Sermon on the Mount - Meekness

Sermon on the Mount – Blessed are the Meek

Matthew 5:5

Matthew 5:5 ESV

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

1. Introduction – Today we dive into the 3rd Beatitude. And much like we saw last time…this Beatitude is a natural progression from the first 2.

a. First, we have the fundamental position of being poor in spirit – recognizing our nothingness before God.

i. That should lead us to mourn – mourn over our sin and the sins of the world…

1. And as we become aware of our sin…that in turn leads to a spirit of meekness.

b. Our task this morning is similar to the previous few weeks.

i. We are going to look at meekness. We’ll look at what meekness isn’t…we’ll look at what it is.

1. We’ll look at biblical examples of meekness, and we’ll close this morning by looking at the incredible reward that is promised to the meek.

a. Hear God’s Word – Matthew 5:5

2. What it’s NOT

– Meekness is a word that has pretty much lost all meaning in our English vocabulary.

a. But, that was also the case in Jesus’ day. People had no concept of what meekness was…and it most likely shocked people to hear Jesus say, “Blessed are the meek…”

i. And it probably shocked them even more to hear him say, “for they will inherit the earth.”

1. In their day…and in ours…we value strength and fortitude…but Jesus says the way up is actually down.

b. But what is meant by this word meek? What characteristics…what quality is Jesus thinking of when he says this Beatitude?

i. Well, let’s start by looking at what it doesn’t mean…then we’ll look at a biblical definition of meekness.

1. First – when Jesus says “blessed are the meek…” he isn’t talking about a natural human disposition.

a. Meekness, like poor in spirit, like mourning, like hungering and thirsting after righteousness…those things aren’t natural human dispositions.

i. Meekness isn’t natural…niceness…kindness…those are natural. They are some people who are just inherently nice. It’s part of their personality.

1. Some have a nice disposition – they don’t have to try to kind, they just are.

ii. But kindness and meekness aren’t interchangeable terms. Because meekness is only developed by the work of the Holy Spirit.

1. I say this because meekness is listed among the 9 fruit of the Spirit that Paul writes about in Galatians 5.

a. Paul writes that if we are truly walking with and keeping in step with the Holy Spirit – they there will be identifying fruit in our lives.

i. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness…and it’s that word gentleness in Galatians 5:23 that elsewhere is translated meekness.

1. The same word is used in Matthew 5:5 and in Galatians 5:23. Blessed are the meek…the fruit of the Spirit is meekness…gentleness.

iii. So Jesus isn’t simply talking about basic human niceness here.

1. He is talking about a supernatural quality that flies in the face of what the world values and holds dear.

a. Meekness, as the Bible sees it, can only be brought into our lives through the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.

i. And remember…meekness…along with all the other qualities mentioned in the Beatitudes…these are qualities that ALL Christians are called to have.

1. Meekness isn’t reserved for a select few…but is a characteristic that should define every Christian everywhere.

c. Also know this – when Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek…” he isn’t referring to weakness.

i. It’s not that when we are meek, we are doormats and we let people walk all over us…

1. Or we are pushovers or all of a sudden, we become passion-less.

a. In a few minutes we are going to look at some biblical examples of meekness. I’m going to briefly mention a few names…

i. But before we look at those examples know this…each and every one of them – they weren’t pushovers…they weren’t passion-less.

1. They were meek…but they were passionate about the right things.

a. They were filled with fire over the right things – specifically when they saw God’s name being defiled…

i. They when saw God’s ways being ignored or when they saw God’s glory trampled on.

d. Also know that Jesus isn’t saying “Blessed are the shy, the timid or the coward…”

i. Those again are natural human dispositions.

1. So meekness isn’t natural, it’s not niceness or weakness of shyness…So what is it?

3. What it is

– What did Jesus mean when he said, “Blessed are the meek?” what is meekness?

a. I read this definition of meekness this week…and I think it is astounding.

i. Meekness is a humble and gentle attitude towards others which is determined by a true estimate of oneself.

1. And to that I will add that meekness requires a teachable spirit. We’ll look at all 3 parts.

b. I want to start by looking at that last part of the definition.

i. Meekness is a true estimate or an honest assessment of oneself.

1. Do you see how this Beatitude logically follows the first 2?

a. When we are poor in spirit – we recognize that before God we are nothing.

i. We repeat the words of David, “Who am I that you should come to me???”

1. We repeat the words of Isaiah, “Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips and I come from a people of unclean lips.”

2. When we are poor in spirit -we realize that before a holy God we stand exposed for the sinners we are.

a. And that recognition should lead us to mourning – mourning over our own sin – mourning over our waywardness…

i. Mourning over our covenant breaking.

1. We mourn over the act of sin…not it’s consequences…and that mourning…that godly grief leads to repentance which leads to salvation without regret.

ii. And when we experience those 2 things – should that cause us to be stripped of all personal pride?

1. We recognize our poverty of spirit; shouldn’t that cause us to completely set aside this delusion of self-sufficiency?

a. Having recognized our poverty of spirit – we come to the end of our selves and we realize that everything we are…everything we have is because of God’s grace and mercy.

i. It is because of God moving and working in our lives.

c. However, meekness is one of the more challenging characteristics in this list.

i. Up until now, we have been introspective – looking at ourselves, assessing our lives, taking stock, taking inventory of our lives.

1. But meekness is difficult, because now other people are introduced into the equations.

a. And when we have a fair, honest and humble assessment of ourselves, that will naturally translate into our relationships with other people.

ii. Meekness is summed up beautifully in a couple of my favourite verses. Philippians 2:3-4.

Philippians 2:3–4 ESV

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

1. Do nothing out of selfish ambition of vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourself.

a. That right there is meekness in a nutshell. That’s the essence of meekness.

i. Meekness is not thinking about yourself, your rights, your opinions, your position.

1. Meekness doesn’t act out of selfish ambition or vain conceit – but it acts in humility towards others…

a. The meek person considers others better than him or herself.

iii. That’s Philippians 2:3 – but verse 4 goes on to say this – each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

1. Those 2 verses right there…that’s the essence of meekness.

a. My youth pastor had us memorize those verses in high school – I still have them memorized.

i. Great verses for teenagers to memorize, since teenagers are naturally self-absorbed and self focused.

1. What Paul is writing in Philippians 2 is that we need to break away from that teenaged, self-absorbed pattern of behaviour.

a. We need to do away with a selfish attitude…we need to do away with only focusing on what we want.

b. And instead, we need to look to others – take into account the needs of others, the feelings of others…we need to consider others better than ourselves.

iv. That is meekness. That’s the quality Jesus is talking about when he says, “Blessed are the meek…”

1. An honest assessment of yourself, that plays out in your attitude towards others and in your relationships with others.

d. But there’s one more aspect to meekness…an honest self-assessment, considering others better than yourself…

i. But meekness also requires a teachable spirit.

1. It’s means being ready to listen and learn…from other people. Meekness is different than poverty of spirit.

a. When we are poor in spirit, we shine the light on our own lives…we shine the light on our sin and we come before God with our own shortcomings.

i. It’s one thing to do that…it’s something altogether different to give that light to someone else and have them shine it on our lives.

1. In meekness, we allow others to speak into our lives.

ii. Stop me if this has ever happened to you.

1. Say you’re in a conversation with a friend, a good friend…a trusted friend…maybe even your spouse.

a. And in this conversation – you admit your sin or a fault of some kind.

i. You confided in your friend, “I’m prideful” or “I’m judgmental” or maybe something less serious, “I’m disorganized.”

b. You admit these things – only to have your friend agree with you “Yeah…you are…”

i. And what happens to you when this trusted individual agrees with you on one of your flaws? Something you yourself just admitted to?

1. What happens is we immediately get our guard up…and we get offended that they agreed with us on our sins and faults.

2. Its find for us to admit our faults before God, but as soon as some else points them out or acknowledges them, we get offended and defensive.

a. Well…meekness moves beyond the offense. Meekness allows others to shine a searching spotlight into our lives. Meekness moves beyond the offense to a place that listens and heeds the words of advice from other people.

i. Meekness requires a teachable spirit – learning from others…learning from God’s Spirit.

1. Where we resist that teaching…where we get offended by people saying things we ourselves have freely admitted to – there is a lack of meekness.

3. The meek person is gentle, humble, sensitive, and patient in all of their dealings with others.

4. Biblical Examples

– Quickly this morning – some examples from the Bible of meekness.

a. Moses was said to be the meekest person of his generation.

i. David was meek, the prophet Jeremiah is a fascinating lesson in meekness.

1. But the ultimate example of meekness is of course Jesus.

a. His meekness is beautifully described for us in the rest of Philippians 2 – where Paul describes Jesus journey from heaven to earth back to heaven away.

i. Setting aside his heavenly glory in order to come to earth as a man, to live as a man, to die as the atoning sacrifice of our sins.

1. Read Philippians 2 after you’re done watching this…what an incredible chapter.

ii. And later in Matthew’s Gospel, in chapter 11, Jesus called the weary and heavy laden to come to him…because he is gentle…the word is the same word used here…gentle…meek.

5. Promised Reward

– Now, as we close, look at the promised reward.

a. The meek are blessed…those who honestly assess themselves and deal gently with others are blessed by God…God approves of them.

i. And their reward is that the meek will inherit the earth.

1. In worldly thinking it is the ambitious, the strong, the driven…the conceited that seek to inherit the earth…well, maybe not inherit but dominate the earth.

a. Think of any and every Emperor who sough world domination…did they do it to better the lives of the people around…thinking of others.

i. No, they did it out of selfish ambition…they tried to rule the earth through power.

2. But once again, we see that’s Jesus’s view of things is completely different than the worlds.

a. The Christian view is altogether different. Jesus says that the way to inherit the earth isn’t through feats of strength and power…

i. The way to inherit the earth is through meekness.

1. Through honest self-assessment, through your attitude towards others…by having a teachable spirit.

b. This reward has implications for the present and for the future.

i. Only a genuinely meek person will be a truly content person.

1. A meek person has no inflated ego and a meek person isn’t wanting to have more and more.

a. A meek person recognizes that in Christ we possess everything already. Who needs more stuff, when the very earth is our inheritance.

c. However, the thrust of this promise lies in the future.

i. It is breathtaking to think about – the meek will inherit the earth.

1. And remember that it is earth – this earth that will be the final resting place of God among his people.

a. Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. We as God’s people are not wishing to be whisked away to some fairytale land.

i. No…we are longing for creation to be restored.

1. We are longing for Jesus to return to earth – we are longing for God to make all things new…as he promised he would.

a. We are longing for God to once again make his dwelling among his people…

i. On earth…this earth…a renewed and restored earth.

2. And think about it…it is THAT earth that meek will inherit.

a. Paul says that we will be co-heirs with Jesus in a kingdom on earth that will have no end.

d. And 50 billion years from now…or as my daughter likes to say, 90 thousand, 90 hundred infinites from now…God’s people will still be rejoicing that this Beatitude is true.

i. In the new heaven and new earth…we will be grateful that we learned meekness in the time that God gave us on this earth.