Blessed are the Meek

Intro

Recent biographies I’ve enjoyed—people are considered great men, even heroes

George Washington

John Adams

Napoleon the Great

Frederick Douglas

Albert Einstein

Winston Churchill

Every one of these guys were:

alpha males

driven

obstinate

bold and brash (exception of Washington)

egotistical

Here’s a word that doesn’t pop to mind to describe these guys:

meek

Understanding the “beatitudes”

We sometimes avoid talking about them because we don’t always know what to do with them

For some, they seem to have a bit of a “works righteousness” flavor

What do I mean by the term “works righteousness?”

They also sometimes are used as the framework of the social gospel?

What do I mean by the “social gospel”

In other words, some have taken these characteristics to be the very gospel.

>Both of these view represent tragic misconceptions.

->tragic because because they both pervert the saving gospel of Jesus Christ

->misconceptions because these view result from clear misreadings of the text

Matthew 5:11 ESV

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

The concluding blessing assumes union with Christ

it is a blessing to those unjustly treated because of their relationship with Christ

Matthew 5:13 ESV

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

Here again, Christ is speaking of his disciples who are to be the salt and light of the world

the assumption being made is that those to whom Christ is speaking are not the audience generally, but to his disciples specifically

Therefore the descriptions in the beatitudes are not means of earning favor, but the attributes of those on whom the favor of God rests already because of the work of Christ.

Blessed are the Meek