Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth

At first sight I don’t find this concept of meekness appealing. For me meekness is about being unmanly, a spineless creature. But was Jesus spineless? If ever there was a man, it was Jesus. Yet Jesus in the Gospels described himself as meek (praus). In Mathew 11.29 we read Jesus saying: “Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am gentle (which the Authorized Version translates as ‘meek’, praus) and humble of heart (NRSV)” . When he rode into Jerusalem he deliberately pointed to an Old Testament prophecy (Zechariah 9.9) in which the expected Messiah was described in terms of meekness: “Lo your king comes to you humble (which the AV translates as ‘meek’, praus) and riding on a donkey (Matthew 21.5). It was by the meekness and gentleness of Jesus that Paul appealed to the unruly Corinthians: “I myself Paul, appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ” (2 Cor 10.1). Clearly Jesus’ meekness cannot be equated with weakness or spinelessness. So what in fact was Jesus in this Beatitude calling us to be?

In the first place, Jesus calls to be God-controlled. The word for meek (praus) was used of animals brought under control. For instance, it could be used of a horse broken in. In being tamed, it is still powerful and strong, but now it is useable and brought under control. Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher and polymath (384-322 BC) said that a meek person is “neither too hasty nor too slow-tempered. He (or she) does not become angry with those he (or she) he ought not to, nor fail to become angry with who he (or she) ought”. In this regard Jesus could be angry when occasion demanded it. For instance, Jesus was angry when he cleansed the Temple (Matthew 21.12-27); and when the Pharisees were watching him to see if he would cure a man with a withered hand on the sabbath, so they might accuse him, he “looked around at them with anger” (Mark 3.5: see also Mattthew 12.9-14) and then went on to heal, regardless of the consequences. Yet Jesus could be amazingly gentle: for instance with the woman caught in adultery, when the scribes and Pharisees would have been happy to stone her, but Jesus said: “Neither do I condemn you. On your way, and from now on do not sin” (John 8.11).

In the second place, Jesus calls us to be gentle. It is a helpful exercise to see how the New Testament describes the meek or gentle life to which God calls us. For instance, Paul writing to the churches in Galatia said that discipline must be exercised and the faults of others corrected. So he wrote: “My brothers (and sisters), if someone is caught in any kind of wrongdoing, those of you who are spiritual should set him (or her) right; but you must do it in a gentle way” (Galatians 6.1 GNB). There are two ways in which correction can be given: either in a hard and unloving way which discourages and makes a person want to despair; or in a gentile and kind way which encourages a person to do better the next time around. Similarly Paul wrote to Timothy that the Lord’s servant must correct “opponents with gentleness” (2 Timothy 2.25). Too often Christians are hostile to those who disagree with them and seek to batter them into changing their minds. However, Paul said that if we want to correct somebody and win them into God’s kingdom, then gentleness must be the way. Gentleness should characterise our conduct generally. As James wrote:

Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. (James 3.13)

In the third place Jesus calls us to trust God. So far we have been interpreting this Beatitude in terms of behaviour towards others. However, maybe Jesus had in mind our attitude toward God, as distinct to our attitude towards our fellow men and women. For the full Beatitude reads: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”. Almost certainly we have here a paraphrase of Psalm 10,11: “Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.” The meek are those who are meek toward God. Instead of clenching their fists and damning God, they put their trust in his understanding, instead of growing resentful about what life may bring, they are certain God’s way is best. They believe that God is always working in all things together for those who love him” (Romans 8.37). We find this trusting spirit in Jesus. For when death loomed, Jesus was still prepared to trust God. In Gethsemane he prayed: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup [of suffering] pass from me; yet not what I want, but what you want” (Matthew 26.42). Again he prayed: “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done” (Matthew 26.42). Here was meekness in the sense that Jesus exercised faith in God and was in control of himself to believe that ultimately God was in control.

It is not easy to trust God when things go wrong. The story is told of David Jenkins, a former Bishop of Durham who had to preach in a mining village where there had been a pit disaster and many lives were lost. He entered the pulpit still wondering what to say. He opened the pulpit Bible and an old-fashioned bookmark fell out and it fell face downward. The bishop held up the back of the card to the congregation and all they could see was a tangled mass of wool. That’s how they felt about the accident, which made no sense. But when David Jenkins turned the bookmark around there were the words, “God is love” (1 John 4.7).