INTRODUCTION – JESUS, MEEK AND MILD
The words of Jesus provide a special blessing to the Christian. The black words on the page are no less the Word of God than the red ones, but there is a comfort and a special satisfaction to be had when listening to Jesus talk. He is like our anchor gripping the seabed, preventing us from being swept away. Of his many teachings, the beatitudes are the most beautiful in their simplicity, in their brevity, and their poignancy, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.”
I. MEEKNESS IN THE INCARNATION
In most religions, the worshippers are earthbound and the deity exists on a different plane altogether. But Paul says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down) or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you.’” The apostle Peter roasted fish over a fire with Jesus. The centurion who understood authority, was able to demonstrate his confidence in the Lord face-to-face. And the demoniac looked Jesus in the eye during his exorcism.
The creator of the universe, the son of God who shared glory with the Father before the world existed, scandalously took on human flesh. In that moment his humiliation began. The incarnation is the greatest example of humility on record.
II. MEEKNESS IN HIS GENTLENESS
Jesus shows his meekness by being gentle with us, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
First off, notice our relationship to Jesus. He is the teamster; we are the oxen. The yoke of control is on us and he is the one with the reins. Second, we are not trading a heavy burden for no burden. We are trading heavy for light. We know what the heavy burden is when he says, “…you will find rest for your souls.” A soul cannot be burdened with sacks of grain or produce from the market. A soul is burdened by sin and it weighs heavy on us.
III. MEEKNESS IN THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY
The Lord shows his meekness through the triumphal entry. In nearly every James Bond novel by Ian Fleming, 007 is introduced by performing some daring feat or displaying his competence in a very suave manner. Sherlock Holmes’s first appearance in Arthur Conan Doyle’s “A Study in Scarlet” showcases his brilliant deductive abilities demonstrating his exceptional intellect. But the Lord, even from birth, being born in a manger, does not display himself like a peacock fanning his tail. It is not Jesus’s style. And since it is not his, we should not want it to be ours.
IV. MEEKNESS IN PERSECUTION
Jesus teaches us meekness by how he handles persecution. It is extremely difficult, to be confronted about sin, and in the first moment, confess it openly and seek forgiveness. We’re much more prone to dance around first before admitting we were wrong. But imagine how upsetting it must’ve been for Jesus, to know in his heart-of-hearts that he is righteous in the sight of God and yet people accused him of sin. Jesus faced this on a daily basis. They said, “Look at this wine-bibber, this glutton. Sorcerer! He has a demon. Possessed and a sabbath breaker. You have heard the blasphemy yourself. He said he could destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days.”
V. MEEKNESS IN WASHING THE DISCIPLES FEET
The Lord demonstrated his meekness by washing the disciples feet. In this act, the master becomes the slave in order to reveal the true nature of the kingdom of God, which is humility, love, and service. The image of Jesus removing his outer clothing, wrapping a towel around his waist, and proceeding to wash the disciples’ feet is stunning indeed. His lowliness becomes a physical reality as he stoops to cleanse the disciples. It is like a king bowing to his subjects; an inversion of the natural order. And Peter knows this, “Lord, do you wash my feet? You shall never wash my feet.” The Lord has to correct him.
VI. MEEKNESS THROUGH HIS INTERACTIONS WITH CHILDREN
Jesus displays his meekness through his interactions with children. Matthew 19 says this, “Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.’” And he laid his hands on them and went away. What traits and qualities did Jesus see in the children? He saw faith, innocence, humility, and trust. And what things do they lack? They lacked any notion of stress, mourning, depression, anxiety, guilt, and knowledge that we live in a fallen world.
VII. MEEKNESS THROUGH HEALING
Jesus Christ was constantly surrounded by the infirm. Matthew 15 says, “Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.”
CONCLUSION – THE REWARD FOR MEEKNESS
We’ve spoken much about what meekness is and the Lord has graciously given us examples of the behavior. But we have not yet discussed the reward for meekness. Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.” The earth? The whole earth? One commentator said, “At this present moment, who is the mightier? Caesar with his legions or Christ with His Cross?” Revelation 11:15 says, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
In Daniel chapter 2, Daniel is called upon to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. He sees an image with a golden head, a chest of silver, thighs of bronze, iron legs, and iron feet mixed with clay. A stone that was cut by no human hand struck the feet and the whole edifice crumbled. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Each section of the glimmering image represented a kingdom of man. The stone who shatters it all is Jesus. But what about the mountain? Has it covered the whole earth yet? Not yet. But it has grown. Perhaps now, there is more earth than there is mountain. But soon there will be more mountain than there is earth. And then, just a sliver of earth will remain. Eventually, she will stand, covering the whole earth, our inheritance in full, the mountain of God, the reward for meekness. Amen.