The Beatitudes: Blessed are the Meek

by    30th March 2003    0 responses

Matthew 5:5   Expand passage

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

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According to dictionary.com, the definition of the word “meek” is:

Showing patience and humility; gentle.
Easily imposed on; submissive.

In this article, I want to look at the “humility” part of being meek and how it affects us as Christians. In order to do this, let’s look at Philippians 2:1-11: what better way to learn about meekness and humility than “Christ’s example of humility”, as the header in my Bible reads?

1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Now, let’s start by looking at verse 3:

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

This is one of the most challenging verses I have ever come across. Take a moment to think about it. Have you ever heard of the acrostic for “Joy”? “Jesus – Others – Yourself.” Put Jesus first in your life, then others, then yourself – this is the way to achieve joy. But, seriously, how often do we manage to do this? Speaking from personal experience, I do things from “rivalry and conceit” (NIV: “selfish ambition and vain conceit”) every day.

Paul expands on this a little in the next verse:

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Humans are, by nature, selfish creatures. Our society is geared towards looking after number one; in a humanistic world the Self is the most important thing that exists. However, this verse clearly teaches us differently. It teaches us that we should look to the interests of others; that we should love our neighbours as much as we love ourselves.

Incidentally – this does NOT mean that we should always be poor and never look to our own interests. We should look “not only” to our own interests – this means that it is right for us to look after ourselves. However, we should look after others as best we can. And I don’t think this always means financially either; for example sometimes the best way I can help my friends out is just by providing a listening ear and the occasional word of advice.

Now, I believe the next section is best taken as a lump, so here it is – verses 5-7:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

What struck me as I looked at this passage is the words “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.” Christ coming down to Earth was fully God and fully man. How this is possible we will never understand. However, he “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.” Please bear with me for a minute here.

What is the fundamental root of sin? What causes us to against God? You could argue this could be a lot of factors – but I believe the main reason why we sin is because we put ourselves on the same level as God. Sin is going against God’s will. By sinning we are saying, “I don’t want to live by your rules. I want to live by my rules.” We have an innate problem with humility and submitting ourselves to God – over most our Christian lives, most of the changing occurs when we give more and more of our lives over to God’s control.

Now, back to Jesus: I’m sorry for repeating this several times, but he “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.” Jesus WAS God. If he had wanted to, he could have had all the things that he was entitled to. Power. Glory. The Devil tries to tempt him in Matthew 4:5-6, saying that

If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you’, and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone’.

Jesus was the ultimate example of humility! He was God, and yet he made himself a servant.

But – if Jesus was the perfect example of humility… just what IS humility?

Look at the next verse:

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Specifically: “he humbled himself by becoming obedient.” We humble ourselves by becoming obedient. Ultimately, humility is putting God and then others above ourselves. It’s about saying to God, ‘not my will, but yours.’ True meekness is not being a doormat – it’s about living a life of servitude towards God and towards others.

But what is the result of this? Look at the end verses (9-11):

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus was the perfect example of humility. Because of this, he was exalted beyond anyone else. What implications does this have for us though?

Look at the second part of Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Compare that with the passage in Philippians: “… so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” Jesus “inherited” the Earth because he was perfect humility.

If we live our lives with humility, God will exalt us – and I believe that this means we will see God extending his kingdom on the Earth. God will use the humble – those willing to serve Him – to bring more people to salvation. That shall be the inheritance of those who are humble…

I pray that God will bless you and keep you as you strive to become more like Christ:

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14

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