Blessed Are the Meek

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”  Matthew 5:5 (NKJV).

Meekness is by no means to be construed as weakness.  The Greek word for meekness, praus, denotes gentleness and mildness of manner but strength of character.  So important are meekness and gentleness that both are listed in the nine fruits of the spirit in Galatians 6:22-23:  “:But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance;  against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23, KJV).  Noting both meekness and gentleness, two words so closely akin in meaning, Paul was giving emphasis to the importance of meekness as a Christian virtue.

One of the dear professors who instructed me as I was taking Bible courses in college used an illustration for explaining the third beatitude that has remained with me for many years.  He asked us to picture a wild stallion, caught and brought under submission through the taming process.  The stallion had strength and grace as he was wild, but under constant training and with the good treatment and love of his master who trained him, he became obedient, gentle and mild.  The rippling strength of the horse was still present, as when he roamed the plains freely before becoming domesticated, but he became meek and gentle under the training and restrictions of the taming process.  So it is with the Christian.  Under the dominion of Jesus Christ, our character is genuinely changed to become meek and gentle, fit for the Master’s use. Jesus was teaching in the third beatitude that meekness is a greater attribute to seek and cultivate than pride.  This idea was a revolutionary doctrine to the Jewish disciples Jesus taught.  They had pride of their Jewish inheritance, a called-out and set-apart people.  They were familiar with the pride in power that was evidenced through Roman rule that exercised political and military dominion over the world of their day.  They would likewise have been familiar with the Greek pride in  culture, much learning and the arts.  And then Jesus put forth the revolutionary doctrine, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth!”  Can’t you imagine the disciples thinking, “How can this be possible?”  In comparison to how they normally considered pride, meekness was not a desirable characteristic.  Was Jesus asking them to be weak and compliant?

The disciple needs to learn that meekness is a virtue which can be exercised toward God and toward man.  Meekness is not a weak but a heroic quality.  A meek person is patient and forbearing, not easily provoked nor irritated.  And the amazing teaching of Jesus is that the meek “shall inherit the earth.”  Was this a paradox too wonderful to comprehend?  Scholars hold this promise to mean not only inheriting “the new heaven” which is eternal and perfect but having the best of the present world.  This was certainly an extraordinary doctrine and one that the twelve who surrounded Jesus on the Mount of Olives needed to hear and heed; it is one we need to adopt into our manner of thinking and living .  The meek are the gentle who do not assert themselves in order to further their own cause.  And with such meekness they will be rich indeed, inheriting the best qualities of even this present world, because they trust in God to direct the outcome.  This teaching of Jesus was a reiteration of what the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 37:4-5:  “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.”