Recently, we’ve been spending time talking about the Sermon on the Mount and what it means for us as followers of Jesus. We’ve been looking at the Beatitudes as pictures of how to live with kingdom character. Given the recent events in our country, Pastors Brian and Keith co-preached this week’s message on meekness and what it means to be meek in the face of these difficulties.
Read Matthew 5.5.
In our culture, we tend to have a negative view of meekness. We usually think of it as a bad thing: being submissive, subservient, and weak. This same negative view of meekness was also present in Jesus’ day, but we know that it’s not the biblical definition of meekness. The word the Bible uses for “meek” is the same word that it uses when it talks about a powerful horse that’s under the control of his master. In other words, being meek doesn’t mean being weak. It means having great power that’s under God’s control.
Question: When you hear the word “meek,” what comes to mind? Is it negative or positive? Do you think that your perception of meekness is aligned with how Jesus views it?
Meekness usually comes out in two areas of our lives: how we relate to God and how we relate to others. When we are meek toward God, it means that we are cultivating a sensitive attitude towards Jesus’ lordship and recognizing Him alone as our Savior and Lord. When we’re meek toward others, it means that we develop a gentle disposition toward them. Being gentle is more than just being nice. It means that we’re willing to listen to, defer to, and act in a Christ-like way with anyone we come in contact with. There are three key components of meekness that we see in the Bible.
- James 1.19 says that “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” In our culture, we have a tendency to talk too fast and try to explain where we’re coming from without truly understanding other points of view. Being meek means that we are slow to speak because we listen to understand differing viewpoints. This also means that we are actively seeking out people who think differently than us, which presents its own challenges. Generally, we are drawn to relationships and friendships with people who are like us, but part of being meek is searching to understand those who approach life differently than we do and listening to them.
- The second aspect of being meek is something Jesus already talked about in the Sermon on the Mount. The previous Beatitude is found in verse 4: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” God doesn’t just promise to comfort those who mourn, He calls us to be that comfort to others: Romans 12.15 tells us to “mourn with those who mourn.” To be meek, we first have to listen to others, and then we have to let them know that we are mourning with them. Instead of jumping into conversations about solutions or next steps, it’s important that we take the time to simply mourn with those who are hurting.
- Sometimes, we can overlook the third aspect of being meek. That doesn’t mean that it’s any less important. After carefully listening and mourning, the next step in the process of being meek is to take well-considered and prayerful action. Moses was described as one of the meekest men on earth, but he was still a man of action. He was a bold leader of an entire nation! Jesus was the same way.
Read Mark 11.15–17.
When Jesus cleared the temple courts, it’s because He saw injustice and took action to make it right. The outer courts of the temple were where the Gentiles—everyone who wasn’t Jewish—could connect with, encounter, and worship God. It was ethnic bias that led the Jewish leaders to turn this area into what was essentially a chaotic shopping mall. In essence, they took away the Gentiles’ only place of worship because it better fit their needs. Jesus saw the situation, mourned the injustice, and then spoke up and took well-considered action to make it right. His action wasn’t the opposite of meekness, it was perfect meekness. Meekness is listening, meekness is mourning, and meekness is taking action.
Question: Which of these three aspects of meekness comes most naturally to you? Which is hardest? How can you work to develop that area?
Sometimes, we can be more like Peter instead of Jesus. When the Roman soldiers were arresting Jesus, Peter reacted in a very natural way, but he wasn’t meek. He was defensive and someone he loved was being threatened, so Peter pulled out his sword and was ready to attack, defend, and protect. Jesus told him to do differently: “Put your sword back in its place…for all who draw the sword will die by the sword” (Matthew 26.52). Peter jumped straight into taking action, but Jesus called him to be meek. Essentially, Jesus was telling Peter that there would be bloodshed, but that it would be only Jesus’ blood.
Question: Think back to a time when you reacted to a situation like Peter did. Did it help or hurt the situation? How so? What might have been a better response?
When we see ourselves becoming like Peter—wanting to take control of a situation and jumping into hasty action—there’s only one way for us to become meek. We recognize that Jesus became meek for us when He died on the cross. He saw the injustice of sin in the world and He went to the cross to rectify it. The cross is the ultimate example of meekness.
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