Matthew 5:5 "Blessed are the Meek"

1:02I looked up a few definitions of meekness. They included retiring mildness, cowed submission, and easily imposed upon. So basically, weakness. To most people, meekness is weakness. But in our text this morning, Matthew 5:5, Jesus says that. The meek are blessed. But nobody wants to be weak or to be thought of as weak. Nobody wants somebody to say at their funeral, he had a retiring mildness about him. I don't want on my tombstone easily imposed upon. But perhaps we've misunderstood meekness, or maybe we've allowed the world to shape our value system, or both.

2:03So this morning we're going to seek to answer three questions. First, what is meekness? Second, why should we pursue meekness? And third, how do we pursue meekness? So let's start by defining this term. What is meekness? Well, the Greek word used here, and it's used many times all throughout the Bible, it means meek, gentle, or humble. So gentle or humble. Now, if you are a person who is meek, gentle, or humble, you might also be weak. Sometimes those things go together, and surely Jesus has the actually weak person in mind when he says, blessed are the meek.

2:49He ministered to and blessed scores of people who were actually weak. Physically weak, mentally weak, emotionally weak, or spiritually weak. So, no doubt he intends to include those people who are actually weak in this statement, blessed are the meek. But Jesus' statement also applies to the strong. Because another way to define meekness is power under control. Power under control. In fact, this Greek word was used by the Romans to refer to horses that had been broken, powerful animals that could now be controlled with a bit and a bridle.

3:34Meekness in that sense is power under control. And that is certainly the kind of meekness that Jesus himself displayed, power under control. Jesus is meekness incarnate, meekness in the flesh. Look at how he describes himself in Matthew chapter 11. Jesus says, 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 gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

4:14Now, when Jesus says that he is gentle, he's using the exact same Greek word that is used here in Matthew chapter 5, verse 5. So you could translate this verse in Matthew 11, for I am meek and lowly in heart. That's how Jesus describes himself, meek. And he's lowly in heart. He is meekness incarnate, meekness in the flesh. And yet, Jesus was the furthest thing from being a weak person. He stood up to the most powerful people of his society, both religious and political leaders, and he would not recant or back down, even when they threatened his life or when they sentenced him to die.

4:56Jesus made a whip of cords and he cleared the riffraff out of the temple courts so that the Gentiles could pray and worship in peace with all that going on there. Jesus' strength was seen in what he did. But Jesus' strength was also seen in what he did not do, how he chose not to use it. So he did not call down fire on his enemies, he did not call down legions of angels to protect him.

5:32He didn't come down from the cross. Jesus' strength was seen both in what he did and in what he did not do. He demonstrated perfect strength in being reviled but never reviling in return, in being mocked but not lashing out, in being struck and spit on but never retaliating. So Jesus was perfectly meek and yet he was the strongest person who ever lived. Jesus showed that meekness is not necessarily weakness. Meekness can be power under control.

6:08So when Jesus says, blessed are the meek, he's making a statement that can apply to both the weak and the strong. It can apply to everyone, both to people who are actually weak and to those who think in ways that are gentle and humble, or who keep their power under control, just like he did. But as I said earlier, we don't want to be thought of as weak people. Weakness is not an aspirational value for most of us. And so even with all this background, there's usually something in us that says, I don't want to be thought of as meek. I'm not sure I actually want to become a meek person.

6:49So let me give you three reasons that we should desire to be meek. First, the gospel demands meekness. The gospel demands meekness. In Ephesians 4, Paul writes this. Take a look at the screen. I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called with all humility and gentleness. So I want you to look at these verses here. Paul challenges the Ephesians to live in a way that is worthy, worthy. Of the gospel worthy of Christ's life and death and resurrection on their behalf. This is the calling of every Christian to live a life that is worthy of the gospel.

7:43And how does Paul define this life, this life that is worthy of the gospel? Look at those first two words that he chooses. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to describe this life that is lived in a manner that is worthy of the gospel, he says, with all humility and gentleness. You won't be surprised at this point to learn that the word gentleness is the same Greek word translated meek in Matthew 5:5. So when Paul thinks of a life that is worthy of the gospel, the first descriptions that come to his mind under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit are humility and gentleness. Meekness. Brothers and sisters, the gospel demands meekness.

8:33It demands humility. Because the gospel is the news that we are wretched sinners, rebels against God with no ability to save ourselves from the power of sin in our lives or the penalty of our sin. On our own, we sinners are completely without hope. But, friends, the gospel does not stop there, it tells us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. So the message of Christianity is not, as is commonly assumed, God helps those who help themselves.

9:12The message of Christianity is not, you're a bad person, but if you take the initiative and start cleaning up your life, God will help you with the rest. That is not the message of Christianity. That is not the message of the gospel. The message of the gospel is, you are an evil person who has sinned against God and others in countless ways, and you are unable to save yourself from sin's power or penalty. But God so loved you that he sent his only begotten son to do for you what you can't do for yourself, to deliver you from sin's power and sin's penalty, to set you free, to give you an abundant life.

9:59So, friends, if you understand and believe that message, that good news, then there is only one right response: meekness, humility. It is to respond like the tax collector did in Jesus' parable in Luke 18, who looked up to heaven and beat his chest and said, Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. You see, a proud Christian is an oxymoron. Because a Christian, by definition, is one who understands that they cannot do anything to earn God's forgiveness. We have nothing to be proud of.

10:43We can't and didn't deliver ourselves from sin's power or penalty. So we have nothing to be proud about. God's mercy and God's grace are poured out on us as a free gift. So we must pursue meekness because the gospel demands it. Second, we must pursue meekness because God commands it. God commands it. A right understanding of the gospel should lead us to be meek people, as we just saw, people who are characterized by humility and gentleness rather than pride.

11:21The gospel demands meekness, but God goes a step further and he actually commands it in the scriptures. Take a look at Colossians 3. God says through Paul, put on then as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another, and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. See there that we are actually commanded as Christians, as God's chosen people, to put on, to dress ourselves in, to clothe ourselves in humility and meekness. That is the appropriate attire for the believer because you can't even become a Christian without humility.

12:24Humility is required even to be a believer, a follower of Jesus. Look at what James wrote in chapter 4. He said, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. We have to humble ourselves to become Christians in the first place. We have to confess our sin and our inability to save ourselves. And then we must dress ourselves in meekness. We must clothe ourselves in humility every day after that. God commands it because, as we saw earlier in Ephesians chapter 4, it is the way that we walk in a manner worthy of the gospel.

13:06So all Christians must be meek because you can't even be a Christian without meekness, without the humility that comes before God and says, I cannot save myself. I cannot fix my life. I cannot help myself. I need you. But we see also that God commands it. It is commanded of every Christian, and especially. Of those who desire to serve or who are serving as pastors in the church. Look on the screen at 1 Timothy 3. These are the qualifications for those who would serve as elders. The saying is trustworthy. If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, that same word is used interchangeably with pastor or with elder in the Bible.

13:56If anyone aspires to the office of overseer or pastor or elder, he desires a noble task. Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. And look what Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.

14:43So if you aspire to be a pastor in the church, if you aspire to eldership, then meekness and humility and gentleness are not bonus qualities. They're not something that would be nice if you had them. If you were a pastor, God's Word doesn't say it's fine for pastors to be proud and quarrelsome and violent as long as they are good communicators. Lots of large churches and churches that you've never heard of before hired men who were good communicators who were also violent and quarrelsome and proud, not humble or gentle. And that never goes well because it goes against God's word. Meekness and humility and gentleness are not bonus qualities for men who want to serve as pastors. They are ironclad qualifications in scripture laid out to protect God's name from slander, God's people from abuse, and yes, even would-be pastors from themselves.

15:55To be an elder in the church, you must be gentle and humble, or you are disqualified from consideration. You can't serve as an elder in the church and be proud because you can't be a Christian and be proud. To be a proud Christian is an oxymoron. We must pursue meekness because God commands it. And then, third and finally, we must pursue meekness because God blesses meekness. I mean, that seems pretty straightforward from the Beatitude itself, doesn't it? Isn't it? Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. And in saying this, Jesus is almost quoting directly from Psalm 37, which we read earlier today in our call to worship. Look on the screen. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. I want you to focus on that phrase: inherit the land.

16:58Throughout human history, inheritance has always been a big deal. You see this with the man in the crowd who interrupts Jesus and calls out to him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. I mean, that is insane that you bring that up in front of this crowd of people. You interrupted this great rabbi in the middle of his teaching to say, I want you to tell my brother to give me my part of the inheritance. But that's the way it is, isn't it? That checks out. Kids fighting over their parents' money, their parents' land.

17:36And it seems that when it comes to inheritance, like so many other things in this world, the spoil goes to the strong. If you are the loudest, if you are the pushiest, if you are the most demanding, if you can afford the best lawyers, then you will get what you think you deserve. Because that's the way that it usually goes in this world. In this world, the first of First. The last are last. But not in Jesus' kingdom, the kingdom of God. In his kingdom, the first are last, and the last are first. It's not the loud and the proud who inherit, but the gentle and the humble. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Listen to that. Inherit the earth. Not a nice bit of money, not a little bit of property, not some stock options, not even a small fortune. The earth.

18:32Like the whole thing? Yes. After Paul left Corinth, some of the new believers there started to gather into cliques based on their favorite preachers. Some of them said they liked Paul and preferred him, maybe because he led a lot of them to Christ and planted the church. Others said they liked Apollos, maybe because he was an eloquent speaker. Others said they preferred Cephas or Peter, maybe because they liked to fish. I don't know. At any rate, there were divisions among them in the church at Corinth. And so Paul wrote this in 1 Corinthians 3. Take a look.

19:12So let no one boast in men, for all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos 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. Paul argues, why would you boast about your favorite preacher when they all live to serve you? When they, just like you, are members of the body of Christ? For that matter, why would you boast about anything since everything belongs to you in the end, including the world itself?

19:56Remember, friends, the gospel demands meekness. You can't even become a Christian without meekness because it is only the meek or the humble who receive the grace of God. And the meek shall inherit the earth. We must pursue meekness because God blesses meekness. He opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. He exalts the humble. So we've defined meekness. Meekness is gentleness or humility or power under control. We've considered why we must pursue meekness because the gospel demands it, because God commands it, and because God blesses it. And so I want to conclude this morning by answering the question, how? How do we become meek?

20:51And I want to give you four biblical pathways to become a meek person. First, Receive God's word. Receive God's Word. Look at James 1.21. He writes, Therefore, put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. Look at that command: receive with meekness the implanted word. If you want to become a meek person, it all starts with humbly receiving God's word. And friends, we have the opportunity to do that every Sunday morning in worship together, where we hear God's word read and preached. When God's Word is read and preached, it's not a dialogue.

21:57God is speaking to us directly through the Bible as it is read, and then he is speaking to us indirectly through the preacher as he faithfully explains and applies God's word. Our calling is to faithfully listen to God and obey him. Now, listen, there is a place for dialogue in the Christian life, for asking good questions, for discussion, even for debate. There is a place for that. But, friends, that is hardly the problem in our modern society. That we don't have enough spaces for discussion, debate, for asking questions. That's hardly the problem. We need more moments where we are not doing the talking, where we are not doing the posting, where we are not sharing our opinion and our ideas. We need more moments where we are humbly listening, where God is doing the talking and we are listening in order to obey.

23:07But, friends, that practice both requires and creates meekness. By silently listening, we are submitting ourselves to God and to what He has to say. We are saying with our actions, what I need most is to hear from God, not to express my own thoughts and opinions. Every Sunday is an opportunity to grow in meekness, which we do by receiving, humbly receiving God's Word. Second, how do we grow in meekness? Confess your sin, confess your sin. In Scripture, we are commanded to confess our sins both to God and to each other. We confess our sins to God publicly in corporate worship, just like we did earlier. This morning. At other times, we make public confession when our sin has affected many people. Of course, we also confess our sins privately to God and privately to others when we've offended them.

24:13But whatever form it takes, we are commanded to confess our sin both to God and to others. And confessing our sin is one of the most humbling things that we are called to do as Christians. When we confess our sin, we are acknowledging that what we did was wrong and that we are in need of forgiveness. Forgiveness is not something that can be demanded, it is only something that can be requested. And because it's a request, it could be denied. That's one of the things that makes confession so hard. We love to be in control, we love to be in the seat of power.

24:55But when we confess our sins, we are saying to God or to other people, I am in need of mercy and grace in this situation. I do not have the power here. I need something from you. I need mercy and grace. And I am asking for that. I'm asking you to choose to forgive me for what I've done. That is humbling. Like listening to God's word, confession both requires and creates meekness. Third, how do we become meek? Serve me. Others serve others after James and John asked for positions of honor in Jesus' kingdom. I want you to look at what Mark records.

25:44And Jesus called the disciples to him and said to them, You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

26:18In Jesus' kingdom, if you want to be great, you must become a servant of all. Not just the people you like, not just the people who are easy, not just the people who can repay you for what you've done to them. This is one reason that we encourage you not just to attend a faithful local church, but to join it, so that you can serve the body of Christ in real and tangible ways on a regular basis.

26:54Serving other people is hard, it requires us to lay down our rights. Our preferences, and yes, even sometimes our needs. That would not have been a controversial thing to say not that long ago, but that is a very controversial thing to say in the age of self-help, in the age of putting my self-care above everyone else. Tell a new parent that they're supposed to take care of themselves first. How does that go? We know intuitively that's not true. Serving others requires us to lay down our rights, our preferences, and sometimes even our needs, our needs for sleep, for water, for food, for rest, whatever it would be, in order to do what is best for someone else. And friends, I'm concerned we've lost a vision for that in the church. That we are so concerned now, just like the world is, with self-help and with self-care, that we're not even asking the question anymore: where is God calling me to lay down my rights, my preferences, and yes, even at times, my needs to do what is best for someone else?

28:15Serving others is hard. But serving others is greatness in Jesus' kingdom. It both creates and requires meekness. And then, fourth and finally, how do we become meek? Associate with the lowly. Associate with the lowly. Look at Romans 12, 16 on the screen. Paul says, live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Now, the word translated haughty is this compound Greek word that means something like to set your mind on high things. To set your mind on high things. And that's when we think of a haughty person, that's kind of what we have in mind, right? It's a person who is looking down on other people because they've set their mind on high things. They look down on others, they avoid interacting with them. And so what Paul says to us is that as Christians, we have to reject a haughty mindset. But I want you to notice here that he doesn't just say, don't think about people that way.

29:27Do you see that? It's not just a negative thing. Like, I don't want you to think too highly of yourself. He doesn't state it negatively. He says positively, associate with the lowly. Associate with the lowly. In other words, take action. Jesus here, like in so many other places, is not merely concerned with how we think, but how we live our lives, friends. He says, associate with the lowly. So, students, kids, walk across. The cafeteria and sit with those kids. That boy, that girl, those boys, those girls who do not have other friends to sit with because they don't have the right clothes or because they're not athletic or smart or whatever is valued in that circle. Associate with the lowly.

30:25Look the homeless man or woman in the eye. Speak to them with warmth and dignity. Ask how they are. Ask how you can pray. Ask if there's a need that you can meet in that moment. Associate with the lowly. Get to know those junior colleagues at work. Those people who are many rungs lower than you on the corporate ladder. Get to know them. Get to know about their families. Look them in the eyes. Speak with them. Invite them to your home.

31:07Associate with the lowly. But, friends, you got to be prepared for the pushback that comes from your classmates and your neighbors and your coworkers when they're going to say to you, Why are you talking to them? Why are you talking to that person? Why did you go to that table? Why did I see you in our neighborhood talking to that person? We need to make sure that they get removed out of this area because they shouldn't be standing there or sitting there or sleeping there. Or whatever else.

31:32That's where you have the opportunity to say, as a Christian, I'm commanded to associate with the lowly because I myself am lowly. I bring nothing to the table spiritually before God, just as this person can bring nothing to the table, perhaps, in this relationship. So we're commanded to associate with the lowly. That requires and creates meekness. Friends, meekness is humility. It's gentleness. It's power under control. We must pursue it because the gospel demands it, because God commands it, and because God blesses it. And the way we become meek people is by humbly receiving the word, confessing our sin, serving others, and associating with the lowly.

32:26Our text this morning is part of the Sermon on the Mount. And in this sermon, Jesus is addressing his disciples, but he's also talking to this large crowd of people that's gathered around to listen to him speak. And so when he says these words, Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth, he says these words with both his disciples and the crowd in mind. And because of that, these words are both a promise and an invitation.

33:01On the one hand, it's a promise. These words are a promise to every person who has humbled himself or herself before the Lord that because of God's grace, we have a glorious inheritance waiting for us. Friends, in this world, we will have trouble. That's what Jesus promised us: we will have trouble. Some of us will be healthy, wealthy, and successful. But many of us will not be all of those things, and some of us will be none of those things.

33:42And that would be a cause for great despair if this life was all there is. Because if this life is all there is, and you're not healthy, wealthy, and successful, then there is no hope. But the good news for the believer in Jesus Christ is that this life is not all there is, and that we are going to inherit the earth. So it does not matter if you never get the house of your dreams or the job of your dreams, or if you drive a 2006 Honda pilot that drips oil all over the driveway, just in theory, that does not matter because we have a glorious inheritance waiting for us.

34:30That is the good news for the Christian. So here is the promise, friends. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. It puts all of your failures, all of your disappointments, all of your sadnesses into perspective. That one day, though you may not inherit anything in this world, one day, thanks to Christ, you will inherit everything. So that's the promise. But these words are also an invitation. It's an invitation to humble yourself, to lay down the pride that may have kept you until today from confessing your sin to God, from receiving Christ by faith, from being baptized and becoming one of his followers. It is an invitation.

35:22And I want you to consider the fact that Jesus first humbled himself for you. Look on the screen at Philippians chapter 2. 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 the cross. cross Jesus who existed as God for all eternity humbled himself he emptied himself of all of his divine privileges and he came and took on flesh he humbly and meekly lived the life that you and I were called to live but don't a life of complete and perfect obedience to God And then he went to the cross and died in your place for your sins. He rose again on the third day, victorious over sin and death, so that if you will humble yourself this morning and receive his mercy and grace, you too will receive eternal life, forgiveness for your sin, and adoption into God's family. Friends, we are not born meek. We are born full of pride and arrogance that keeps us alienated from God and from each other. But by God's grace, through the person and work of Jesus, we are invited to humble ourselves before him, turn from our sins, confess him as Lord and Savior, and accept his offer of mercy and grace. I hope that you will do that today if you've never done that before. If you do, you will receive eternal life with the earth. thrown in as an added bonus.

37:34Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Let's pray. Father, we confess to you that we don't want to be meek people. That's not something that appeals to us on the surface. We want to be thought of as strong and self-sufficient, a self-made woman or a self-made man. We want to be seen as those who are not in need from other people or from you. But Father, we acknowledge that we are weak. We bring nothing to the table spiritually except for our sin.

38:50And so this morning, Lord, we pray that you would help us to desire to be meek people. And to pursue meekness in our daily lives because we want the blessing that you promised to the meek. You tell us these things not so that we will feel bad about wanting them, but so that our desires will be transformed into the right desires. So, God, we say we do want to inherit the earth. So, help us to turn away from our desire to inherit now, to have health and wealth and prosperity in this life that may never come.

39:42And instead, help us to pursue the perfect health, the perfect wealth, the perfect prosperity that we will enjoy with you in heaven and on earth for eternity through faith in Christ. Thank you, Lord, for your word. Help us to receive it with meekness. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.