Blessed Are The Gentle

"Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth." (Matthew 5:5)

I like that word... gentle. It sounds very calming, very peaceful. Meek on the other hand sounds a lot like weak. I know it isn't, but it sure sounds like it. What did Jesus have in mind when He spoke these words? I have heard more than my share of preachers thoughts on this verse in my lifetime, so what I have to say will be colored by 40 years of background noise.

I know Jesus isn't calling for His disciples to be weak. So, that is off the table immediately. But what does He want to see in us? What was He like in this area that He is calling us to imitate? The Greek word used here is "praus". William Barclay in his "A New Testament Wordbook" says this about "praus", there is gentleness behind praus but behind the gentleness there is strength of steel... it is strength under control."  Praus represented one of the great ethics of the Greek culture and never had as its' meaning anything to do with weakness.

Barclay felt that if we were to use one English word to translate the meaning, gentleness comes the closest to communicating the concept. He gave us a paraphrase that he felt did the passage justice:

O the bliss of the man who is always angry at the right time and never angry at the wrong time, who has every instinct and impulse and passion under control because he himself is God-controlled, who has the humility to realize his own ignorance and his own weakness, for such a man is king among kings.

History demonstrates that it is just such people, people who have the gift of self-control, who have their passions, instincts and impulses under discipline that live lives that impact this world. We must be angry at the right things at the right times. We must be focused on the injustices of this world instead of concerned about our personal insults. Jesus calls on us to elevate our lives in service to Him and others in this way. What a difference people like this make on the lives of those they impact.

Moses and Jesus are both described as "praus". "Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth." (Numbers 12:3) Would anyone ever call Moses weak? Seriously. He confronted an emperor with only a stick. He called an entire nation to follow him. He lead the nation of Israel through the wilderness for 40 years. Jesus said of himself, "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."  (Matt 11:29)  Jesus, weak... give me a break! He confronted the religious establishment. He faced down the devil with nothing but a few Bible verses. He stood before a ruler and told him that any power he had was from Him. He endured the scourging and the cross for you and me. Weak... I think not.

So, what can we say about this gentleness that is strong as steel? Both of these men lived humble lives of sacrificial service to God and their fellow man. Jesus says that it is that type of person who will inherit the earth. James McGill wrote, Regardless of who holds the civil titles to the properties of the earth, this is our father's world, and the meek are his children and heirs. Mark quotes Jesus in his telling of the gospel, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life." (10:29-30) The meek, the gentle are the ones that know best how to live this life and receive the blessings that God has promised, both here and now and hereafter. Sound live weakness to you...

Wise or foolish?