Hi everyone. Let’s look at the third of Jesus’ “This is good news for…” statements in Matthew 5.
Who are the meek and what does it mean that they will inherit the earth?
Meekness
The first point to make is that, for Jesus, meekness did not mean weakness. One commentary puts it as follows:
Meekness is not to be confused with weakness: the meek are not simply submissive because they lack the resources to be anything else. Meekness is quite compatible with great strength and ability as humans measure strength, but whatever strength or weakness the meek person has is accompanied by humility and a genuine dependence on God. True meekness may be a quality of the strong, those who could assert themselves but choose not to do so. The strong who qualify for this blessing are the strong who decline to domineer. Self-assertion is never a Christian virtue; rather, it is Christian to be busy in lowly service and to refuse to engage in the conduct that merely advances one’s personal aims.
(Leon Morris, Pillar NT Commentary)
Jesus himself was meek, but he was certainly never weak. He was always in control of every situation and always in control of himself. He had access to God’s divine power and yet never used it to promote himself or to get himself out of danger or difficulty.
The original NT Greek word rendered in some English Bibles as “meek” is apparently quite difficult to translate. There is no one word in English that fully does justice to the range of possible meanings and nuances it carries in NT Greek.
Another possible word that could have been used is “gentle”.
Elsewhere in Matthew’s narrative Jesus described himself thus:
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
(Mt 11:28–30)
This enables us to see an important difference between this third “blessed” statement to the “meek” and the first two, which were made to the “poor in the spirit” and “those who mourn”.
Michael Wilkins in the NIV Application Commentary explains:
The domineering, the aggressive, the harsh, and the tyrannical are often those who attempt to dominate the earth and establish their own little kingdoms. But Jesus says that it is the “gentle” who will inherit the earth…. This shifts the focus from individual personal qualities (“poor in spirit,” “those who mourn”) to interpersonal attributes (“the gentle”), to people who do not assert themselves over others in order to advance their own causes. This does not imply weakness, however, for this same term is applied to Jesus, who describes himself as “gentle and humble in heart”.
We might say that being poor in spirit or mourning describe a willingness to admit to ourselves our own spiritual weakness and emotional distress, and by extension our complete helplessness and dependence on God.
Meekness, on the other hand, describes our attitude towards other people and how we conduct our interactions with them.
If you are a Christian then the two should match completely. The person whom you admit to yourself that you are should be the same person that other people see. It is no good to know inside that you are a helpless sinner who needs God’s forgiveness, but to present yourself on the outside as a self-confident and assertive individual who relies entirely on your own abilities or resources.
That is, of course, not easy. John Stott, in his book “The Message of the Sermon on the Mount”, gives this example:
For example, if I may apply this principle to everyday ecclesiastical practice: I myself am quite happy to recite the General Confession in church and call myself a ‘miserable sinner’. It causes me no great problem. I can take it in my stride. But let somebody else come up to me after church and call me a miserable sinner, and I want to punch him on the nose! In other words, I am not prepared to allow other people to think or speak of me what I have just acknowledged before God that I am. There is a basic hypocrisy here; there always is when meekness is absent.
Jesus reserved his strongest criticisms for those he called hypocrites, namely those who maintained the external experience of being far more morally upright and spiritual than they really were (see all of Matthew 23).
Inherit the earth
What did Jesus mean that the meek would “inherit the earth”? How and when was this to happen?
It’s quite possible that when Jesus said these words he was thinking of Psalm 37. Here are verses 7 to 11:
Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;
do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
over those who carry out evil devices.
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.
Do not fret — it leads only to evil.
For the wicked shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.
But the meek shall inherit the land,
and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
At the time when this psalm was written, it’s probable that “inherit the land” was firstly referring to the physical land of Israel and God’s promise that it would belong to the meek who trusted him rather than the proud ‘wicked’ who trusted in themselves.
Yet coming from the lips of Jesus these words had an even greater meaning than that. This is a promise of the Kingdom of God, the time of everlasting peace and happiness that will take place on planet Earth when Jesus returns to this planet from heaven.
Note the word “inherit” – this is something that will be given to those who are meek, not something they need to earn or fight for or take from somebody else.
Ultimately Jesus’ teaching here was that those whose attitude and behaviour is quiet and gentle – not qualities which would typically get people ahead in this world – will be the ones who eventually receive a share in everything.
On the other hand, those who are proud or assertive or violent – who may as a result enjoy very successful and prosperous lives in this world – won’t receive anything when Jesus returns.
Which are you?
When Jesus said “blessed are the meek”, his immediate meaning was more along the lines of “this is good news for those who are meek” rather than “those who aren’t meek must become meek”. Nevertheless, it’s clear that meekness is a character trait which Jesus would want you to develop and maintain in all of your interactions with other people.
Next week we’ll look more closely at what that means.
Nihilist to Christian 