By: Mike Kelly
Retired Pastor
We’re in the 3rd part of our series on the upside-down world of the Kingdom of Heaven as taught in the Sermon On The Mount (SOTM) found in Matt chapters 5-7. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (Matt 5:5) is our topic today.
Meek is just another name for weak or victim or scared. At least that seems to be society’s way of thinking. The world we generally live in is about power and greed and success.
The kind of people who step on doormats and walk over the one who is afraid of them. Did Pharaoh walk over Moses? Did he have him arrested during the 10 plagues? It would have seemed easier to just get rid of the rebellion’s leader than listen to him. But he didn’t.
And Pharaoh had reason to attack Moses. He bore the brunt of the locust and frogs and the other plagues, yet he did not kill Moses. Why is that? Perhaps it was because Moses had some power that the Pharaoh feared.
And what about Pilate with Jesus. Pilate could have easily just told the Jews “Sure, I’ll get rid of him for you.” but he didn’t. He looked for ways to release Jesus, to get out of having to condemn him.
Even his wife warned him about the power of Jesus but, ultimately, the politician in him won out and he condemned Jesus to the cross. What made it so difficult for these 2 political leaders to shy away from beheading their opponents?
Moses and Jesus held a power that just emanated from them. And do you know one of the things they have in common? They are the only 2 men in the Bible called “meek”. Not Peter, not Abraham, not Noah, not Job, not Paul, just Jesus and Moses.
If meek meant weak, it certainly wouldn’t apply to these 2. Blessed are the meek because they control their power. Jesus could have unleashed 12 legions of warrior angels. Enough to kill billions of people in one evening. Yet, as justified as he would have been, he didn’t do it.
Meekness isn’t about being afraid or being a victim or a doormat. Meekness is about having power to change things and choosing not to exercise it. It’s about doing what is right or what you are called to do and not escaping the situation to save your own skin.
The meek withhold their power and trust God to work his will in the situation even when it means they suffer when they could have stopped it. Jesus told Peter in the Garden of Gethseman to put his sword away. He wasn’t interested in his own life as much as he was interested in doing the will of the father.
Earlier, a normal reaction occurred after the transfiguration where James and John saw Moses and Elijah and heard God speak. They were so full of the power of God that when they heard of a Samaritan city that refused to host Jesus for a day, asked (in a very un-meek fashion) if they could call down fire from heaven to destroy the city.
Knowing it was within their power at that moment. Jesus, demonstrating meekness, told them to ignore the insult.
Meekness is about not returning evil for evil or violence for violence. The early Mennonites refused to return violence for violence and were often killed for it.
The whole Civil Rights movement of the 60’s was based on the same concept of meekness. By demonstrating and often suffering abuse, their meekness in the light of the way they were treated caused many to re-evaluate how they treated people of color and eventually led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ending legal discrimination based on color.
Jesus showed us what he meant by the meek inheriting the earth. When we allow God to work his will in our lives even when we have the power to change things to our benefit, then we are being the meek who will inherit the earth.
When we do that is when God blesses us and provides an inheritance for us that we are yet to receive.
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Mike Kelly is the founding pastor of Bryan’s Grace Community Church (retired) and Board Chairman of Bryan’s Sanctuary Homeless Shelter and Williams County’s Compassion (free) Medical Clinic.