From: SouthsideBC.org
MEEKNESS IS NOT WEAKNESS
Matthew 5:5
Psalm 37:1-11
Introduction: To many people a meek person has no “backbone”. To them a meek person let’s everybody run over them and stands up for nothing. That IS NOT what Jesus was referring to when he said, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth”. Jesus was meek, but certainly no pushover. Matthew 11:28-30, 21:5. The word meek means to be “gentle”. According to John McArthur, “Meekness is gentleness and mildness, and a subdued character, but it is not weakness. It is power under control.” A meek person can be very powerful and very much in control. A meek person is capable of anger. Jesus got angry at the right things at the right times.
- Jesus got angry with hypocrisy.
- Jesus got angry with dishonest people who bought and sold in the temple (Mat. 21:13).
He did not get angry when:
- He was betrayed in the garden.
- He was falsely accused at His trials.
- He was nailed to the cross.
Instead Jesus prayed for those who persecuted Him (Lk.23:34, Isa.53:7). As you know, Jesus had the power to fight against his enemies. He could have come down off the cross [I disagree, because of Jesus' Phillipians-2 emptying and empowerment by the Holy Spirit, which I discuss here: A Call to Intimacy: The Holy Spirit in John’s Gospel & Epistles, by Jeff Fenske [D. A. Carson – Johannine Theology, 1993 – editor]. He could have resisted the mistreatment he had received. He had the power, as God, but didn’t use it. That’s power under control. So how do we go about developing meekness in our lives? First, we must realize that meekness is part of the Fruit of the Spirit. As we allow God’s Holy Spirit to control us, we are allowing God to perfect the fruit of meekness (Gal. 5:22-23). It would also be nice if there was a passage of Scripture that would give us an idea of how to develop meekness in our lives. Good news! There is! When the Lord Jesus talks about meekness, He is alluding to Psalm 37:11 “But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace”.
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