This past Wednesday millions of DC comic fans celebrated the release of the new movie, Superman Returns-and I admit, Daniel and I were two of them. In fact for several months now we’ve been planning to see this film together because since he was a little kid one thing we have had in common is our love of the Superman saga. I remember when Daniel was about 4 or 5 he got a hold of one of his granddad’s old Stetson hat and he wore it all the time. He wore it everywhere…including to church, because he thought it made him look like Clark Kent. And, things haven’t changed much because now he’s twenty-three, and when he bought his first new car this year, he special-ordered Superman floor mats and a matching Superman trailer hitch cover. I may get some of those floor mats for my own car!
Now, if you’re one of the few Americans who are unfamiliar with this story, then let me get you up to speed so that, if you get to see the movie, you’ll know what’s going on. In the DC comics “universe” Superman is the last surviving member of a race that lived on the planet Krypton. When Superman was a baby, his father, Jor-el, sent him to earth on a rocket ship so as to save him from the imminent destruction of his home world. But his trip to earth did far more than save his life-our yellow sun gave him super powers. Quoting the old movie serials, thanks to the solar radiation of our sun Superman is, “…faster than a speeding bullet…more powerful than a mighty locomotive…able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.” But that’s just the beginning. Superman has a long list of amazing powers. He can see through walls. He can exhale with the power of a hurricane. With his heat vision he can melt solid steel. He is invulnerable and has super-hearing and so on.
Now, when he’s not using his incredible powers to fight for truth, justice, and the American way, Superman hides his true identity by posing as Clark Kent, a mild-mannered reporter for The Daily Planet. Clark wears thick glasses and pretends to be very meek, very un-super. But as any true fan of the Superman story knows, in Clark’s case, meekness does not mean weakness, because behind that gentle exterior is the most powerful man on the face of the earth! Now-if you’re wondering why I’m sharing all this from the pulpit-it’s because in my mind the Superman story illustrates a very important principle of the Christian faith-one that we will focus on today as we come to the fourth installment of our study of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. You see, in our text for this morning we come to a verse in which Jesus talks about meekness. He says meekness is a blessed quality, one that should be seen in the lives of each of His followers. And, as our study will show, in true “Clark Kent fashion,” the kind of meekness Jesus is referring to here has nothing to do with weakness.
Sermon
Now it’s been a couple weeks since we last looked at this text so let’s back up and read the four verses we have studied so far, along with our text for this morning, which is verse 5.
Matthew 5:1 – 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, saying:
3 – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 – Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 – Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
In review of our month-long study, I would remind you that these eight statements that we refer to as The Beatitudes combine to describe the character of a Christian. In these 20 verses Jesus lists several inner qualities-attitudes that He says are the secret to our possessing an invulnerable joy-a “makarios” kind of happiness that the troubles of life can’t take from us. Remember that first Greek word that we studied a month ago? Well, thus far in our look at this sermon of sermons we’ve learned that a “makarios” Christian is someone who recognizes his or her spiritual bankruptcy. We learned that Jesus was saying we are blessed indeed if we come to realize how bankrupt we are as sinners before our Holy God–how absolutely dependent we all are on His amazing grace. This poverty of spirit, this realization, leads us to beg for and receive God’s forgiveness and the eternal life and Heavenly home that comes with it. A couple weeks ago we learned that “makarios” Christians are also people who mourn over the right things. They are people who experience the blessed comfort of God because they lament the inevitable losses of life; they experience sorrow over their own sins; and they cry for the condition of other people, lost people, hurting people.
Well, here in verse 5 we add one more inner characteristic-one more attitude-to Jesus’ description of a genuinely joyful Christian. As I said a moment ago, in this statement our Lord says that an authentic Christ-follower is someone who is meek. He also says they are blessed because their meekness makes it possible for them to inherit the earth. Now, this would have been a shocking statement for Jesus to make in His sermon. I’m sure when He uttered the words that make up verse 5 He looked down that mountainside at the crowd and saw a lot of turned heads and dropped jaws, because meekness and inheriting the earth just did not seem to go together in the Jewish mindset of that day. You see, in the 1st century, Jewish people believed that the only way to inherit the land, or more accurately to get back the land that God had given them, was to overthrow the Roman government. In their way of thinking that certainly could never become a reality by embracing the virtue of meekness. Not looked for and hoped for a Messiah who would be more of a superman, someone who would swoop down with great power and usher in a kingdom of military might-someone who would chase the Romans all the way back to Italy.
But Jesus, didn’t burst on the scene with that kind of agenda! He didn’t preach a message of political revolution did He!? Jesus didn’t organize an army to throw off the tyranny of Rome. No, instead, He challenged the people to embrace the virtues of love, peace, humility, gentleness, and meekness. And, as I said, this was completely opposite to the way most Jews thought back then.
Let’s do a quick review of Jewish history to help you understand why. A little over a half century before Jesus was born-in 63 B.C.-Pompei annexed Palestine, making it part of the Roman Empire. And when he did this, Jewish independence, an independence that had only recently been gained from the Greeks in the Maccabean revolt-this newfound independence was lost. From 63 B.C. on, the land was ruled partly by Herodian kngs, a family of puppet monarchs appointed by the Roman Caesar. They were also ruled by Roman governors and procurators. So these were sad days for the proud, independent-minded Jewish people. They despised Roman oppression. In fact, they despised it so much many would not even admit they were under it. Remember? When Jesus told the Jewish leaders in John 8:32, “…you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” They answered, “We are Abraham’s offspring, and we have never yet been enslaved to anyone.” (Vs 33) But in spite of the stubborn refusal of the Jewish leaders to admit it, in 33A.D., the enslaving shadow of Rome was everywhere-you could always hear the sound of marching legions. And because of all this, in Israel gentleness and meekness was as far from the people’s thinking as the east is from the west. Well, when Jesus arrived and began to do His miracles, the people got excited. When they saw his incredible superpowers, they thought He was the key to ending Roman oppression.
You may remember that when Jesus miraculously fed the multitude on the side of the hill with the lunch that was intended to fill the belly of a small boy–when they saw that miracle, they wanted to make Jesus king right then and there and begin a revolution that would give them back their precious land. They thought Jesus’ amazing powers were the key to re-inheriting their part of the earth.
So you can imagine their reaction when Jesus got to this part of His sermon. They must have thought, “Wait a minute. This isn’t what I was expecting. What kind of Messiah is this? Isn’t He going to use His powers to kick the pagans out? What kind of crowd is He going to collect with this attitude? Who wants a bunch of sob sisters, a bunch of meek people? They’ll never be able to handle Rome. Besides this is our land! We’ve already inherited it. What we need is someone to run these pagan legions out of here so we can get it back!” I mean, I’m sure the people were somewhat shocked and perplexed by this particular beatitude.
And you know the fact is, this statement in verse 5 is just as perplexing to us. It doesn’t make any more sense in our culture today than it did 2,000 years ago. I mean, in this text once again we come across a beatitude that is completely contrary to the thinking of our modern world. Sure, we don’t have Romans to worry about, but our society does not respect meekness anymore than the Jews did. No, our culture honors strength, power, ability, self-assurance and aggressiveness. I mean, if we were to develop our own version of this beatitude it would read “Happy are the aggressors.” We are aggressive in everything we do, from business to sports to women’s lib to politics to our children’s academics. According to today’s way of thinking the people who exhibit initiative and power and strength are the ones who are going to inherit the earth-not the meek. For most of us meek means weak and none of us wants to be thought of as weak. Frederich Nietsche once referred to this verse and said, “I regard this as the most fatal and seductive lies that ever existed.” And Nietsche is not alone in his negative opinion of this concept. In today’s world the word “meek” is a slur. If you call a man meek, he’d feel insulted. You don’t put this character trait on your resume do you? Because, be honest, what do you think of when you think of meek? We think of some spineless jellyfish of an individual-someone with no conviction. We think, “meek as a mouse” like the lady who said to her husband, “Are you a man or a mouse? Well….squeak up!” Like this woman, most of us don’t admire the quality of meekness.
For example, think about your work situation. What is your boss trying to get you to become? Is meekness one of those characteristics? If you’re in sales and marketing, is meekness high on the list of preferred character traits in those sales seminars you attend? Is that how you close deals and become more successful? Do you climb the corporate ladder on the rungs of meekness? I don’t think so. If you are a teenager, does meekness help you become more popular with the in crowd? Not unless the in crowd is made up of wallflowers and geeks. If you are an athlete, does meekness help you win points with the coach? Probably not.
I remember when I played football in high school, one of my friends said, “Mark, if you want to play, always volunteer when the coach says he needs someone.” So I did and it worked. The coach would say, “I need someone on the field!” And I’d say, “I’m your man coach!” And he’d put me in, in spite of the fact that I didn’t know the plays. He valued my aggressiveness and initiative! The only positions the meek guys got to play on our team were guard and end. The sat on the end of the bench and guarded the water bottles.
No-our culture does not value meekness. The conventional wisdom of our world has taught us that if you want to be someone important, if you want to go somewhere, if you want to inherit your share of the earth, then be aggressive, be a winner, be confident, but don’t be meek! Don’t let people push you around!
Back in the 80’s the first President Bush used a campaign slogan that has long since been mocked by the media, by comedians, and basically by people everywhere. Do you remember when Bush talked about our working together as Americans to build a “…kinder and gentler nation?” The nation laughed because that slogan seemed so un-American. In a nation that celebrates power, authority, and strong leadership, those words seemed so “wimpy.” Okay-since this statement is so contrary to our way of thinking, we need to take a very close look at it if we are going to understand the truth Jesus was conveying here. I want to do this by quickly pointing out two things Jesus was not saying in Matthew 5:5.
(1) First, when our Lord talked about meekness, He was not referring to weakness.
To show you what I mean we need to do some more Greek study. The word we translate as “meek” is “praus.” Add that to the little Greek vocabulary we are compiling in our study of the Beatitudes! After today you’ll know five words: “makarios, penees, ptokas, pentheo, and praus.” Now, according to William Barclay “praus” was one of the great ethical words of the Greek culture. Aristotle considered “praus” to be a virtue. And he said that, like any virtue, “praus” -or meekness-existed between two extremes.
Let me give you some examples to explain his way of thinking. When it comes to the way people use money, on one extreme you have a spendthrift, someone whose money always burns a hole in their pocket. On the other hand you have the miser who never spends a penny if he can help it. In between these two you have the generous man-someone who uses money in the right way. When it comes to anger, too much would describe people who blow up in fits of rage over trivial things. Too little would be people who are wimps-people without enough courage to stand up for what is right in life-people who don’t get angry in the right way at the right things. Greek physicians used “praus” to describe a soothing medicine. If too little was given it would not help; too much would hurt instead of heal but the right amount would work wonders. “Praus” was also used to describe a gentle breeze. Too little wind did no good. Too much wind would reap destruction but when it blew gently it brought soothing comfort.
Well, the common thread that we see here in our study of this Greek word is that, meekness had to do with the way different kinds of power were used-money, anger, medicine, wind. I mean, “Praus” communicated the idea of power in the right balance-power under control. In fact, this word was also used to describe an animal that was domesticated-like a great wild stallion that had been trained to obey words of command or answer to the reins. The animal was still just as powerful as it was before it was trained, but that power was now exerted at the right time and in the right amount. It was power under control.
Proverbs 25:28 refers to the virtue of the meekness of self-control and says, “Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit.” In other words, without meekness, you’ve got power but no control over it. Un-meek people are like an un-walled, vulnerable city. On the other hand Proverbs 16:32 says, “He who rules his spirit is better than he who captures a city…” a way of saying that meek people, self-controlled people, are very strong people.”
So, meekness is not a synonym for weakness. To be meek doesn’t mean spineless and cowardly. To be meek doesn’t mean to be effeminate and timid. To be meek doesn’t mean to be a geek! No, meekness refers to power-but power under control. In his commentary on this text Barclay sums this up by saying a meek Christian is someone, “…who has every instinct under control…every impulse…every passion…every ounce of strength has been harnessed.”
And, of course in the context of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was saying blessed is the man who is not self-controlled but rather God-controlled. Our Lord was saying that when it comes to Christian discipleship, a meek person is someone who moment by moment, yields his power, his life, his will, to the will of God. And Jesus of course practiced what He preached because He is the perfect example of this.
Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion did a great job of illustrating this fact. Do you remember how cruelly that movie showed Jesus was beaten? Remember the image of the nails being driven through His hands and feet? The movie showed Jesus did not respond in kind. As the Bible says, instead of fighting back, instead of cursing the cruel guards, Jesus forgave them over and over again. Well, did this mean Jesus was weak? No. He was God in the flesh. He was and still is omnipotent. He could have defended Himself with just a thought but He didn’t do that.
In fact, the night before in the Garden of Gethsemane as He was arrested and beaten Jesus rebuked Peter for resorting to swordplay to defend His Lord and said, “Peter, I can call on My Father at any time, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels!” (Matthew 26:53) I don’t need your swordplay. Now, remember, it took only one angel to kill 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in response to King Hezekiah’s prayer in 2 Kings 19:35. And, Jesus had at His disposal 72,000 of these powerful beings! Jesus was meek but He was not weak. His power was controlled by His yielding to the will of God.
So, Jesus was not talking about weakness here in verse 5. No, true meekness has to do with inward discipline not outer weakness.
(2) A second thing Jesus was not saying is this. When He said the meek would inherit the earth, He was not referring to real estate.
I hate to disappoint you but Jesus wasn’t saying if we are meek, if we yield our will to His control, we’ll be rich because then we’ll inherit this earth. Our Lord wasn’t saying, “Be meek believer, because if you do I’ll reward you with oil wells or real estate holdings in downtown Manhattan.”
This reminds me of the story I once read that told of a man who was sitting on a curb crying. When asked what was wrong, he said, “I just found out that Rockefeller, the richest man in the world, died.” The person then asked, “Why are you crying? You’re not a relative of his are you?” And the weeping man said, “No-and that’s why I’m crying.” Well, Jesus wasn’t referring to this kind of earthly inheritance.
Now, of course the Bible tells us that as Christians we are co-heirs with Christ, which means we are heirs to everything He has. One day we’ll possess mansions in heaven specially prepared by Him for us. But I don’t think this is what Jesus was referring to in this sermon. No, I think He was saying that when we are Biblically meek-when we yield every moment to God no matter what comes in life-well then, armed with that attitude, in that moment of self-control, we control the situation. Think of it. The world is ours when we learn to trust God completely, saying with the Psalmist, “In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 56:11)
Look at it this way. The world belongs to the person who has control of his emotions. This kind of meek individual controls, rules, the situation, no matter how tough the situation may be, because he’s not controlled or ruled by it. I mean, if you are a truly meek person, you are no longer a victim.
I love the following story that is told about George Washington Carver. One day he was standing on the street in Tuskegee, Alabama, and a prim and proper white woman walked up to him. She assumed that since he was black he must be a poor, down on his luck sharecropper or something. Not knowing he was world famous for his inventions and scientific experiments, she asked if he would paint the picket fence around her home. He said, “Sure, I’d be happy to.” A few hours later, a friend of the woman walked by and saw George Washington Carver painting her fence. She went inside and said to the woman, “Oh my! Do you know who is painting your fence?” The woman said, “No, I don’t.” The other woman said, “That’s the famous scientist George Washington Carver, the man who has done so much to help the south with all his inventions!” The woman immediately ran outside, nearly overcome by embarrassment and shame, and said, “Dr. Carver, I’m so sorry! I thought you were a poor man looking for an odd job! Please forgive me!” George Washington Carver smiled and said, “That’s okay, I didn’t have much to do today, I’m very happy to paint your fence!”
Now, Dr Carver could have been a victim of prejudice that day. He could have responded in bitterness to his ill-treatment-but due to his Christlike meekness, this godly man wasn’t. No, he controlled-he “ruled” that situation-because he embraced this attitude. Well, I think this is what Jesus was talking about that day. In His sermon our Lord was saying that a “makarios” caliber of happiness comes to people with self-control. And, as I alluded to earlier, we get self-control by giving our moments, no matter how difficult they may be, to God. This is where we get the power to respond the way Dr. Carver responded. Genuine happiness in life comes from allowing God to control our days. You see, God’s indwelling Spirit does not make us weak or cowardly. As 2nd Timothy 1:7says, “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”
I believe that when God’s people walk in meekness, when we embrace the attitudes of humility and gentleness, when we surrender the desire to defend our reputation, when we crucify our pride and stop losing sleep over what others think of us, when we give up the pursuit of our own interests, and become a servant of others, we find great peace, freedom, and rest! When we embrace this attitude in life, we do indeed “inherit the earth.”
Let me ask you. Is anyone mistreating you? A boss? A co-worker? A neighbor? Is life rough for you right now? Is life mistreating you? Does it burden you in some way? Well you don’t have to continue to be a victim. Accept Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11:28-30 where He said, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” In other words, trust God for that situation. Give it to Him. Ask Him for the power to forgive people, even if they don’t ask for your forgiveness. In meekness, ask God to enable you to endure whatever difficulty is plaguing you. If you do, you’ll rule that situation instead of being ruled by it!
Well do you understand meekness better? Do you see what Jesus was saying? beatitudinal meekness is basically giving control of our lives to God. This decision comes from our understanding that we are all sinners…”ptokas” without God’s grace, and also from the awareness that because of His omniscience it is foolish to think we know more than He does. So, a meek person is basically a surrendered person, someone who admits they need God’s guidance.
Okay, I guess the question at this point is how are we doing when it comes to this attribute? I mean, how meek of a person are you? How “praus” are you? In his commentary on this passage Chris Bennet suggests a few questions to help us determine whether or not we have embraced this essential Christian attitude. Here’s the first.
(1) What is your attitude toward God’s written Word?
Would you say that you are a Christian that lives according to the teachings of this handbook for life that God has given us? James 1:21 says,” Get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly-meekly-accept the Word planted in you.” Well, how are you doing when it comes to that? How do you respond to God’s Word when it shines the searchlight on your heart and exposes something that isn’t right? Do you make excuses? Do you say, “Well Lord, no one is perfect?” In other words, do you go into denial? Or do you receive that Word of God and try, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to bring your life into conformity with its teaching in order that God might be glorified? Understand, I’m not asking if you read the Word of God, or if you study the word of God, but rather, do you meekly submit your life to the Word of God!
This week in our Chronological Bible reading we read that passage in Amos where God said His Word is a “plumb line” for our lives. Well, are you meekly using it in that way or are you proudly making decisions according to the standards of this fallen world of ours…standards that seem to fall farther each day?
(2) This leads to a second question we can use to determine how meek we are and it is this. Do you strive to be a truly spirit-led person?
When God’s still small voice tells you to do something, how do you respond? Do you say, “Sorry Lord, I’m too busy right now! Maybe some other time!” James says here that we’re to receive God’s Word with meekness, that is, to submit to it. Do you do that? Do you yield control of your life to God’s Spirit or do you proudly run your life according to your own desires? Do you follow the instruction of Proverbs 3:5-6? “In all your ways do you acknowledge God?” Do you meekly seek God’s Spirit’s leading in every decision or do you proudly, foolishly, “lean on your own very limited understanding?”
Let’s get a little more practical with the last two diagnostic questions.
(3) What is your attitude toward people who disagree with you or criticize you?
Is your knee-jerk reaction, “Okay, put up your dukes?” Do you not only love to argue but have to be “right” every time? Do you have to win every debate? If your answer is yes then you need to understand that truly meek people don’t have any sense of glory in themselves. A meek person isn’t hyper sensitive to critical comments. He doesn’t live his life on the defensive. He doesn’t lay awake at night and worry about what other people think of him. His or her one desire is to please God. So when people malign them their knee-jerk reaction isn’t to fight back. They don’t seek revenge or think in terms of retaliation when they’ve been wronged. Instead, they embrace a spirit of gentleness, patience, and long suffering. I’m reminded of the story of a biker gang that rode in on their Harleys one day and walked into a restaurant. Over in the corner there was a truck driver eating a plate of spaghetti. One of the bikers decided to show off so he went over, picked up the plate of spaghetti and dumped it on the truck driver’s head. He then took his cup of coffee and poured it in his lap. The truck driver looked at the man, looked at the other Hell’s Angels, stood up, paid his bill and walked out and as he did all of the bikers were hooting and laughing. A few moments later the waitress came over to take their order and the biker snorted, “He wasn’t much of a man was he!” Every one laughed. The waitress said, “I don’t know about that, but what I do know is that he wasn’t much of a truck driver. He just ran over 12 Harleys.” Well, this truck driver wasn’t meek was he? Instead of driving off-he drove over! He retaliated, very creatively I must admit, but He retaliated nonetheless.
In his book, Everybody’s Normal Until You Get to Know Them , John Ortberg says that we’re a lot like porcupines, that prickly animal that has over 30,000 quills attached to their bodies. Each quill can be driven deeply into an enemy. Now, as a general rule, porcupines have two methods of handling relationships, withdrawal and attack. They either head for the hills or lock or load. And, Ortberg says that each of us carry our own little arsenal of “quills.” Our “barbs” have names like rejection, condemnation, judgment, resentment, arrogance, selfishness, envy, and contempt. Well, a meek person will not only avoid flinging these kinds of “quills” at others, when barbs come his way, he will absorb them without lashing back. Well, do you respond this way?
You know, we need to be reminded that no one is perfect, except God alone. Your spouse will disappoint you. Your kids will fail you. Your friends will let you down. Your church will drop the ball at times. Your pastor won’t meet your expectations. The time will come when you will have a legitimate gripe. You will be right and they will be wrong. This is the crossroads of meekness. Which path will you take? Will you launch some quills of condemnation or give the cold shoulder? Or will you grant grace and gentleness? One final diagnostic question….
(4) What is your attitude toward sinners-people who stumble and fall?
Do you secretly delight in their failure? Does it make you think you’re a little better by comparison? Do you revel in their embarrassment and shame? Do you get excited over the sins of others and proudly say, “I told you so! I could see it coming! Only a fool would have done that. I wouldn’t have been that dumb.” I mean, do you have a secret sense of satisfaction when other people blow it? If you do, then you’re not experiencing the blessedness of the kind of meekness Jesus was talking about here. In Galatians 6:1 it says, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently-meekly. And, watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.”
The other day my mom told me of a young couple in Delaware who had been living together. They realized this was wrong and wanted to get married so they went to their pastor. When he heard their story he told them not only would he not marry them, they also could no longer worship at his church. His last words to them were, “We don’t want people like you here.” That pastor wasn’t very “ptokas” was he? He apparently has forgotten that “all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…” pastors included!
Well, what is your attitude toward a brother or sister who has fallen? Is it one of judgment and criticism? Is your spiritual knee-jerk reaction to think, “punish,” or is it to think, “mercy?” Remember in this text from Galatians Paul warns us by saying in essence, “Hey, we are all tempted so remember, if the tables were turned on you, what would you want? Punishment or mercy?” He says we should strive to restore that person, that we should help them in an attitude of meekness and gentleness!
Let us pray.
Almighty and all-loving Heavenly Father,
Humble us this morning-each of us.
Show us our sin-and need of Your grace.
Show us our ignorance and need of Your wisdom.
Show us how lost we are in life without Your leading-how much we need Your guidance in every decision.
Show us how vital it is that we embrace this virtue of meekness…giving You control of our lives no matter what comes.
And now, as we meekly give you control, lead us. Show us the decisions we need to make privately and publicly in order to put ourselves in the very center of Your will.
In Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN
If this time of self-examination and prayer has shown you your need to make a public decision…whether that means accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior…or joining this church family…come forward now as we stand and sing.