truth
that he will die
for it if necessary.
The martyrs
were meek,
but they were
never weak.
Strong men,
yet meek men.
This is a
needful
qualification.
Meekness is
not the same
thing as
weakness.
The powerless
and the
powerful may
both be
meek in
Christ.
The Greek
word that's
used in the
passage for
meek is
most often
found outside
of the Bible
to describe
animals.
In particular
to describe
animals that
are calm
or tame.
The Greek
philosopher
Xenophon
says this,
As you know,
we call those
creatures noble
that are
beautiful,
great,
and helpful,
and yet
gentle or
meek toward
men.
For example,
a powerful
ox that is
tame and
gentle toward
the farmer.
In one
instance,
Xenophon
comments that
warhorses that
have done
hard work,
that have been
drilled and
have been
run hard,
worked hard,
will stand
meekly together
with other
warhorses.
soldiers.
And he
adds that
soldiers,
when they
are well
drilled,
like these
warhorses,
they will
be certainly
more courageous
in the face
of the enemy.
We can see
from these
illustrations that
meekness does
not refer to
weakness.
Who would
ever call an
ox or a
horse weak?
They are
massive,
powerful animals,
but they are
meek when they
are tamed.
when their
strength is
under control.
A wild,
unbroken
stallion,
despite all
its strength,
is completely
useless in
battle.
But a
meek
stallion,
who heeds
the call of
its master
and can
come to
heal in
a command
in a
moment's
time,
and can
gallop
into the
din of
battle at
one
command,
that meek
stallion
is very
useful.
Great
asset in
battle.
Meekness
also does
not mean
that you
cannot ever
contend for
or argue
for the
truth.
Meekness,
as Martin
Lloyd-Jones
said earlier,
is not
agreeableness,
agreement at
all costs.
That's not
what meekness
is.
Nowadays,
identity
politics is
the name
of the
game,
and people
think that
it's your
identity
that gives
you the
right to
speak.
It's your
identity that
makes you
credible.
If you
belong to
a particular
race,
or ethnicity,
or nationality,
or religion,
or gender,
or sexual
preference,
or caste,
or class,
or disability,
then you're
allowed to
speak.
Then you're
allowed to
speak with
authority on
certain things.
And if you
don't belong to
those classes,
then, well,
you should
just shut up
and listen.
That's what
they say.
But that's
what G.K.
Chesterton
calls the
dislocation of
humility,
or dislocation
of modesty.
He wrote
this in his
book,
Orthodoxy,
in 1908.
What we
suffer from
today is
humility in
the wrong
place.
Modesty
has moved
from the
organ of
ambition.
Modesty
has settled
upon the
organ of
conviction,
where it
was never
meant to
be.
A man
was meant
to be
doubtful
about himself,
but undoubting
about the
truth.
This has
been exactly
reversed.
Nowadays,
the part of
a man that
a man does
assert is
exactly the
part he ought
not to
assert himself.
The part he
doubts is
exactly the
part he ought
not to
doubt,
the divine
reason.
We're on
the road to
producing a
race of
men too
mentally
modest to
believe in
the
multiplication
they are.
He said
this,
can you
guys believe
it,
over 100
years ago.
And we've
already arrived
in 2025.
Cambridge
Public Schools,
I found out
when I went
to the
parent-teacher
meeting with
my daughter,
they've
changed the
way they
teach long
division,
because the
way they have
taught long
division,
they've been
just inequitable.
How is
long division
inequitable?
That's a
dislocation of
modesty.
That's false
humility.
It must be
the problem
with the
way we
teach it,
because surely
it cannot be
the problem
with those
students.
Nowadays,
people say,
well, this
is my
personal
opinion.
When they
say, well,
this is my
personal opinion,
then it's
almost as if
they assume
automatically
now their
opinion is
sacrosanct,
is no longer
contestable.
Well, this
is my
personal opinion.
Yes, everybody
is entitled
to their
personal opinion,
but that
doesn't mean
your opinion
is reasonable.
Nobody is
entitled to
their own
version of
the truth,
because there
is only
one truth.
Meekness
does not
mean that
we make
no claim
on another
person's
opinion or
other person's
belief.
Meekness
does not
mean that
we never
share our
Christian faith
with others.
You believe,
you do you,
and I do me.
You believe what
you believe,
and I'll
believe what I
believe.
Meekness does
not mean that
we never
correct others.
Oh, I think
I would never
do that
personally, but
I'm not going
to say anything
about it.
No, meekness
brings correction.
Meekness speaks
the truth.
Meekness does
not mean we
don't do
these things.
It just
changes the
way we do
these things.
When Paul is
addressing the
Corinthians who
mock him,
Paul is
humble and
face-to-face.
He's only bold
when he is away
from us and
writing his
letters.
That's what
Corinthians were
mocking him.
And then Paul
says to them,
he entreats them,
in 2 Corinthians
10 verse 1,
by the meekness
and gentleness
of Christ.
Paul says to
them in 1 Corinthians
4.21,
what do you
wish?
Shall I come
to you with
a rod or
with love in
the spirit of
gentleness?
Same word,
meekness.
Galatians 6.1
says,
brothers,
if anyone is
caught in any
transgression,
you who are
spiritual should
restore him in
a spirit of
gentleness or
meekness.
Same word.
The Lord's
servant,
it says in
2 Timothy 2.24-25,
must not be
quarrelsome,
but kind to
everyone,
able to teach,
patiently enduring
evil,
correcting his
opponents with
gentleness.
Again,
the same word,
meekness.
And this applies
to all of us,
not just to
the servants
of the Lord.
1 Peter 3.15,
in your hearts
honor Christ
the Lord as
holy,
always being
prepared to
make a
defense to
anyone who
asks you for
a reason for
the hope that
is in you.
Yet do it
with gentleness
and respect.
Same word,
meekness.
Meekness of
wisdom,
James 3.17
says,
is first pure
and peaceable,
gentle,
open to reason,
full of mercy
and good fruits,
impartial and
sincere.
Two people
might disagree
strongly and
even argue
passionately,
but if they
are meek,
they're going
to be
teachable,
they're going
to be
peaceable,
they're going
to be
gentle and
open to
reason,
they're going
to be
impartial and
sincere.
So yes,
we are supposed
to make a
defense for
our faith in
Jesus Christ.
We are supposed
to correct our
opponents and
restore them
to a
caracad
in transgression,
but we do
all of those
things with
meekness,
in a non-quaralsome
way,
non-self-defensive
way.
The goal is
to defend
the truth,
not to
defend
ourselves.
Having defined
meekness,
now let's look
at some
examples of
the meek
from scripture.
We'd be
remiss to
omit Moses,
since we're
told,
it's quite a
compliment in
Numbers 12
verse 3,
Now the
man Moses
was very
meek,
more than
all people
who were
on the
face of
the earth.
That's
pretty amazing.
We learn
that personal
detail about
Moses while
he's facing
intense
personal
criticism,
and not
from anybody,
from people
who are closest
to him,
his own
brother and
sister,
Aaron and
Miriam.
who are
also leaders
in the
Israelite
camp,
with prominent
positions and
influence.
He says in
Numbers 12,
1-2,
Miriam and
Aaron spoke
against Moses
because of
the Cushite
woman whom
he had
married,
for he
had married
a Cushite
woman.
And they
said,
Has the
Lord indeed
spoken only
through Moses?
Has he
not spoken
through us
also?
The
narrator
confirms
Miriam and
Aaron's
accusation
Moses did
marry a
Cushite
woman.
Faithful
Jews should
have
married
other
faithful
Jews
to
continue
their
faith,
protect,
and
safeguard
the
covenant.
Moses,
however,
was married
to a
Cushite
woman.
Miriam and
Aaron were
also right
that God
hadn't only
spoken through
Moses.
It was
true.
God had
spoken through
Aaron and
Miriam,
and we
see that
throughout
the book
of Exodus.
So what
they're
saying is
surface level
and it's
true.
But what
they're
implying,
however,
is very
false.
Because they're
suggesting
Moses doesn't
keep the
law of God.
Moses doesn't
deserve to
lead the
people of
God.
let's
find someone
more
qualified.
Oh,
look,
we're
right
here.
Miriam and
Aaron.
There are
many lines
of defense
that Moses
could have
taken.
If I
were Moses'
lawyer in
this situation,
there are
many things
I could
have said.
Miriam and
Aaron,
don't you
know,
somebody
really powerful
named Pharaoh
was trying
to kill
me.
I was
exiled and
living in the
wilderness of
Miriam for
40 years.
Where am I
supposed to
find a
Jewish woman
to marry?
I never
thought I
would see my
people again.
And plus,
Zipporah and
her family have
only been good
to me and
she is now a
faithful follower
of Yahweh.
You think
that I want
to do this?
I told God
many times I
don't want to
do this.
But he
told me I
have to do
it.
He told me I
have to speak
for him.
He told me I
have to lead
the people of
God.
I didn't
choose this.
God put me
in this
position.
I didn't
choose this.
God put me
in this position.
But what's
amazing about
this passage is
not what
Moses says,
it's what he
doesn't say.
He doesn't
say a
thing.
Do you
know who
says
something?
Not
Moses.
God.
It says in
verse 5 and
10,
Numbers 12,
and the
Lord came
down in a
pillar of
cloud and
stood at
the entrance
of the
tent and
called Aaron
and Miriam.
And they
both came
forward and
he said,
hear my
words.
If there
is a prophet
among you,
I, the
Lord, make
myself known
to him in
a vision.
I speak
with him
in a
dream.
Not so
with my
servant
Moses.
He's
faithful in
all my
house.
With him
I speak
mouth to
mouth,
clearly,
and not in
riddles,
and he
beholds a
form of
the Lord.
Why then
were you not
afraid to
speak against
my servant
Moses?
And the
anger of
the Lord
was kindled
against him
and he
departed.
When the
cloud removed
from over
the tent,
behold,
Miriam was
leprous like
snow.
Probably
because Miriam
was the
instigator.
That's why
her name
is named
first in
verse 1.
This is an
illustration of
meekness.
This is the
reason why
the narrator
inserted that
comment in
verse 3.
Now the
man Moses
was very
meek,
more than
all the
people who
were on
the face
of the
earth.
Because he
was meek,
Moses did
not fret
when his
authority and
his integrity
were unfairly
questioned and
challenged.
He committed
his way to
the Lord.
He rolled
over his
way to
the Lord
and waited
patiently for
God.
And God
graciously
acts.
He doesn't
have to,
but God
acts.
King David
is another
great example,
one of my
various examples.
While he
is still a
servant of
King Saul,
the envious
Saul, who
knows that
David's becoming
more popular
and that
David's the
one who's
destined to
be king,
starts trying
to kill
him.
And David
escapes by a
hair several
times from
Saul's grip.
And then
later on,
when he
has two
opportunities,
not one,
two opportunities
to kill
Saul, take
his life,
he refuses
to raise up
his hand
against Saul.
And the
reason is
because Saul
is still
the Lord's
anointed.
Yes, he's
imperfect.
Yes, he has
sinned, but
he's the
Lord's anointed.
It's remarkable
meekness.
Never mind
that prophet
Samuel earlier
in 1 Samuel
15-26 have
already pronounced
the Lord's
rejection of
Saul.
You have
rejected the
word of the
Lord.
The Lord
has rejected
you from
being king
over his
will.
Never mind
that prophet
Samuel has
already anointed
David to be
the next king
in 1 Samuel
16-13.
It would have
been so easy
for David to
justify killing
Saul.
He tried to
kill me many
times.
This is
self-defense.
And he's
been rejected
by God.
This is
divine
sanction.
I'm supposed
to be king.
This is right.
This is
destiny.
And God
has brought
him right
here and I
can just
kill him.
He's asleep.
And yet he
doesn't do it.
It's as if he
has this
allergic reaction
to doing
anything to
harm the
Lord's
anointed.
It's his
fear of
God.
It stays
his hand.
How can
I touch
the Lord's
anointed?
If God
is going
to
impose
him,
let him
do it.
I will
have no
part in
destroying
the Lord's
anointed.
George Orwell
wrote in the
dystopian novel
1984,
we know
that no
one ever
seizes
power with
the intention
of relinquishing
it.
Power is
not a
means,
it is an
end.
One does
not establish
a dictatorship
in order to
safeguard a
revolution.
One makes
the revolution
in order to
establish a
dictatorship.
isn't this
too often
true in
our sinful
world?
And for
that reason,
we think
this is very
common
knowledge.
This is how
Washington,
D.C.
is run.
People assume
that if you
want power,
you have to
seize it.
But David
does not
seize power.
He does
not seize
authority for
himself.
He waits
for the
Lord to
give him
the kingship
that he
promised.
That's
meekness.
And then,
obviously,
he's not
perfect.
He is
very far
from perfect.
He sins,
commits adultery
with Bathsheba,
and then he
arranges for
her husband,
Uriah,
to be killed.
And because
of that,
he's confronted
by prophet
Nathan,
who comes
to him and
says,
you are the
man who
did these
wicked things.
And in
David's
response,
and this is
the punishment
that's pronounced
on him,
is that he's
going to have
rebellion on
his hand.
One of his
own is going
to overthrow
him.
And he
is going
to sleep
with his
wives in
broad daylight
while everybody's
watching him.
This is the
punishment,
consequence of
his own
grave sin.
And yet,
when that is
told to him,
there's not a
hint of self-defense
or self-justification
or a plea for
the commutation of
his sentence.
David simply
says,
I have sinned
against the Lord.
That's
poverty of spirit.
mourning.
And then
later on,
in 2 Samuel 16,
when Nathan's
prophecy is
fulfilled,
Absalom,
his son,
stages a coup
and overthrows
David.
And then he
proceeds to
sleep with all
of his
concubines that
have been
left in the
palace.
And as he
is fleeing
in shame
with his
soldiers,
his army,
and as he's
leaving,
there's a
man named
Shimei who
is from the
household of
Saul.
And he
starts slandering
him and
reviling him
and cursing
him and
pelting him
with stones,
saying,
Get out!
Get out,
you man of
blood!
You worthless
man!
The Lord has
avenged on you
all the blood
of the house
of Saul,
in whose place
you have
reigned.
And the Lord
has given
the kingdom
into the
hand of
your son
Absalom.
See,
your evil
is on you,
for you are
a man of
blood.
It's quite
an unfair
criticism if
you consider
the fact that
David,
that the length
that David went
to not lay
a hand on
Saul.
And not
only that,
David's not
alone when
he's being
reviled in
this way.
He's surrounded
by his
mighty men.
All the
people and
all the
mighty men
were on
his right
hand,
on his
left,
as he's
being
mistreated
in this
way.
And one
of his
mighty men,
Abishai,
says this
to David,
Why should
this dead
dog curse
my Lord,
the king?
Let me
go over
and take
off his
head.
And then
David says
to him,
if he is
cursing because
the Lord has
said to him,
curse David,
who then
shall say,
why have you
done so?
Leave him
alone and
let him
curse,
for the Lord
has told him
to.
It may be
that the Lord
will look on
the wrong
God to me,
and that the
Lord will repay
me with good
for his
cursing today.
That's what
meekness
looks like.
17th century
English
pastor John
Bunyan
penned this
hymn.
It's found
inside his
book,
Pilgrim's
Progress.
He that
is down
needs fear
no fall.
He that
is low
no pride.
He that
is humble
ever shall
have God
to be
his guide.
When you
are already
poor in
spirit,
when you're
mourning your
sins already,
you cease
to be sensitive
and defensive
because he
that is
down already
have no
need to
fear
falling.
Charles
Spurgeon
once said
this in
one of his
sermons,
Brothers,
if any
man thinks
ill of
you,
do not
be angry
with him,
for you
are worse
than he
thinks you
to be.
If he
charges you
falsely on
some point,
yet be
satisfied,
for if he
knew you
better,
he might
change the
accusation,
and you
would be
no gainer
by the
correction.
If you
have your
moral portrait
painted and
it is ugly,
be satisfied,
for it
only needs
a few
blacker
touches,
and it
would be
still nearer
the truth.
It's
hard,
isn't it,
when you
are unfairly
treated as
we deem,
when you
are slandered
or when
you are
spoken ill of,
but in
truth,
in light
of God's
holiness,
aren't we
all doing
so much
better than
this?
aren't we
all treated,
showered with
so much
love and
affection and
respect that
we don't
deserve?
The meek
are not
sensitive or
defensive because
they see in
themselves nothing
worth defending.
to motivate and
encourage us in
this hard
truth,
in our
meekness,
Jesus gives
us a promise
in the second
half of verse
five,
they shall
inherit the
earth.
Again,
it's so
counterintuitive.
The meek
seem to us
with worldly
lenses like the
last people
will ever
inherit the earth.
but not
according to
Jesus.
And like
all of the
beatitudes,
there's a
present and
a future
dimension.
Remember the
present tense
promise of
verse three
and verse
ten,
for theirs
is the
kingdom of
heaven.
These are,
to a certain
degree,
already our
possession.
Theirs is the
kingdom of
heaven.
But it's not
yet fully
ours,
because the
kingdom of
heaven is not
consummated yet.
And those
are what the
future promises
of verses
four to
nine capture.
They shall
inherit the
earth.
So in what
sense do we
already inherit
the earth?
Second
Corinthians
six,
ten,
Paul describes
himself as
sorrowful yet
always rejoicing,
as poor yet
making many
rich,
as having
nothing yet
possessing
everything.
How does
this poor
itinerant
tent making
preacher think
that he
possesses
everything?
First
Corinthians
three,
21 to
23,
he says,
so let
no one
boast in
men,
for all
things are
yours,
whether Paul
or Apollos
or Seth
or Cephas
or the
world or
life or
death or
the present
or the
future,
all are
yours and
you are
Christ's and
Christ is
God's.
The whole
world is
ours.
And what's
his logic?
God is
all in all.
He's the
one who
fills all
things.
He's the
one who
owns all
things and
possesses
all things.
God is
all in
all.
And
Christ is
of God.
He's the
son of
God,
the representative
of God.
And we
are in
Christ through
faith.
So we
are of
Christ and
all that
belongs to
Christ
belongs to
us.
And so
Paul
raises,
all is
yours,
all the
world.
Because
God says
in Psalm
50,
verse 12,
the world
and its
fullness
are mine.
we live
in a
pretty small
house,
750 square
foot
apartment.
And we're
so grateful
for it
because it's
God's provision
for us.
And sometimes I
joke with the
kids and say,
we have the
biggest backyard
in all of
Cambridge.
Because
Gore Park
is right
behind.
And that's
true in
a far
deeper sense
for all
of us.
Maybe you
live in a
tiny hole
in the
wall in
the city.
Maybe you
feel like
you inherit
very little
of the
world.
Maybe you
feel like
you have
nothing to
show.
Maybe you
don't have
much to
show.
Maybe you
don't have
nothing to
post on
social media
to post
about,
to show
people about.
But guess
what?
The cattle
of a thousand
hills belongs
to the
Lord.
And it's
yours.
This whole
world belongs
to you.
Because it
belongs to
Jesus.
But it
raises the
all-inclined
question.
What if
you were
not meek?
meek?
How do
you become
meek?
You want
to inherit
the earth,
but how do
you become
meek?
As I said
earlier,
there's no
true meekness
apart from
Christ.
Matthew uses
this word
meek two
more times
in his
gospel,
in the
gospel of
Matthew.
And in
both of
those times,
it refers
to Jesus.
in Matthew
21,
verse 5,
as Jesus
enters
Jerusalem
riding on
a donkey,
he is
described as
fulfilling the
prophecy of
Zechariah 9,
9.
Behold,
your king
is coming
to you
humble,
same word,
meek,
and mounted
on a donkey,
on a colt,
the foal of
a beast of
burden.
The word
humble there
is the same
word,
like I said
is meek.
Imagine
King Jesus
coming into
Jerusalem.
He's coming
into hostile
territory where
He will be
framed with
false trumped
charges and
He will be
sent to the
cross to
be executed
as a slave
and as a
criminal that
He is not.
And as He
comes to
Jerusalem,
He does not
gallop in on
a war horse,
on a stallion.
He rides in
gently in
peace on
a donkey,
on a
beast of
burden.
Meekness.
And that's
the same
word that
Jesus uses
of Himself
in Matthew
11,
29 that
we read
from our
assurance
of pardon.
Come to
me,
all who
labor and
are heavy
laden,
and I
will give
you rest.
Take my
yoke upon
you and
learn from
me.
For I
am meek,
gentle,
and lowly
in heart,
and you
will find
rest for
your souls.
For my
yoke is
easy and
my burden
is light.
Because
Jesus came
not to
labor,
burdens on
His
people,
but to
lift up
their
burdens.
Because
Jesus came
not to
condemn
His
people,
but to
save His
people,
to justify
them,
and to
redeem
them.
Jesus
could have
come to
condemn
all of
us.
He
could have
come in
haughtiness.
He could
have come
in judgment,
in self,
in righteousness.
And yet
instead He
came in
humility and
meekness.
And you
wonder why
all throughout
the Gospels
sinners flock
to Him.
Tax
collectors
flock to
Him.
They
don't
think,
oh,
Jesus,
He's
too holy,
holier than
I can't
be with
Him.
They
flock to
Him.
Why?
Because He's
meek.
Because He
dies.
He comes
to die.
Instead of
coming to
kill,
He comes
to be
killed as
a sacrificial
lamb.
He could
have defended
Himself.
He could
have defended
Himself before
God in
Gethsemane.
He says,
God, what
have I done?
Father, what
have I done?
Take this
cup from
me.
Instead, He
says, but
only if,
according to
your will and
not mine.
When He's
being tried in
court, He
could have
defended
Himself, but
He doesn't.
He goes
like a lamb
to the
slaughter, and
just as a
sheep before it
shears His
silence, so
Jesus does
not open
His mouth,
and in
meekness He
dies, so
they can
save those
who put
their faith
in Him.
And that's
what it
means to
be meek, and
that's how
you become
meek.
Maybe you're
not yet a
follower of
Christ.
To become
meek is to
take that
first step
of faith.
Your first
act of
meekness is
to receive
with meekness
the implanted
word, as it
says in
James 1
21, put
away all
filthiness and
rampant wickedness
and receive
with meekness
the implanted
word, which
is able to
save your
souls.
This is the
path to
salvation.
Stop trying to
inherit the
earth with
your own
strength and
with your own
power.
Stop trying to
justify yourself
with your own
righteousness.
Stop trying to
fight for
yourself and
fend for
yourself.
Instead, receive
with meekness the
implanted word.
Say, Christ is
enough.
Say, Christ is
my defender.
Christ is my
righteousness.
And that
saves
souls.