Jesus said, blessed are the meek! What is meekness? Who are the meek? In today's message we will explore in depth the third beatitude from the sermon on the mount.
Matthew 5:1-5
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
---Review
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Poverty of Spirit means:
1. A sense of powerlessness in ourselves
2. A sense of spiritual bankruptcy and helplessness before God.
3. A sense of personal unworthiness before God.
4.Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted
Spiritual poverty leads us to spiritual mourning.
1. We mourn for our sinful condition.
2. We mourn for our loss
3. We mourn for the condition of others.
The freedom found in the forgiveness of sins and the joy of eternal salvation is the "comfort" of those who repent.
What does it mean by meekness?
The Kingdom vs. World
"Meekness is often mistaken for passivity, timid reticence and a sort of an inferiority complex. But the basic element of meekness derived from its root meaning is equilibrium-the full and complete possession of all the faculties of one’s being, an inner mastery."
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Who are the meek?
Psalm 37:3-11
3Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. 7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. 8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.9 For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. 11 But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.
Four characteristics of the meek
1. They Trust in God
2. They Commit Their Way to God
3. They Are Still Before God and Wait for Him
4. They Don't Fret over the Wicked
An Example of Moses in Numbers 12:1-10
Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. 2 “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard this. 3 (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.) 4 At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you.” So the three of them came out.
5 Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward, 6 he said, “Listen to my words: “When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. 7 But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house.
8 With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” 9 The anger of the Lord burned against them, and he left them. 10 When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam—leprous like snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy.
Inheritance
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
In the OT,
Land was the symbol of any great blessings, perhaps as the sum of all blessings.
We have the Inheritance of the Kingdom in Christ
Ephesians 1:13-14, 18
13…Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe.